When your baby won’t stop crying, you’ll probably feel lost, and you won’t know how to help them—especially if it’s your first child and you’re scared that you maybe made some mistake. In those moments, many moms wonder if they’re good enough and if they will be able to raise their child normally.
Because if it’s hard at the beginning, it will be even harder later.
If you feel the same way and if you don’t have someone to support you and tell you that everything will be just fine, don’t worry.
I’ll try to explain everything that you need to do to help your little one. A crying baby is never music for your ears, but there is some reason why they are crying.
That is their only way to communicate, and they are just trying to tell you something.
In case your baby is crying and you don’t know what to do anymore, here are a couple of things that make every baby cry:
Their diaper – babies with a dirty diaper will cry because they don’t feel comfortable, and it might hurt.
They might have an irritation (try organic diapers) if they spend a lot of time in a dirty diaper.
That’s why you need to always check if your baby needs a diaper change when they start crying.
They are hungry – one of the reasons your baby is crying is that they are hungry.
If your baby is crying, you can try breastfeeding or giving them baby formula. If they don’t accept food and continue to cry, it must be something else.
They have colic – A colicky baby will cry, and you won’t be able to do anything to make it stop. When this happens, you won’t know what your baby needs.
You will probably try different methods, but some of them won’t work. In these situations, many parents freak out, and they get angry.
Some of them can’t control themselves due to stress, and they start shaking their baby thinking that they will stop crying.
That’s how shaken baby syndrome happens.
Shaking a baby can have serious consequences, including retardation, brain injury or even death.
This is child abuse, and if you ever see something like this happening, you need to report it.
Maybe some parents think that nothing bad can happen if they shake their baby, but a baby is fragile, and their blood vessels are not as strong as those of adults.
They are sleepy – another reason why your little one is crying is that they are sleepy. A sleepy baby wants one and one thing only—to SLEEP.
So, the best way to calm them down is to swaddle them and sing them a lullaby. I’m sure they will fall asleep in a second.
Teething – maybe one of the reasons your baby is crying is because they are teething. That can hurt a lot, and your baby will show that to you.
They will communicate the only way they know—crying. That is where you step in.
You need to find out what works best for your baby and what can calm them down. You can use many things that can help them like cold pacifiers or cold teething toys.
They have been too active – babies love to be active, but in many cases, it backfires.
It is nice to play and have fun with your baby, but all those things can sometimes be overstimulating. You need to listen to your baby’s needs and to act accordingly.
If you see that your baby is becoming fussy and that they can’t calm down, you can have a warm bath with them to prepare them for sleeping.
Also, after the bath, take your little one and swaddle them or sit in a rocking chair and sing a soft lullaby to them.
That will relax them, and they will know that they are in a safe place.
Mom’s hug is what calms down every baby, so it will calm down yours as well.
They are gassy – babies cry because they are gassy and because something they ate made their tummy hurt.
If you’re breastfeeding, you need to make sure to avoid food that gives babies gas. Also, when some kids try cow’s milk, it doesn’t work well for their digestive system.
If this is the case with your baby, you need to find a more suitable feeding solution.
They are going through a phase of purple crying – Purple crying is a normal thing that happens to newborns when they are 2-3 weeks old, and it lasts until they are 3 months old.
It is normal brain development, and every baby has to go through it. Some babies cry less and some cry more, but all of them do cry.
There is not so much you can do in this case except for being there for your little one, so they can feel safe.
These are a couple of common reasons why your baby won’t stop crying.
And now I would like to share all the things that I used with my babies when we were going through all these phases.
1. Help yourself first
You probably think that I’m crazy for telling you to help yourself first, right?
Well, when I first got this advice, I tried it, and I felt enormous guilt for even trying it.
But after some time I realized that I first needed to help myself, so I could help my baby.
That meant I had to get enough sleep if I wanted to be in a good mood to dedicate myself completely to my child.
I had to eat well, so my body could make enough milk for my infant.
I had to go out and have my life, so I wouldn’t lose my mind by being trapped in the house.
Once I realized all these things, everything fell into place. I gave all that I needed to myself, and I was one happy mom.
I felt happy for having my life, for doing things that I love, and for asking for help when I wanted to sleep an hour longer. It’s perfectly fine to ask for support.
It is okay to take some breaks, mom. You deserve it more than anyone.
2. Shh-ing
If you thought that babies need silence while crying, you’re wrong.
They are crying because that is the only way they can communicate and they expect us to react.
You probably wonder how? Well, what is proven to soothe babies so far is a little trick that most moms do.
You just need to repeat: Shh, shh, shh while your little one is crying and see how they are calming down.
Your baby can even put their head to your shoulder and fall asleep while you’re repeating it calmly.
The catch is that that sound is equal to the one they hear in uterus because of the mom’s arterial blood pumping.
Since they felt comfortable and safe in the womb, they need the same when they are not longer protected with their mom’s body and when they feel upset.
Also, make sure to always use this tip when you’re alone with your baby in a nursery since it won’t help you so much while being crowded.
Babies need their peace just like we do so just listen to them and to their needs and try to learn what works best for your little one.
3. Try white noise
In some cases, the white noise works well with crying babies because it totally masks all the other sounds.
If you’re living next to a busy road, just turn on the white noise, and it will completely mask all the noises that might come from the environment.
Before you try white noise, you can calm down your baby with a warm bath, and then put them to bed along with the white noise.
They will feel peaceful, and if they are not in any pain, they will fall asleep in a minute.
4. Try swaddling your baby
One of the most logical things to do when a baby cries it to swaddle them.
You can hold your little one close so they feel the warmth of your body and the beating of your heart.
If you’re sure that your baby doesn’t have colic and that they are just crying because they’re tired, swaddling will definitely help.
Every pediatrician will give you advice like this to calm down your fussy baby.
5. Use a stroller
What worked well for me when my kids were smaller was using a stroller when they cried to calm them down.
I’d just put them into the stroller and go out to make a circle or two around the house. Since they were so tired, they would fall asleep quickly.
That would always calm them down even though they didn’t want to sleep if I just put them in their beds.
They needed some extra attention, and I had to find a good way to calm them down and to keep my common sense at the same time.
So, if you’re one tired mom with super active babies, try this method, and see if it will help you. Fingers crossed!
6. Be in a safe place with your baby
Babies are very sensitive, so having a safe place will definitely calm them down when they are fussy.
Maybe new parents don’t know about these kinds of things, but the experienced ones do.
That’s why I’m sharing this advice with all of you new moms who don’t know what to do to calm down your crying baby.
If your baby won’t stop crying, just take them to a safe place, and hold them in your arms. You can sit in a rocking chair or you can walk around to calm them down.
Make sure that your baby can listen to the beat of your heart because that is a good way for them to calm down.
You can sing a lullaby to your little one, and I’m sure that in a short time, they will fall asleep, feeling safe and secure in your arms.
7. Burping is a must
One of the reasons babies cry is that they eat, and they don’t burp. That’s why you always need to lift your baby up after feeding them.
You can tap them on their back a bit if they have problems with burping so the whole process goes more smoothly.
After your little one burps, they will be in a good mood, and they will be a playful baby instead of a crying one.
Maybe some new parents don’t know how important this is. In fact, if nobody told you about this, you won’t know.
I know I didn’t know it and so my firstborn had so many problems with his tummy in the first couple of months.
After I told his pediatrician what is happening, she told me that lifting him up after every feeding is a must.
I didn’t think it will affect my baby that much but that was actually all that he needed to be a calm and happy baby.
8. Online support groups are a great way to find helpful tips
If you are not a member of any group for moms and babies, I suggest you join some. You can find so many helpful tips and tricks at those places.
You can even develop friendships with some moms. Some of them probably live near you, so you can meet and spend some time out with your little ones.
Also, when I gave birth to my first baby, I was so confused, and I didn’t know if I was doing half of the things in a good way.
Groups for moms were places where I could ask whatever I wanted without any judgment. I could tell them that I did something in a certain way and ask them if that was okay.
In just one minute, I would get so many comments under my post. Other moms were telling me that I did a great job.
Some advised improving some things in the future, but in most cases, they were very supportive.
9. Take a couple of deep breaths
When your baby is crying and it lasts for a long amount of time, you’ll start wondering what is happening.
You won’t know if something is off and if your baby needs a health care provider. If you took your little one to the doctor and they said that everything is fine, you should try to relax.
It is just a phase, and it will pass.
You can just be there for your baby and comfort them. But, don’t forget to think about yourself during the whole process. Self-care is a must.
When you feel you can’t do it anymore, take a couple of deep breaths because you need to relax as well. You need to be good to yourself so you could be good for your child, mom.
Please don’t forget that.
10. A vacuum cleaner sometimes helps
It is known that some babies need the sound of a vacuum cleaner to calm down or even fall asleep.
So, if your baby won’t stop crying, you can turn on the vacuum cleaner to see how they will react to the sound.
Maybe your baby is one of those babies who like these sounds, so they manage to calm down.
I know how exhausted I was in that situation, so I was literally trying everything that other moms told me to try.
That included driving them in the car so they can fall asleep in the car seat, rocking them in my arms or in their bassinet, taking warm baths with them, and a million other things, hoping that my little one would finally stop crying.
It was a hectic phase, but it somehow ended sooner than I thought.
11. Try feeding your baby
One of the common reasons why your baby is crying is that they are simply hungry. Babies don’t know how to tell you that they’re hungry, so they will cry.
If your baby isn’t sick and if they don’t have any health problems, they will probably accept some breast milk.
If you’re not breastfeeding, they will take the bottle and probably fall asleep while taking it.
But in case your baby isn’t accepting food and is fussy more than one day, take them to the doctor just to make sure everything is fine.
Better safe than sorry.
If anyone can feel if something is off, that will be you, mom. You are all your little one needs to develop into a healthy and happy baby.
You got this! Just keep up the good work, mom!
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