Baby Photographers take on Baby Soothing Techniques
When your baby looks like this:
But you want him/her to look like this:
Some recent conversations with a few clients have inspired me to post this information. I'll list some things here that helped me sooth and comfort my 1st baby - she was SO fussy, very unhappy
as an infant. She had reflux but she was also a very bad self
soother, even after the reflux was under control she had a hard time
falling asleep and being comfortable. I hope if you are experiencing any of the same that some of these tips might bring a little relief for your family.
-pacifiers, mine never took one but from what I hear they can be a God-send!
-white noise,
this one by Conair is the very best I have tried and I now use this in the studio, volume should be pretty LOUD
Supposedly babies ear drums are hard and not soft like ours
are, the sounds they hear are muffled and white noise really only works
if it's loud enough (I read this in a baby book some time ago, correct me if this is wrong) So basically we would put the volume a little above what, to our ears, was too loud and that was when she slept gooood.
-swaddling
tight, arms in and at sides, we swaddled till 3 months
and noticed a big difference when we did not swaddle - she always would startle herself awake. At about 3 months we began only wrapping the legs and during this month weaned her off swaddling completely but I have heard of babies up to 5 months being swaddled.
-a
schedule...this is controversial but we read
Babywise and did this routine roughly, not very very strict. She slept so much
better with at least a rough schedule and it helped us know when she was
hungry or actually uncomfortable and unhappy!
-exercise ball...in
the evenings there is a "witching hour" and many babies around the world become uncomfortable. Supposedly it has to do with their
circadian rhythm or something or other and they just can't sleep. I
lived on the exercise ball, I'd wrap her up put her over my shoulder and
bounce...and watch tv or movies etc - she'd stay happy as long as I bounced gently on the ball and I even got a little exercise doing it. THIS was a huge lifesaver for us.
-going outside after morning
nap....once the sun was out i'd put her in the carrier on me and we'd go
for a walk while she was awake, all the stuff she saw and noises etc
helped stimulate her and when we got home she took a good nap for me.
-BOUNCER..wowza
I saved the best for last, we would put her in the bouncy seat and
bounce the seat with our foot, this helped me fold laundry, cook, wash
dishes, anything I could do while standing or sitting in one place - I
could set her up in the bouncy and get things done...as I bounced of course. AND you'll think
this is hilarious and don't report us to the CPS but my hubby even
connected our rigged up electric kitchenaid mixer to the bouncy so it
bounced her automatically from time to time. We used this while we ate dinner so we could both sit at the table together to eat warm food because
she was always awake and fussy at dinnertime haha!
Sleep deprivation is a serious issue, if your baby is not sleeping and you are not sleeping, ask for help!
DISCLOSURE: None of this information should take the place of the advice of your Dr, I am not a Dr and this is only information based on my personal experience. Please ask your Dr if you have any concerns with your baby and their sleep.
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