How to Stop a Baby from Crying

The most wonderful sight in the world has to be that of a baby sound asleep with a smile on her face. And the most heartbreaking sight can therefore be when that calm, serene, innocent beauty vanishes, and the child’s face contorts into a grimace and the baby begins to cry. For many of us, it is hard to understand how to soothe a crying baby. But to begin to be able to calm a baby down it is important to understand why babies cry so much in the first place.

The reason babies cry is because that is the most effective method of communication that they possess. The signal that a crying baby is trying to communicate to any adult within hearing range is very clearly discomfort. So, the first step in trying to soothe a crying baby is to figure out what is making the little one so uncomfortable and proceed to remove the cause of irritation.

Start by checking the baby’s diaper. A wet baby is a cold and uncomfortable baby. If she’s not wet, then the next possible reason could be that the baby is hungry. Try to feed the baby. Usually feeding or rocking the baby usually calms the child down. If it is not hunger that is bothering the child, proceed to checking if there is some discomfort in its surroundings. Maybe the sheet is folded up making an uncomfortable bump beneath the child. Or maybe its clothes are scratching her somewhere. Check thoroughly for any clothes related discomfort.

Another reason for discomfort could be the lack of a familiar person. Maybe the child misses her mother. If the mother is not around, try taking the baby in your arms and rocking her gently making soothing sounds in her ear. That could help the baby fall asleep. If the mother is around and that is the reason for the child’s discomfort, she can usually calm the child down simply by carrying her around for a bit.

These are usually the commonest things that make a baby cry (unless she is in pain and needs medical attention); and armed with this information, you are probably ready to tackle about eighty per cent of crying babies out in the world!