Pregnancy Info HOME

Maybe a pacifier will help.

Lissi, in your list of things to do, (besides removing Katrina from your baby names list), get the book called "the happiest baby on the block" by Harvey Karp. Even today I am the only one who read the book and also the only one that can calm down my fussy daughter who incidentally also gets fussy at night.... problem is now she's 11 weeks and pushing 14 lbs! To get her to calm down, you simply have to "recreate the womb environment": I don't follow Karp to the letter... what I do is I hold her tight on my chest with her legs folded (she rests her feet on my forearm and she insinctively sucks her thumb. I make shhhh in her ear and like magic it calms her down..... when I keep it up she goes to sleep. Of course this doesn't work if she's hungry or needs a diaper change. Here is how Harvey Karp suggests you do it. 1 Swaddle. 2 Side or stomach position. But place baby in that position only when awake and in your arms or under close supervision. The back position is still safest for sleep. 3 Shush. Saying "shhh" mimics the sound baby hears in the uterus. You'll need to say it at the same volume he or she is crying. A white-noise machine or recording of uterine sounds works, too. 4 Swinging. "This is not shaking," Karp cautions. "It's more like a shiver." It starts as fast jiggling of about one inch back and forth, then slows to a gentle swinging motion as the baby calms. 5 Sucking. Breast-feeding or feeding from a bottle deepens baby's calm. You may have to find your own method of recreating the womb for your daughter, but I hope you get the idea.

Thanks BBK, I will give that a go. She has a lullaby light show which plays white noise, and that worked wonders at first, but now it's not enough to calm her. I'll try the swaddling and shushing idea next time. I have a couple of pacifiers still in thier box, and am reluctant to use them in case she gets too used to them and I have to wean her off them. Do you use them? Up until now I thought they were unnecessary, but I'm beginning to break. Anything for a quiet life and a few hours sleep! :)

We had the cable guy come over one day to fix our cable line, and Gabriel was crying, his advice was to put the t.v. on a channel that was just snowy, and made that ssssshhhhhhh sound. Wouldn't you know it, Gabriel calmed down? Funny, those cable guys.......

Lissi, keep in mind that you may need to keep shooshing for several minutes if she's in real hysteria mode, and whatever you do, don't put her on her back when she's P'Oed. Pacifiers: Anna refuses to hold one..... tried many times, but after 2 seconds of suckling she spits it out and cries even more..... sometimes only sucking on my wife's b___st will calm her, but for the most part it's yours truly.... my forearms are getting stronger though! A couple of more things: Gas drops can help if she has gas; Here in the states it's a substance called simethicone marketed under the brand "mylicone", it's specefically for infants, and it's over the counter. Also take her temperature once in a while so you can rule out other problems. Good luck! Things get better so hang in there!

swaddle, swaddle, swaddle!!! and learn the correct way to do it. I think there's instructions on the Happiest baby on the block website. You need to tuck part of the blankie over the shoulder. hard to explain. A friend had to show me b/c I had been doing it wrong...

Do you think she may be ga__sy or colicky? I would try some Mylicon drops and see if that helps.

All of the above i agre with,also for the sshhhh sound i put the radio on static,creates the same effect.And i do use pacifiers,they actually reduce the risk for SIDS.

My baby is the crabbiest little man around. I too got the book by harvey karp and it was very helpful. My 6 week old is colicky, was allergic to his formula, has gas, acid reflux and generally can't calm down or sleep for more than 2 hours at a time. The shushing and jiggling are the ones that work best for me. He too acted like he needed to eat all the time and cries as if in pain. The book gives a lot of good theories and advice. I use most of it, not all. The vaccuum cleaner or a static radio station work wonders. They are our saving grace when nothing else works. A change of formula, zantac, and rice cereal in his bottle, recommended by a pediatric gatroenterologist before anyone freaks out, have also helped him eat a little less, has helped calm the reflux and sleep a little better. Mylicon drops with each feeding are really helping his gas. Hopefully this too shall pa__s, as I keep getting told. It's tough though. Good luck.

my baby use to sleep only 2 hours at a time but i do all different things to get him to sleep at night and keep him calm. He now for the last two nights has slept two hours straight. I swaddle him up with the miracle blanket and give him gripe water... he seems to be a different baby from a few weeks ago. He just seems happier now that he can get enough sleep.

Babies love heartbeat, nature, "quiet" sounds.Swaddling works great also. Do you have a swing? I have a musical swing which was my savior during my son's restless time as a newborn. Try to find a swing with different speed settings. The rocking motion will work for a while so you can get a small break. Look for nature toys(heart bear) to help her calm down at night. Take care lissi and Congrats!!!

meant to say he now sleeps 7 hours straight not two... he use sleep only two....

Thanks Keekee. I don't have a swing but that's definitely on my shopping list now, along with the miracle blanket. I tried to get gripe water, but the chemist I went to said that it's not suitable before a month old, and they sold me Infacol. I tried it, but she just seems to spit up even more of her feed, so I'm frightened to use it again now. Some good advice here from all of you though. Thanks! :)

Infacol worked wonders for Tahlia, as she wouls scream for ages after every feed. The drops help the gas come up, and as with Tahlia, she brings up some milk with that gas. But at least she doesn't scream now. I too tried gripe water and it did nothing.. But she is still on the Infacol drops at 5 months

my first son would spit up a lot. Doctor recomended cereal in his bottle and it worked. I was always scared he would choke in his sleep. With my second son he has a little bit of reflux and doctor also told me to put cereal in his bottle so I have been doing this with only his last bottle at night since he was 3 weeks old. He doesnt spit up anymore and seems to be feeling better.