If you’ve been following along with my blog, or any of my social media handles then you know I’m a new and first time mom to a sweet baby girl! Korbin is currently 3 months and we are starting to notice some routine in her day.
That doesn’t mean we don’t have some crazy days and nights (currently experiencing one of those crazy nights as a type, helllo 4 month sleep regression) but for the most part we know her different cries and can determine her needs based on the time of day. Technically she’s out of the newborn stage, so she’s really starting to become fun!
For mamas with newborns or moms-to-be, I wanted to share a few tips on ways you can calm your babe when you feel like nothing else is working. Of course every baby is different and these tips won’t always work, but I’ve found that these did and still do work for Korbin majority of the time. I know my experience is with one baby, and only for a few months but I find more experience moms tend to forget the newborn days. So I wanted to put in my two cents while it’s fresh on my mind.
First things first, make sure baby isn’t wet, sleepy or hungry. In the first few weeks it’s hard to determine what your new baby needs (especially for first time moms), but most of their problems can be solved by meeting their basic needs. So baby just ate, just woke up from a nap and has a fresh diaper, but is still crying in your arms, try out these tips..
1. Take a walk: Up until Korbin was 2 months old, she always fell asleep on our walks. She was born in September so I took advantage of the weather and went on walks daily, sometimes twice.
Once she got use to them they always seemed to calm her. And bonus they were really calming for me also.
Now that she’s a bit older she stays awake the entire walk and she loves being outside. It’s December here in the Carolinas and for me it’s too cold to be outside for long. So if she is crying and I can’t calm her down then I’ll bundle her up and we will go check the mail. She almost instantly stops crying and starts smiling, staring at everything around her.
If it’s nighttime or you’d just prefer to not go outside, take a walk around the house. Much to the dismay of my husband and I Korbin prefers to fall asleep while we are holding her and walking around.
2. Play music: Korbin loves music. I listened to Chance the Rapper a lot when I was pregnant, so I’m convinced that’s why she’s likes listening to him now.
In the early days I played Chance to put her to sleep, and I still do this to calm her down. I think it’s a combination of the loud music, me singing and walking around and dancing with her that helps relax her. She will usually start smiling as we dance, or fall asleep if it’s nap time.
3.Black & white videos: This is probably going to be controversial because I know a lot of mamas don’t want their babies watching TV, and I’m right there with you. But sometimes you need that 10 minutes of calm, Korbin is never really into it for more than 10 minutes, to eat, use the restroom or just sit down.
I’n the super early days I’d play one of those black and white videos while I made my oatmeal and could catch a few minutes to breathe. Let’s be honestly as cute and squishy as they are, it’s overwhelming in the beginning and you might need a quick break, if only for 10 minutes.
4. Skin to skin: I’ll be honest this probably calmed me more than it did Korbin. But I’ve read that a baby can feel your energy. So if you’re calm then they will be calm, and I think this is true. Plus my girl likes being free, like her mama and I don’t know any babies that likes putting clothes on.
These four things do not always work, but I’d say they have a 90% success rate, for us at least. So it’s worth a try. And trust me mama, there will be times you are willing to try anything to help calm your babe.
If you have any other suggestions please do us all a favor and leave it in the comments below. And if you try any of these and they work I’d love to hear it!
Xo
P.S. My husband wanted me to mention she loves the news, specifically the weather channel. She usually catches the 7am and 7pm news all smiles and giggles. So maybe try flipping through the channels and see if anything catches her eye.
