Soothing your crying baby

All babies cry, so don't be alarmed if your baby spends much of her time in tears. It can be somewhat overwhelming, though, so here we've provided some top tips on how to deal with a crying baby.

There are lots of ways to help a crying newborn, try…

- Rocking her back and forwards in your arms, on a rocking chair or in her pram

- Sing soothing songs to her, she loves to hear your voice. Play nursery rhymes, classical music or your favourite radio station to calm her (and you) down

- Carry her in the baby sling. She will feel warm, secure and close to you, and you can be hands-free for a while

- Feed your baby

- Give her a comforter like a dummy, or a bit of cloth that smells like you. (An old T-shirt that smells of you may do the trick)

- Give your baby a warm bath, this can also help colicky babies relax and feel sleepy before bedtime

- Stroke your baby rhythmically. Try massaging her with baby oil before bed, or stroking her temples very gently
If it all gets too much, put your baby down somewhere safe (her cot, pram or bouncer) and leave the room for a few minutes whilst you calm yourself down. Try not to be angry with your baby for crying. She is only communicating to you in the only way she knows how.

It’s worth it because…
No matter how much your baby cries, she still only has eyes for you. It is amazing how quickly she stops crying when comforted by mum and even the smell of you when you enter the room can settle your baby. Research shows that even a four-day-old baby will stare at her mum’s face longer than anyone else’s. It will not be long before you see her first smile and those days and nights of pacing up and down your house with a crying baby will be a distant memory.

You can talk to other mums about how to deal with a crying baby in the Guide to baby area of our chat forum. If you prefer, you can join a group to discuss this or any other related topic.

Last Modified: 13/05/2007

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My son used to cry a lot and only put on half a pound from being 2 months old til 4, we soon sound out he was lactose intolerent so got put on sma's wysoy milk, we then he put on nother half a pound and found out he was alergic to that to, he now has a hypoalergenic milk which has solved al his problem sand he has oput on a pound in a week he is now 13 pound at 5 months old.
Before this he used to be sooo unsettled and constantly cry, hes so hapy now :D.

hi claire, my youngest daughter cried from one month old until eight months old practically all day.She didn't sleep during the day at all. Thankfully come 9pm she slept til 7ish. From she woke until she went to sleep she cried, sometimes hysterically. I asked my gp for help and was told "You were just really lucky with your first daughter and now you have a baby that cries, you're not used to it." My family were really good and gave me breaks but I felt a total failure as a mother. It was only when a friend of mine suggested a problem with the milk I was giving her(as I was bottle feeding)I changed her milk to lactose free milk, then to wysoy powder milk and she she stopped crying an hour after her feed. I never thoght it would happen. I don't know how you are feeding your baby(breast or bottle) but its worth looking into.If not ask someone to look after her for one night and go out and try to relax, get a good nights sleep at a friends or family members home and return with a positive attitude to try to break the cycle of passing negative vibes to each other. You'll miss her like crazy but being without you for a short while, the chemistry between you both when you see her inthe morning will be amazing. I hope this helps. take care.

we had this problem too, i used to have to fight with my daughter to get her to feed at all - everyone kept saying it was either colic or "just wind", i got so fed up with hearing that! eventually when she was about 3 months old she almost gave up feeding at all - one trip to the doctors later and he suggested lactose intolerance and prescribed "colief" - it's drops you put into the usual milk and it breaks down the lactose. if your doctor won't prescribe it (some won't as there's no "proof" it works) you can get it from the chemists - it's not cheap at £10 for a tiny bottle (although i think there are similar products available online), but if it helps your daughter it's worth a try. if it is a lactose intolerance, she should grow out of it by around 4-5 months old.