Parenting

11 Weird & Wacky Ways to Soothe a Fussy Baby

ParentingPublished Feb 21, 2013
By Mary Hawkins
mom calming a crying baby

Babies are all sorts of sweet and adorable, but any mom will tell you that trying to deal with a baby who won't stop crying is one of life's biggest challenges. It's emotionally draining. It's annoying. And sometimes it can drive you to the brink of insanity.

And that's why most of us will try just about anything to calm down our fussy babies -- even if a few methods seem a little bit on the weird side.

I had a tried and true method that worked every time when my son was bawling his eyes out as a baby, and even though I'm sure people in public thought I was nuts, I'd do it anywhere, anytime to calm him down.

It was a trick that my own mom had passed down to me, and I like to refer to it as the "Shush chant." You hold the baby close and shush him, but in a distinct rhythm, all while bouncing up and down with every shush.

"Ssh ssh ssh, ssh ssh ssh ssh ssh ssh, ssh ssh ssh-ssh-ssh-ssh-ssh ssh, ssh, ssh, ssh."

It makes more sense if you actually hear and see it. I promise.

I asked the experts (moms) for more advice on how to soothe a fussy baby and here's what they said.

"My oldest daughter HATED car rides longer than 35 minutes. At the time, we lived 45 minutes from the nearest town. So the last 10 minutes in the car SUCKED. She'd scream and cry. My mother-in-law discovered that if you shook her car seat slightly, it calmed her. Or distracted her. Or confused her. Either way, she stopped crying, and that was the goal!" -- Annie from Mama Dweeb

"I used to play 'The Girl From Ipanema' and dance around to it with a kitchen towel to calm and distract my daughter." -- Debra from The Harried Mom

"For some reason, my daughter calmed right down if I patted her on the butt. Not hard! Just a constant pat, pat, pat on the patoot." -- Jeanne from The Stir

"Hair dryer or the oven vent fan. Worked like a charm." -- Michal

"I used to have to sing 'Baby Love' by the Supremes and gently bounce up and down holding my son to calm him." -- Kate

"I cradled his head in my hands, straight out in front of me, body resting in my arms, feet against my belly. I stood with my legs wide apart and then would do a really quick squat down and back up. Repeated a few times. It seemed to work. Maybe the surprise of the quick movement helped." -- Shell from Things I Can't Say

"When my oldest was a baby, I thought there was nothing that could calm him down until my husband played some AC/DC. For some reason TNT soothed him right to sleep!" -- Erica

"We sat on an exercise ball and bounced our firstborn for MONTHS to keep her calm. As long as she was bouncing, she was happy." -- @HillaryMelch

"Rocked out to old school Nirvana. Totally supported by the Happiest Baby on the Block's rec to 'swing.'" -- @smallbutfeisty

"I held my baby close to me and swung her back and forth from side-to-side really fast, and it made her stop crying every time. I'm lucky she never got whiplash." -- Louise

Do you have any tricks for making your baby stop crying?

Image ©iStock.com/vgajic

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