soothing techniques??

[scoop22]

ds is so hard to soothe. he cries so hard. any suggestions? i am struggling with getting him to calm down.. it is worse for other people. any help would be great.. thanks

[1964pandora]

This may sound weird, but I know I'm not the only one who knows about this. Have you tried repeatedly patting his bottom with your open hand, pretty hard, but obviously not hard enough to hurt him? Do it like you would if you were patting his back, but do it on his bottom. Some babies and children find that very comforting. My crying baby used to fall right to sleep when I patted his bottom.

I also walked around with the baby in a sling, which calmed him down too.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll get lots of great suggestions.

Susan

[boolady]

Are you a "Happiest Baby on the Block" fan? DD was hard to soothe, but if anything soothed her, that did. The other thing that worked fairly well some times was slinging her and walking around the house.

[sue_g]

I second the recommendation for the "Happiest Baby on the Block" book. It really helped us. I think they have a DVD too.

[scoop22]

we actually have this book.. if my memory serves me right.. i will be digging that book out.. thanks.. i never read it with ds1.. to bad i need it now..

[boolady]

we actually have this book.. if my memory serves me right.. i will be digging that book out.. thanks.. i never read it with ds1.. to bad i need it now..

You'll be able to get the gist quickly...I read it before DD was born, but had to skim it a few times to refresh myself on certain things. I hope it gives you some relief!

[jhrabosk]

You'll be able to get the gist quickly...I read it before DD was born, but had to skim it a few times to refresh myself on certain things. I hope it gives you some relief!

Ditto this. Don't worry about reading word-for-word...just go straight for the bulletpoints telling you what to do!

I don't think I ever read that book cover to cover, but got a lot of use out of his strategies.

[s_gosney]

Another vote for HBOTB. There is also a video that you might be able to get at your library if you think that'd be easier for you to get through right now. My ds definitely responds to many of the 5 Ss, especially shhhing (try the blow dryer, it's crazy but it works!) and swaddling.

Good luck!

Sherri
dd 10/03
ds 05/08

[gatorsmom]

If you have some extra cash, I love the Graco Sweetpeace swing for it's soothing effects. Greenbean was so hard to calm down and I think part of the problem was that he would easily get overstimulated in the evenings from his 2 older brothers (who act crazy before bedtime). I've also heard theories that babies can be overstimulated by fluorescent lights at night. Whatever caused it, the only way he could wind down was A)in a Moby wrap with his face partially covered or B) in his Graco Sweetpeace with the canopy covering his view and the white noise on high. If I didn't do one of those 2 things he'd scream for 5 or 6 hours every night. hth

[Piglet]

We had trick that worked on all 3 kids - go to the washroom and turn on the water pretty hard. The sound of the water soothed all of them. We discovered it accidentally - DS1 was colicky and I was carrying him around at a friend's house. I couldn't put him down but I needed to wash my hands. I carried him into the washroom and next thing I knew he was quiet and calm. We were even tempted to record the sound to playback. With DD, we bought a white noise machine, but the running water was still more effective when she was really grumpy.

[DrSally]

Buy or rent "The happiest baby on the block" DVD by Harvey Karp. The DVD is good b/c I'm sure you don't have time to read a book now. I fould a lot of his ideas useful.

[JTsMom]

Ditto HBOTB, but two other things that worked amazingly well for us were jazz and dim lights and we'd sit on a big yoga ball (you can get one at Target for around 10 or $15), put DS up against our chests with his head on our shoulders, and bounce gently- worked 90% of the time.

Good luck!

[Glizmo]

We have a speaker on an MP3 player and put that directly on DD's back (while holding her swaddled) when she's really fussy. She seems to like baroque music the most (especially Handel's Messiah!), probably for the continuo.

Swaddling is usually a last resort, since she's a hot baby and gets really sweaty, but she does like the bottom patting and loud shushing directly in her ear.

[kmak]

My first was (and still is!) high maintenance. She could really get agitated. The exercise ball was a life saver. Bouncing on that worked. What also really worked when she was at her worst was side to side deep knee bends. Kind of like lunges to the side but keep your feet planted slightly more than shoulder width apart. That did the trick when she was really upset. Once she calmed down some, then we could switch to patting the bottom and shushing.

[Tracey]

We had trick that worked on all 3 kids - go to the washroom and turn on the water pretty hard. The sound of the water soothed all of them. We discovered it accidentally - DS1 was colicky and I was carrying him around at a friend's house. I couldn't put him down but I needed to wash my hands. I carried him into the washroom and next thing I knew he was quiet and calm. We were even tempted to record the sound to playback. With DD, we bought a white noise machine, but the running water was still more effective when she was really grumpy.


Wow, this brought back memories. I can't tell you how many nights I sat on the edge of the tub with the water running full blast. I used every trick in the HBOTB book. I wouldn't have made it through colic without those tips.

[hellbennt]

any chance it digestive issues?
I'm a moderator at www.infantreflux.org/forum so
that's what comes to *my mind* :)

I'm a huge advocate of swaddling and babywearing :)

HTH

[SummerBaby]

DD2 had digestive issues (multiple food protein intolerance- even though EBF) and was very fussy until we got her feeding issues worked out. The 2 things that really helped calm her were (1) a miracle blanket and (2) turning the exhaust fan on the microvave over our stove on high and holding her in front of it. The loud noise always kind of shocked her into silence. The bathroom fans worked almost as well. Good luck- I know how hard it is to have a fussy baby!

Val
DD1 7/04
DD2 7/07

[eliasmom]

The 2 things that really helped calm her were (1) a miracle blanket and (2) turning the exhaust fan on the microvave over our stove on high and holding her in front of it.
:yeahthat:

Anything "white noise-like" helped my extremely fussy DD. She had to be swaddled (and only the MB really did the trick), listening to that kind of noise while being bounced and sort of swayed at the same time. It was very labor intensive!

[carolinamama]

I'm with everyone else on the Happiest Baby on the Block book. DS was miserable and miserable to be around for the first month or so until I got ahold of this book. He loved swaddling, bouncing, and white noise. And some babies need pretty loud white noise like ds. We got an old radio out and turned it to a non-existant station that came in as LOUD smooth static. Finally weaned him from it around a year old.

Hugs to you. It's a trying time but it does pass.

[scoop22]

thank you to everyone.. i just need some reassurance. i am going nuts with dh gone. i found my book. so i will be reading tonight. i also have an exercise ball. if i could get ds1 off of it it might help. this will pass and i will try it. thanks! i am considering the white noise machine. i am not sure if i want to spend the money.. but at this point i might try anything.

[beachmoms]

I use The Happiest Baby CD that came with a course that I took surrounding the book. That music worked like a charm. And TIGHT swaddling. You can't do it loosely, and initially they fight you but once they are in the swaddle and laying down they fall right asleep. I have had it work within 30 seconds using both methods (music and swaddle) together. Amazing. I hope something works for you soon. Good luck!

[Melarina]

I can relate to this. After a couple of months we found out that DD had reflux and getting medication for that helped a lot.

Soothing techniques that worked for her included the bathroom water running, the bathroom fan, the Happiest Baby on the Block CD (we put the rain - #5 - on repeat), a noise machine set to ocean playing all night, the knee bend side-to-side motion.

Hope this helps and that you find some things that work for you.

[beachmoms]

In addition, if you need the music from THBOTB CD just PM me and I will try to email it to you asap. I know how it is struggling, esp w no help. You would need to be able to burn it onto a CD, so hopefully your computer has a burner, or have the baby next to the computer when you play the music....loudly....lol!

[awoodm]

My ped. recommended to rub the back of the baby's neck gently with your thumb up and down while they rest against you(or lie there screaming, whichever the case may be...). Always worked to relax my little one. He is still extra sensitive there, so its a favorite tickle spot.:)

[ShanaMama]

I never read HPOTB so can't speak for those suggestions. Just wanted to ditto the knee bends. I've seen those soothe really colicky babies although you look kindof bizarre doing it. DD also really liked the football hold- Laying in my arm facing outwards with her back to my chest, head near my elbow and bottom in my hand. Hope that's clear. I think the pressure of my arm on her stomach relieved gas pain. I've also seen many babies enjoy that position.
Good luck!

[bubbaray]

HBOTB -- DVD. Seriously. Best thing EVER.

White noise machine.

HEPA filter machine (Honeywell) -- we still use these with both girls. Three settings, we use high when DD#2 is inconsolable, usually we use medium and switch it to low once she's asleep.

Swaddling.

[Page]

I agree with the HBOTB techniques, although I never bought the book or CD. Our Lamaze teacher tought us a couple of the techniques and I took notes. It's CRAZY how well it works! DD is 7 weeks and I swaddle her and hold her tilted to the side, then I "shhhhh" in her ear and rock her front to back. She quiets in seconds!

Also, I second the Graco Sweetpeace, although in my area it costs like $170! It's the only baby item we've splurged on so far. In my opinion it's totally worth it because it comes with the rain, heartbeat, water trickling, etc. sounds.

And, it came with a GREAT swaddle thingy that is thinner than the ones you find at BRU (which are way too hot for our California baby in June). AND, you can hook up your MP3 player to it. I happen to have a CD of white noise, so I can just hook it up and play those sounds, if I want.

What will they think of next?

Good luck.

[beansprout13]

I totally understand what you are going through as DH is running the vacuum cleaner right now as I type this to try and soothe DS2 (which totally works wonders!)

My lifesaver with DS1, and now DS2, has been white noise. I picked up one of those little noise machines at Target for like $13 and one of the settings is just "white noise." (The other settings are ocean, rain, etc.) Whenever DS2 starts fussing, I turn up the volume and it calms him down. We sleep with it on as well and it seems to help him sleep longer.

[scoop22]

nak
thank you.. last night was another tough spell. i feel bad for ds1.. he has been such a trooper. i am willing to try all of these. thanks for the support