When you hear a baby cry, you definitely do feel disturbed, don’t you? This happens even if it is not your baby that is crying. Infant cries are very loud-pitched that you find it hard to carry on as if nothing happened. When your baby cries, it is quite natural for you to feel stressed. As a new mother, you might be stressed on dealing with your crying infant, or you may feel bad for your baby who is crying without any reason.
Don’t worry at all; in most of the cases, when your infant starts crying, trying to communicate with you. Crying is his first form of communication. Hunger, wet nappies and health issues maybe some of the common reasons for his tears. If you feel your baby is perfectly fine but doesn’t stop crying, you can try the following simple solutions:
- Lift the baby gently and walk around the house at a steady pace. You and your partner can do this step in turns until your baby feels calm and relaxed.
- Lift your baby and go for a walk with him in the park or garden. When he is introduced to a whiff of fresh air, he will definitely feel better. It will help you to beat your stress too.
- You can make any sound for diverting your baby and calming him (whistling, singing, making animal sounds, etc. are some good options to distract your baby from crying).
- Sometimes, your baby may stop crying immediately, when you introduce him to some gentle movement (rocking the cradle, swaying him gently in your arms, taking him for a car ride, etc. are good options to make your baby feel relaxed).
- Soothing massages can also help to control your baby’s crying. Depending on his health, you can give him a nice, warm bath by gently massaging all over his body, so that he feels refreshed. This will help to improve his sleeping as well.
During the first few weeks, you may find it difficult to understand your baby’s cries and soothe him immediately. However, you will learn with time. You will get to know why exactly your baby is crying.
Though they don’t communicate through any other mode except crying during the first few weeks, infants develop a keen sense of observation in this stage. Your baby begins to recognize the human voices in his house. He learns to identify your face well and he starts responding when spoken to. It is very important that you communicate with him regularly so that he grasps whatever you are saying.
When your baby starts crying, you don’t have to rush to him immediately. This will make him yearn for immediate attention and pampering when he grows up too. You could wait for a few seconds and then fulfill his needs, based on the tone of his cries.
Crying is very normal in infants and you don’t have anything to worry about at all. However, if you find that your baby is crying for more than 2 to 3 hours continuously in a day, you have to consult your paediatrician, as it could be a case of colic. This is a very common ailment and most kids grow out of this issue when they turn 4 to 6 months old.