My Fussy Babies

Some babies are born with a sweet and calm temperament, and some come into the world roaring and spirited. Your baby has his or her personality in place long before he or she comes into the world. Some babies are easy and they only complain when something is wrong. Others have colic that can go on for hours each day with no real reason for the discomfort to be found. Most babies are somewhere in between. Whatever the case with your baby, you should learn a few things that can help fussy babies calm down so you can get some peace and so that they can feel better.

The womb is snug, warm, and secure. They lose that secure and warm feeling when they are born. Fussy babies often miss how they felt in the womb and long for that feeling again. Do all you can to mimic the womb to calm fussy babies? Swaddling is one way to make them feel secure, and gentle rocking can also help them feel right at home. Loud noises and bright lights may make a fussy baby worse, so keep the light and noise down when they seem to startle easy. Often, these things work well when nothing is physically wrong with the baby.

Some fussy babies need more soothing than others. If you have one that responds to swaddling and other small things, but those things do not quite do the trick, you may have to go with something a bit stronger. Some parents have found that putting a baby in a car and driving around when nothing else seems to work will do the trick. Try to drive where you will not hit a lot of stop signs or red lights. The motion and the drone of the engine can be enough to soothe a crying and colicky baby when nothing else seems to work.

You don’t have to leave the house to find ways to soothe fussy babies. You can try to run a vacuum cleaner near the baby. Don’t get too close, as you don’t want the noise to scare them or hurt their ears. You can also try a dryer as well. These have constant but soothing tones that may keep you awake, but they have the opposite effect on a baby. White noise machines and fans can also do the trick. Whatever you do, do not set the baby on the top of a dryer without a hand on them. Many babies have been hurt from falls from moments like those.

If you can not think of or try anything that soothes fussy babies for you, you may have to talk to your doctor. They could be in pain or have a gas of which they can not expel. Some like to use drops or other natural remedies like gripe water to soothe a baby that seems to have gas issues. There could be something else wrong as well. When your baby refuses to settle no matter what you do or try, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Your doctor may suggest something you missed, to find another problem that can be addressed.