Well, our daughter has had a bit of evening fussiness lately, so I have been spending a few of my past evenings helping to calm her to sleep. So, since this is the freshest topic on my mind, I thought I would dedicate this post to a few more thoughts on calming a crying or fussy baby.

1) Using swaddling and white noise techniques, combined with placing the baby along your arm on its side (holding his/her head in your hand) to trigger the calming reflex, works really well. These techniques are described really well and in detail on the “Happiest Baby on the Block” DVD by Dr. Karp. See my post on this DVD for further details.
2) Swaddling and white noise combined with carrying the baby upright with his/her head close to your chest/heart also works really well. This works especially well for me if I use techniques to keep myself calm and relaxed at the same time. See my post on my “Aha” moment.
3) Carrying our baby around in our sling works really well, and it is similar to point 2 above, because when she is wrapped in the sling, it is similar to being swaddled. She is nice and cosy and often falls asleep after we walk around with her in the sling for awhile. I did this earlier today when I went out with her and my son again, and I was pleasantly pleased because she fell asleep quite quickly and slept the entire time (about two hours). Gave me a chance to pick up and enjoy a chocolate blended creme frappucino, while my boy enjoyed a donut (chocolate of course… think he takes after me)!
4) We have an elliptical trainer, and my wife has found that carrying our daughter in the sling while riding the elliptical trainer works really well. The sound of the trainer, combined with the flowing, rhythmic motion, had a very calming effect. My wife was happy because she gets to exercise at the same time! (compare this to me, who takes the opportunity to go get chocolate)!
5) Choosing the right colours can have a calming effect – it has been found that blues and greens are the most calming colours, while yellows tend to cause fussiness. So if you are trying to calm a fussy baby, move out of a yellow room and into a blue or green one! Notice that our sling is also blue!
6) Making sure the baby has burped or trying to help the baby to burp can help to relieve the fussiness. Always burp the baby after feeding him/her. This can be done by holding the baby upright to your chest or over your shoulder and gently patting his/her back.
7) Checking the diaper is a good idea too, of course… sometimes a clean diaper can make the difference between a fussy baby and a calm baby.
Hope you found something you can use! Take care for now, time for some rest for me!
Join the jam and tell us how you calm your crying or fussy baby!

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