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 via Mary Fischer
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Comments 33
Walking outside, no matter the weather or the scenery, immediately makes my older son stop crying and always has.
Lol, reading that one about doing squats while holding the baby like that made me do a double-take. If I tried that, I would fall over, and lord knows, I don't want to do that with the baby. Props to Shell for the mad mommy skills, lol.
With my daughter, it's either a car ride, or a combination of Pink Floyd (or any classic rock, but Floyd works best) and a baby back rub. Since the car broke and is not driveable at the moment, music and a back rub does it for now, and I hope it never quits working.
I had one niece who cried pretty much non-stop for the first 3 months of life except when asleep. The only thing that calmed her was either car rides or putting her in her car seat, putting her on top of the dryer and running a cycle of clothes. It helped.
My first born was always crying and fussing when he wasn't feeding ..one particular night he was very upset and seemed uncomfy after his feed but would not sit still for winding so I tapped a little harder and rubbed his back a little faster than I should have and he had his first ever 6 hour snooze!! After that if that didn't work the fast swaying (no 10) worked too!! Now he's a healthy 13 years old and likes a gentle stroke of the nose (like I thought ALL babies liked-according to my Mum) when he's had a rough day LOL! My how they change!
Is duct tape acceptable?
Ps thankfully the 2nd 2 were less fussy in fact the middle one insisted on going to bed after a feed wide awake...If I didn't take her she hit me in chest till I started back up the stairs then just smiled and cooed!