I have a crybaby, what now?

Puckababy’s swaddle sleeping bags come in two sizes: Piep for your newborn, from 0-3 months.
Mini is the follow-up bag, from 3-6 months.

Crying and babies go together. It’s their way to communicate, to tell us that something is up. On average a young baby cries one to one and a half hours per day. Crying peaks between weeks 2 and 6 and then gradually slows down.

With crybabies the crying is clearly of a different nature. The crying turns to screams and your baby is often hoarse from screaming long and hard.

• Inconsolable
• Very tense
• Easily startled
• Easily distracted in interaction and communication
• Changes in rhythm and environment are difficult
• Your baby has frequent headaches due to excessive crying, leading to even more tension and overexcitement
• Arching of the back
• Not drinking well
• Exhaustion
• Irregular rhythm
• Short naps
• Trouble falling asleep
• Keeps itself awake
• Overactive

• Get help. Don’t try to fix it yourself but call on professionals and experience experts. Talk to family and friends as well.
• Never stop consoling! Your child needs you.
• If you can put your finger on a cause, look for an appropriate treatment. Don’t give up, it may take a while to find the right approach.
• Accept all the help you can get: for household jobs, running errands, preparing meals, someone who can look after or comfort your baby for a while or take it for a walk.
• Take care of yourself. A baby that cries so much also drains your time and energy. And your baby needs you, a lot, often and very intensely. The only way to be there for your child is by having the energy and the calmness to care for it. In other words, make your own energy, rest and relaxation a top priority on your to-do list.
• Make sure you don’t get annoyed and exhausted yourself. If you’re that stressed it’s hard to stay calm when interacting with your child and the last thing you want is to lose control of your emotions.
• Learning to deal with a crybaby is a gradual process. It is primarily a matter of accepting that your little bundle of joy needs some time to find its feet.
• Focus on the happy moments when everything goes smoothly. Enjoy those moments and talk to your baby in an encouraging tone. Remember that your child is also frustrated and exhausted.
• Skin-to-skin contact often has a very reassuring effect.
• Keep a diary of how the days go. How long does your baby sleep, when does it cry, how long and how hard? Write down how the feeding goes. What check and console method did you use and what was the result? It’s useful to share this information with an expert. This will give you an insight into the situation and your baby may turn out to be merely overexcited and not a crybaby in the literal sense. If so, a tight day schedule can prove very helpful.