Is It Colic?
All babies cry. But if your child is inconsolable for long stretches, he may have colic. How can you tell for sure? According to Barry Lester, PhD, author of Why Is My Baby Crying? (HarperCollins), babies with colic exhibit these symptoms: cries that are louder and higher-pitched than normal cries; signs of physical [...]
Get Moving
Why it works: “Babies have a critical hunger for motion, both because they’re used to lots of motion inside their mother’s uterus and because it’s a powerful stimulus for their development,” says Sandy Jones, parenting expert and coauthor of Great Expectations: Your Baby’s First Year (Sterling Publishing Co.). In fact, “motion plays a very [...]
All Babies Cry
Crying is the only way babies can tell you if they’re hungry, chilly, sleepy, wet, bored, bothered, or gassy. So although it’s upsetting to hear (especially when you’re sleep-deprived), crying doesn’t always mean big trouble.
If you tally it up, a newborn spend several hours a day bawling; one estimate is two hours a [...]
Becoming Overtired
Just like you, your little one is more susceptible to feeling tense (and having a meltdown) when she’s exhausted.
Soothing Solution: Get moving. “When our 5-month-old misses a nap, she becomes so cranky and stressed-out,” says Hollie Meyer, of Mason City, Iowa. Her fix: wrapping her baby up and rocking her, since rhythmic motion can [...]
Your Little One’s Worries
Sure, your little one’s not worried about her plummeting 401(k) or a too-long to-do list, but the ordeals of daily life can have the same physiological effect on her that stress has on you, flooding her with hormones like cortisol and speeding up her heart rate. That can turn her into a [...]
Touch
Baby felt cozy and safe during those nine months in your belly. Which is why he also loves it when you cuddle and swaddle him. What’s more, “during pregnancy, babies experience a lot of motion as their moms walk and move around,” Jones says. “Unless your baby is in pain, hungry, or easily overstimulated, motion [...]
Surefire Ways to Calm Your Baby
I remember one night when my daughter Lily was just a month old and wouldn’t stop crying. When nothing silenced her screams, I took a break from my efforts to soothe her and decided to do laundry. Wailing or not, Lily was on her last bodysuit. I wheeled her bassinet [...]