Stress and fatigue are just some of the feelings you experience when you have a fussy baby.
If your baby is not the calm and quiet bundle shown in the formula advertisements, there are some techniques that have been used over time to help calm a fussy baby.
If your baby is fussy but you know theyre not hungry, in pain, or dealing with a wet or dirty diaper, you can try one or more of these techniques to help calm them.
Use a large, thin blanket to wrap up your baby like a burrito. If youre unfamiliar with the swaddling technique, check out our how-to article.
Sounds that might remind your baby of being in your womb can be calming. There are devices that make calming noise such as white noise, but sometimes the low humming sound of a fan is adequate. Your gentle humming may do the trick as well.
Sometimes walking your baby, in your arms or a body carrier, will remind them of their time in your womb and calm them down. The motion of riding in a car, in a proper baby car seat, may also have a calming effect.
If its not time for a feeding, helping your baby find a thumb or finger to suck on may calm them. You might also consider an age-appropriate pacifier.
Your baby may just be lonely. Consider holding your them on your chest; breathe calmly while gently patting their back.
Consider making a chart of feeding times and then keep your eyes out for pre-fussy signs of hunger, such as moving hands to mouth or smacking lips.
Talk with your pediatrician about how long to wait between feedings. Often that period is 2 to 2 1/2 hours from the beginning of one feeding to the next.
If you feel indigestion may be making your baby uncomfortable and fussy, hold your baby in your arms with their body resting on their left side and gently rub their back.
Your baby may be fussy due to discomfort from a food sensitivity, though this is uncommon.
If youre breastfeeding, try cutting out certain foods one at a time to see if this results in a reduction of fussiness. Consider reducing or avoiding your consumption of:
Its important that if youre breastfeeding, you should talk to your doctor first before trying any elimination diets, as these may pose health risks for you and they havent been reliably shown to help with fussiness.
The same holds true if youre bottle-feeding and may be concerned that the formula may be causing your babys fussiness. Talk with your pediatrician first before changing formula brand or type.
Pee or poop in their diaper can make your baby fussy. You might be surprised by how often your baby will soil or wet their diaper and how sensitive a newborn is to a full diaper.
Yes, it could be that easy. Your baby could be too warm or too cold. As a rule of thumb, your baby should be wearing about the same layers of clothing that you are.
Is your baby getting enough sleep? Its not unusual for newborns to sleep 16 or more hours a day.
Your baby may be sick. Take your babys temperature using a rectal thermometer. Call your pediatrician immediately if your baby is younger than 2 months old and has a fever.
If your baby is spitting up a lot or vomiting often, they could be experiencing GER (gastroesophageal reflux).
If the excessive vomiting and spitting up is accompanied by fussiness after feeding and not gaining weight, discuss it with your doctor.
Talk with your doctor about other signs of illness to look for, such as:
If you feel youve tried everything to calm your baby and havent had satisfactory success, consider gathering information in a diary.
Write down all your babys activities and behaviors and bring this diary to your pediatrician for their review. Daily information to collect includes:
Remember one of our mantras: Take care of you so you can take care of them. A fussy baby can put a lot of stress on you. Some tips to help handle it include:
Having a newborn can be exhausting. Having a fussy baby can ratchet up the stress level. There are some quick and easy techniques that might calm your baby, including:
You can also look for and then address causes such as:
But if none of these seem to be the issue, remember that many babies go through a fussy period in the first 3 months of life.
And while trying to calm a fussy baby, remember to take care of your overall health for your own well-being, so you can care for them.
Read more here:
Fussy Baby: Causes and Solutions That Work - Healthline
