When your baby is over stimulated and fussing you need to respond appropriately to limit the fussing and escalation to crying. Try these proven 7 S’s of calming:
Colic and excessive crying can be very stressful for a parent. When your baby is over stimulated and fussing you need to respond appropriately to limit the fussing and escalation to crying. Try these proven 7 S’s of calming:
S ensory environment – When your baby is fussing, develop ‘sensory eyes’ – examine the sensory environment for stimulus that may be bothering or over stimulating your baby. Remove him from or change the environment to help him calm down.
S elf calming – Encourage your baby to develop self calming strategies such as hand sucking, holding her hands in the midline, humming or looking at you. Instead of intervening with a dummy or breast each time she fusses, help her find her hands.
S waddling – Swaddling has been proven to calm young babies significantly and help them sleep well. Use a triangular shaped, 100% cotton baby blanket, which preferably has some stretch. The heart-shaped Baby Sense™ Cuddlewrap serves this purpose well; alternately fold a blanket into a triangle.
S oothing touch – Baby massage is a fantastic tool for calming a baby and has all day benefits. Use slow movements with deep touch pressure.
S ling – Movement is lulling for a baby – it mimics the environment he came from (the womb) and soothes him very effectively.
S ounds for calming – certain sounds are very calming for your baby. White noise, as captured in the Baby Sense Womb to World CD/MP3 calms babies. Lullabies and nature music help with calming and sleep.
S tick to one strategy for 5 minutes to allow your baby to adjust and calm.
By Meg Faure