Sometimes it is sometimes difficult to understand what a baby is asking when crying. Indeed, to calm them down, parents can actually adopt certain gestures and techniques.
Identify the cause of the crying to calm it down…
What to do first: understand why the baby is crying to calm his sobs. This is because he expresses a physiological need, but it still remains to be seen which one. In his book “Understanding baby crying”… Pediatrician Philippe Grandsenne gives the method to follow. Parents “must make tests, proposals, in order to succeed little by little in deciphering this particular language”.
The conclusions will be easy to draw: “If the child continues to scream, it means that the answer given to him was not the right one. If he is silent, banco!”
In fact, Philippe Grandsenne first offers to take the child in his arms. So if that doesn’t work, offer him your little finger, to see if he wants to suck. Offer him milk from a bottle or breast to find out if he is hungry. Next test: Offer him water to drink from a bottle to see if he is thirsty. Or even rock it. “You will almost always end up finding the right answer“, reassures the doctor.
Techniques to calm baby crying
If the above techniques prove unsuccessful, it may be that the crying has a less obvious reason. A site designed by Public Health France, has therefore published a list of techniques to soothe your baby. The Leenkus editorial staff points out:
- Speak softly to the baby.
- Sing while holding it to your chest.
- Caress him, touch him, skin to skin, massage him (around the navel in a clockwise direction if he suffers from colic).
- Take him for a walk or move with him.
- Place him face down on his forearm, hand between his legs, and his back against our belly.
Music for babies?
Moreover, as regards appeasement through music… Pediatrician Philippe Grandsenne thus suggests playing music listened to during pregnancy: “This sound will remind your baby of the months he spent in your womb in an environment protective and comfortable where nothing was missing.”
He also puts forward the idea of putting the baby in a “Buddha position”: “Support his head or upper back so as to tuck his chin. Then fold his legs against his belly, in a Buddha position. The crying baby will now be able to relax in this position. Like a little yogi!
What if the crying doesn’t stop?
However, in more serious cases, crying can also be a way for the small child to express their pain. “If your baby is in pain and if he is sick, the crying does not stop, whatever you do, we explain in the Petit Larousse for 0 to 3 year olds. Crying that lasts much longer than usual can therefore be a first sign.
Indeed, if symptoms appear in parallel with crying attacks…. We must therefore react as quickly as possible. “If they are associated with a lack of appetite, unusual paleness, cough, difficulty breathing, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, consult without delay. The first two months, any infection can have serious consequences: it is therefore better to consult for nothing than to take a risk”, can we read in the book.
