How to calm a newborn baby when he cries

Children's crying (baby cry (v.)) occurs due to the fact that they need something or they do not know how to express their emotions. Just as thumb or fist sucking is a sign of hunger that should not be ignored, crying is a sign of distress that should get your immediate attention.

Sometimes the reason your baby is crying is obvious, such as a wet or dirty diaper or a desire to eat.

If we are talking about small children, then how to calm the crying of a newborn baby and what to do if the child cries and does not calm down?

Why do small children cry? - Check for discomfort!

What to do as parents

For some parents, the sound of a baby crying or children crying can be very disturbing. If a child is crying, do not panic, contact a perinatal psychologist in Moscow. Some children take longer than others to relax.

Sometimes parents worry that if they respond immediately to a baby's cry (baby cry), the baby will become dependent and clingy. In fact, it's the opposite: when a child knows that his needs will be met, this is the first step towards making him feel safe. This style of parenting—responding quickly to a child's needs and interacting with them frequently to create security and connection—is called “attachment parenting.”

In the end, you will be better able to anticipate your baby's needs before he starts crying. Babies use many signals to communicate, such as squirming, sighing, and sucking. When they go unnoticed, they cry. Little by little, you will learn what each of your child's lines means.

How to determine the reason for a baby's crying

A child is considered a newborn in the first month of his life, and often at this stage it is difficult to understand what causes crying, not only for young parents, but also for more experienced mothers and fathers.

To know how to calm a newborn while crying, you need to determine the reasons for this behavior.

During this period, screaming is the only way to convey to adults that the baby may be experiencing discomfort due to:

• overwork;
• feelings of hunger;
• overheating or hypothermia;
• painful sensations.

During the first 30 days of life, the child adapts and gets used to a fundamentally new habitat into which he has just entered and where he is now forced to exist autonomously. At this time, the appearance of restless crying, with which the baby signals even the slightest discomfort, is the norm.

The nature and shrillness of crying at this age is already influenced by the baby’s temperament, since some children immediately from birth cry and scream very loudly and loudly, while others can quietly grunt and whine.

In order to better understand their newborn baby and know how to calm him down, parents should observe his behavior from the very first day and, after some time, they will quite easily understand what causes the baby's crying and know how to calm him down .

Under no circumstances should you ignore crying and try to teach such a baby to calm down on his own, since he is still too young for this. Many children at this age very quickly become calm when their mother takes them in her arms, as they smell her smell and feel the warmth.

Hunger

Any neonatologist and pediatrician will confirm that the most common cause of crying in newborn babies is a feeling of hunger. The stomach capacity of newly born children is very small, which is why they have to be fed little and often.

When mothers hear crying, they should first offer the baby breast or freshly prepared formula if he is bottle-fed.

How to calm a newborn when he cries? The very first method is to feed the baby

It is not so difficult to understand that the cause of crying is hunger. If a child tries to grab fists, corners of clothes or diapers with his mouth, or greedily sucks on a pacifier and, not receiving milk, pushes it out with his tongue, then most likely he really wants to eat.

Cold and heat

The imperfection of the thermoregulation system of newborns leads to the fact that they very quickly become hypothermic and overheated. That is why too low or high temperature on the street or at home can cause a baby more noticeable discomfort than an adult, to which he reacts by crying.

You should carefully examine the child's skin. When overheated, the face and body may become very red, and when hypothermic, they may turn pale. In this case, choosing clothes according to the season, as well as water and air baths, will help calm the newborn baby.

Excessive insulation or, conversely, hypothermia of the baby is also a cause of crying.

You should not overly wrap babies of this age so as not to cause excessive sweating and not provoke the development of diaper rash, but at the same time it is important to monitor whether the child is warm by periodically checking the tips of his fingers and toes.

Overwork

Calming a newborn baby can also be difficult due to overtiredness. The nervous system of newborn children is still very mobile and easily overexcited, but at the same time they cannot calm down for a long time.

At this age, overwork can occur due to a change in the usual environment, noisy feasts and gatherings of adults, and lack of sleep. A newborn baby should sleep from 18 to 20 hours a day and during this time rest both emotionally and physically.

It is important for a newborn to ensure healthy and restful sleep.

If something is bothering the child (colic, overheating, hypothermia) or someone constantly wakes him up, he will be disturbed and will not be able to rest properly.

With strong excitement, the baby's crying can continue for a long time, since the child cannot readjust and fall asleep at once. At the same time, it is important for parents to put him to bed as soon as possible to help the baby and relax his psyche.

Due to the imbalance that arises, this is not easy to do, so to quickly calm down, you can place the child in a warm bath for a few minutes or try to put the child to sleep in the fresh air.

Pain

Sometimes newborn babies can scream and cry heart-rendingly because they experience painful sensations. It is pointless to calm him down in this case, without eliminating the main cause of the source of pain. It is important to find out what exactly is bothering the baby.

To determine the cause of pain in a newborn, you should consult a pediatrician

In young children, the causes of pain may be:

• headache;
• stomatitis;
• ear pain (otitis media);
• colds (the throat may hurt, nasal congestion may occur);
• discomfort in the gastrointestinal tract.

If you cannot independently identify the cause of the pain, you should seek help from your local pediatrician. If your baby cries especially hard at night and his temperature rises, you should immediately call an ambulance.

What to do when your baby cries for no reason

mother calming her crying little daughter
Okay, let's get back to the banana situation.

Most likely, you are inclined to say: “Stop crying” or “Don’t cry.”

So where to start? With a pause and a deep breath.

Then get down to eye level with your child or below to communicate safety.

When offering your child a peeled banana, you can say something like: “I see you are sad/disappointed. It's okay to cry. I'm here…"

Statements like these help express our child’s emotions.

Really be in the moment with your little one who is just beginning to learn about this thing called "feelings"... including anger, frustration and, yes, even rage. When we can be with our child in this way, it lets them know that we are a safe place to express feelings, which means we can be trusted.

When to see a doctor if your child doesn't calm down

It is not always possible to calm the baby using the methods described, and parents begin to doubt whether everything is okay with their child.

You should consult a doctor if the crying lasts for a long time or is repeated very often, getting worse each time, and is accompanied by the following symptoms:

• the child often spits up;
• his body temperature increased;
• the baby refuses to eat;
• there are rashes and redness on the skin;
• the child shows signs of a cold - snot, cough;
• the baby has loose stools or has not had them for more than 2 days;
• the baby does not urinate.

Frequent regurgitation, accompanied by the crying of a newborn, is a reason to immediately consult a doctor
. In all these cases, crying may be associated with the presence of pathology, so parents should not hesitate and are obliged to seek medical help in a timely manner. Calming a newborn can be difficult. Crying can indicate either the child’s desire to eat or rest, or be a signal of more serious abnormalities.

The task of parents is to observe the behavior of their child from the first days of life, to study the nature of the origin of his tears, which will help them promptly recognize whether they have cause for concern or not.

How are you feeling

When you sit with a child in the middle of their frustration, look at yourself.

What's going on in your body? Are you holding your breath? Are your shoulders tense and above your ears instead of relaxing and sitting up straight? Does your face look distorted, irritated and/or scary?

Take a deep breath. Soften the wrinkles on your face and continue to breathe (this is the first thing that happens when we are upset).

Imagine a moment with your child where you were at peace and FULL of love. Looking into their big dark eyes when they were newborns. Breathe, holding this memory in your consciousness as you allow this less peaceful child in front of you to be noticed.

How to help a baby over 3 months old

With babies over 3 months old, swaddling and rocking are more suitable for bedtime.

To calm a crying child at this age, you should choose slightly different methods:

Your emotional changes

31373618 – view of yelling boy with educational problems
While you sit together, accepting your child and all her many feelings, she will probably still cry. But the shift has already begun. A slow climb from her brain stem to her prefrontal cortex.

Causes of pain

As described above, the causes of pain can be different and parents, especially inexperienced ones, are not always able to understand what exactly is bothering the baby. In order to be able to recognize the source of pain, it would be useful for parents to know how the baby behaves when he is bothered by unpleasant sensations in one or another part of the body.

Colic

Colic in babies is painful spasms that occur in the intestines. They usually begin to torment children no earlier than 2-3 weeks of age. It is believed that colic is more painful in boys. Colic usually appears in the evening without any obvious cause.

A child suffering from colic begins to behave restlessly:

• refuses to eat;
• cries inconsolably;
• presses his legs to his stomach, may twitch them nervously;
• arches his whole body.

His stomach becomes bloated and tense. Only in 5% of cases colic can actually indicate the presence of some pathology; in other cases, they usually go away on their own after 3-4 months, sometimes later.

Abdominal cramps or colic in babies occur as attacks during which they may cry for hours. This condition can sometimes occur almost daily, which greatly worries parents and is a source of family stress.

The causes of colic have not been reliably established, and existing treatment methods do not help in all cases. So, some children are better helped by a massage to relieve intestinal spasms, others - a warm diaper on the stomach, others - decoctions of fennel and dill, and for others all these measures together may not help.

For this reason, advice on the treatment of colic is rather advisory in nature and is not aimed at alleviating the child’s condition.

The causes of colic may be:

• immaturity of the child’s digestive system;
• dysbacteriosis;
• overfeeding;
• throwing stomach contents back into the esophagus (reflux);
• postpartum depression (provokes the release of stress hormones into the blood, which negatively affect the condition of the child if he is breastfed);
• unsuitable formula for the baby;
• violation of a woman's diet while breastfeeding;
• baby intolerance to milk sugar - lactose;
• improper latching on a bottle or nipple, which allows too much air to enter the intestines and causes gas.

To alleviate the condition, the child may be prescribed probiotics and soothing drops.

At home, parents can massage the abdomen and place the baby on it, which in some cases helps reduce cramps. If a child's crying continues for more than 3 hours or vomiting occurs, parents should seek medical help.

Ear disease

In addition to colic, another reason for crying in babies in the first month of life is ear pain.

It can occur for various reasons:

• due to the formation of sulfur plugs;
• colds;
• accumulated mucus in the nose, which clogs the ear canals;
• ingress of water (if there is an infection, it can lead to inflammation).

Otitis - inflammation of the ear - worsens at night, which is why the child cries.
When otitis develops, the child's temperature may rise to 39° and, due to pain in the ear, he will cry pitifully. When feeding, the baby may turn away and shake his head. With purulent otitis media, mucus may be released from the ear.

Self-medication in this case is prohibited, since only specialists should manipulate the ears of children, especially newborns, and prescribe treatment.

Skin rash

It can also be difficult to calm a newborn baby because of skin rashes, which can itch and cause severe discomfort to the baby. Skin rashes in infants can have different origins.

This can be either ordinary heat rash caused by improper care, or an allergic reaction to the mixture, lactose or some medications. Often the rash can cause discomfort to the baby, especially if it is located in the genital area.

In this case, every time after fulfilling natural needs, the excreted urine and feces will greatly irritate the already inflamed delicate skin and the baby’s crying will intensify.

In this situation, regardless of the cause of the rash, parents should use various creams and powders that will help relieve irritation and calm the baby and change the diaper in a timely manner, while performing all the necessary hygienic procedures.

For skin rashes, as prescribed by the pediatrician, use baby powder

To determine the exact cause of the rash, you should show the baby to a pediatrician , who will recommend care products or, if necessary, refer him to a dermatologist.

How to calm a child aged 4 months to a year

By this time, the baby has become stronger and begins to become aware of himself, so simple physical methods are no longer so effective. To calm the child, you will have to use your imagination. But let's start with the classics.

Take it in your arms

Let us remember again that this option is suitable for all ages. Use it as often as possible. Holding the child close to you, whisper something soothing to him in a gentle, quiet voice.

Switch your attention

Take the child in your arms and go with him to the window, enthusiastically saying something like “Wow, look how big the dump truck has driven!” or “Look, what a cute fluffy cat is in the yard!” Turn on the TV with cartoons. Put on your favorite children's songs and start dancing with your child in your arms.

Your goal is to switch the baby's attention from the situation that bothered him and caused him to cry, to something new and interesting.

Replace emotional activity with physical activity

Hold your baby under your arms and let him jump on the bed. Or do gymnastics. Or throw it in the air (not high). The need to concentrate to coordinate muscle activity will cause the baby to stop crying.

Attention! This method is not suitable if there is even the slightest suspicion that the crying is caused by a fall or pain.

Turn crying into something funny

For example, tickle a child. Or take his toy and make a little puppet show. Speak for her in a funny theatrical voice: “Oh, who’s crying here? Hush, hush, I'm afraid! - and hide it behind your back. The goal is to make the baby smile. A child's cry, if you try, quite easily turns into laughter.