8 things to TRY when your baby is unsettled
Babies cry, a lot.
That’s what they do. They have no other way to communicate.
Even so, it’s not nice when they cry a lot, and you don’t know what to do.
This was the case for us too when my son was a newborn. Between the age of 0-3 months, we found it quite difficult to know what he needed and how we could settle him down.
I must admit that sometimes we just couldn’t settle him down, and anything we did proved to fail.
But, over the weeks, we have found some KEY checks that need to be done as a standard to see if they help.
I share below those 7 things that you should always do as stock-standard checks to help settle your baby.
NOTE: I must note that I am not a health professional and that you should always check in with your doctor if you are unsure or nothing is working (for this young age its always better to check if nothing works).
7 things to do when your baby is unsettled (in order):
OPTION #1 - FEED THEM
In the initial stages of life babies eat, sleep, shit repeat. So, your best first check if to see if they’re hungry. You can give them the bottle/breast and see if they go for it and hopefully that settles them down.
TIP: you can give them the back of your finger and see if they suck on it, if so, they are probably hungry.
OPTION #2 - PUT THEM TO SLEEP
As mentioned, babies eat, sleep and shit on repeat. So, the next thing you should do is try to put them to sleep. Do it in whichever way works for you. From my experience and what I hear from anyone with a baby it seems they all operate differently.
So do whatever works for your little one (and you can always check out what worked for us here)
OPTION #3- CHANGE THEIR NAPPY
Part 3 of eat, sleep, shit repeat. Check and change their nappy. They may have had a sneaky poop or just a pee, but no one likes to sleep in their own shit so this is another must do. (Watch my changing technique here)
OPTION #4 - CUDDLES
Sometimes all a baby needs is a bit of a cuddle from his parents. Almost all the research shows that there is nothing wrong with cuddling your baby as much as possible/needed in the initial stages. Giving them a cuddle is comforting to them and lets them know that they are safe (I mean, how cute is that). I used to have my little one sleep on me for as long as he needed.
OPTION #5 - BURP THEM / TUMMY MASSAGE
My little one had a bit of stomach problems in the initial few months. So, we had made it a priority to make sure he burped at least once during each feed. In addition to that, we gave him gentle stomach massages to help indigestion and gas (see video of how to give them a massage here).
OPTION #6 - WALK / DRIVE
Taking a short drive became a standard move for us in the initial stages. There was something about the car ride that helped my little one fall asleep. It felt like a huge hassle to get him in and out of the car but there was nothing better than to look back at him and see him sleeping in the car seat and get a few moments of silence and calm for us. I was only driving around my neighbourhood so I can be close to home in case I needed something. I would also go for a minimum of 15 minutes (as it took him that long to fall asleep).
OPTION #7 - BATH
A nice warm bath can help sooth your baby. Don’t add anything to it (including soap) and make sure the water is not too hot (or cold). 36C - 38C is the recommended temperature.
OPTION #8 - SOOTHING MUSIC / WHITE NOISE
Playing some calm and soothing music might help your little one settle down. And the same goes for white noise. You can easily find these on YouTube and play them in the background while cuddling your baby or doing any of the abovementioned things concurrently.