Beth Rush
All babies fuss from time to time. It’s their main way to communicate with you during those crucial early months.
Babies are commonly fussy when they are going through a growth spurt or get overstimulated. Newborn fussiness normally peaks around six weeks of age, but the “witching hour” crying periods often last until around three to four months old.
Here are 15 ways to calm a fussy baby so everyone gets the sleep they need.
1. Fulfill All Needs
The most obvious but vital part of helping a fussy baby at night is ensuring you meet their needs. Babies fuss to communicate when they need a diaper change, feeding, or attention – and checking these things before moving on to less likely causes is important. Once you meet their common needs, you can move to other comforting measures to get your baby to sleep.
2. Adjust the Room Temperature
Babies can easily get too hot or too cold and will fuss if uncomfortable. Between the thermostat, sleepwear, and swaddles, a baby should be warm but not too hot at night. If you can’t determine what’s wrong, try adding or subtracting a heating element from their setup.
3. Check for Hairs
When you spend time with your baby, there’s a chance a stray hair will fall on them. Babies tend to move their hands and feet, inadvertently twisting the hair around them. Check your baby’s fingers and toes to ensure they don’t have any hair or other items that could cut off circulation or make them uncomfortable during the night.
4. Warm Their Tummy
Many babies experience gas and acid reflux issues that make their stomachs uncomfortable at night. You can help relieve this discomfort by warming their tummy. Place a baby heating pad on their stomach, use the warmth of your hand to massage them, or swaddle them in a warmer blanket.
5. Take Their Temperature
If your baby is abnormally fussy at night, take their temperature to ensure they are not sick. You can often tell if a baby has a fever by touching them, but the warmth from nighttime wear and low-grade fevers can make that method inaccurate. Several thermometers on the market can noninvasively get an accurate reading on your baby.
Knowing if they have a temperature lets you make the right decisions to help them feel better.
6. Read Them a Story
Reading to your baby at night can help calm their fussing and allow them to sleep. There are several benefits to reading to your baby early on – including early communication skills, stimulating them with colours, and introducing the concept of letters, numbers, and shapes.
Your voice provides comfort to your baby and can help them drift off.
7. Give Them a Calming Bath
Sometimes, a soothing bath can help babies relax and sleep more easily at night. A warm bath with calming scents and soothing touch can get your infant settled into a state of calm, allowing them to sleep deeply at night.
Spending time in the bath is widely regarded as one of the simplest ways to ease negative emotions — for babies and adults.
8. Give Them Sucralose
Sucralose can help calm your baby if they are experiencing nighttime discomfort. Research shows that these solutions are generally safe and effective in providing relief and helping your baby sleep.
Remember – always consult your doctor before giving your baby a new supplement or medication.
9. Put Them in Their Crib Awake
Some babies fuss at night because they are always rocked to sleep. Rocking your baby is a way to soothe them to sleep, but always doing so can create a bad habit.
Put your baby in their crib when they’re drowsy but not yet asleep to acclimate them to falling asleep there. Once they’re used to it, they’re more likely to konk out after waking without much fuss.
10. Do Skin-to-Skin
Skin-to-skin is a powerful bonding mechanism when your baby is firstborn, but even older infants can benefit from the closeness. The warmth from your body, combined with your scent, provides comfort to your baby during hard nights. The bonding can also calm parents, which your baby will sense.
11. Provide Non-Nutritive Sucking
Suckling isn’t just something your baby does for food. Non-nutritive sucking uses your baby’s instinct to calm themselves. If breastfeeding, consider offering your breast to your baby as a comfort mechanism. A pacifier is also a useful tool for quickly soothing fussy infants.
12. Sing or Play Music
Music soothes the soul of almost everyone, your baby included. Singing your infant songs or playing soft music can reduce fussiness and help them fall asleep. Research shows that music allows babies to form the neural pathways they need for restful sleep. Whether it’s your favourite melody on a speaker or singing the lullabies you know, the effectiveness might surprise you.
13. Consider Your Diet
If you’re breastfeeding, your diet could unintentionally cause your baby discomfort. They might be sensitive to a food or ingredient that makes it hard to sleep at night. Speak to your doctor or your child’s paediatrician about possible elimination diets or allergy testing that can help you identify and resolve the cause.
14. Walk Them Around
Babies respond well to movement. If you have a fussy or colicky baby, walk them around the room or home. One trick is to babywear them as you walk so you can complete tasks while your baby gets the comfort they need.
Consult Your Pediatrician
Don’t fear speaking to your baby’s paediatrician about persistent fussing concerns. Some parents are embarrassed to do so since crying is common, but there could be a serious reason for it. Document any unusual fussing or any time you can’t determine a cause so you can discuss the incidents with their doctor to come up with helpful solutions.
Calm a Fussy Baby at Night
It’s easy to get discouraged when your baby fusses and you can’t quickly soothe them. However, fussing is common and doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong. These methods could help you comfort them faster, giving you and your baby more quality sleep.
Featured image courtesy of Michal Bar Haim on Unsplash. Image license can be found here. No changes were made to this image.
Beth Rush
Beth is the Managing Editor and content manager at Body+Mind. She is a well-respected writer in the personal wellness space and shares knowledge on various topics related to mental health, nutrition, and holistic health. You can find Beth on Twitter @bodymindmag. Subscribe to Body+Mind for more posts by Beth Rush!