How to cope with a crying baby

How to cope with a crying baby

Nobody can cope for long with a baby who cries a lot. 

Crying is supposed to be stressful, because mums are uniquely programmed to react to their own baby’s cries in order to feed and comfort them when needed.  Find out more about why babies cry.

However, excessive crying can cause great anxiety and some mums worry that they are doing something to cause it, or that it will never stop. Don’t panic.  It might not seem like it now, but it won’t last forever and there are a few things you can do to help you cope.

How to cope with a crying baby:

  1. Share the crying times with your partner and take turns to try and comfort your baby.
  2. Take a break.  Hand your baby over to someone else, even if it’s just for an hour.  Accept all offers of help and ask relatives or neighbours if they can give you a break, to calm down and get some rest.
  3. Look after yourself. Don’t forget to eat well every day to keep up your energy. If a crying baby interrupts your evenings, make lunch your main meal of the day.
  4. Try to relax.  Remind yourself that crying is normal and that it will get better.

For crying out loud

Even with help, there may be times when the strain of living with a crying baby gets to you. You may feel and think that you can’t take any more.

Take a break

If you feel so desperate and angry that you think you may shake or harm your baby, put him down in the cot or pram straight away. Make sure he is safe, close the door, and go into another room. Let yourself calm down. Give yourself perhaps 10 minutes before you go back.

Ask for help

Don’t be ashamed to ask for help; ask your health visitor if there is any local support for parents of crying babies. Some areas run a telephone helpline.

Support

An organisation called CRY-SIS also offers support through a helpline 0845 1228 669 . You can talk to mothers who have had crying babies themselves, and know just what you’re going through.

Comments

Baby not sleeping in the day

Submitted by Jaspreet83 on Sun, 12/06/2011 - 15:32.
Hi, I have the same problem with my 6 week old baby as submitted by jewelc on Sat, 11/12/2010 - 17:17. My baby sleeps well in the night but will not sleep in the day unless someone is holding her. It may seem like I've got it easy because she sleeps well at night but the days can be very hard...find it impossible to eat and get any rest. Also think its not good for her to have so little sleep in the day. Every time I put her down, she wakes after about 5 minutes. Doesn't matter how long I hold her before or comfort of her basket or whether the curtains are closed or open. Any solutions?

my son

Submitted by xxsteffiexx on Thu, 19/05/2011 - 12:48.
My son is 11 months old al he seems to do is moan all day long, he doesnt cry jus moans, I check to see if hes bin fed, nappys ok ect and he stil carrys on, need help as hes startin to worrie me.

babys milk

Submitted by natnat10 on Fri, 04/02/2011 - 17:18.
hi im a new mum and my baby boy is 6 weeks old born christmas day, he is on sma gold in the day and sma blue hungry baby at night he has between 100ml and 150ml most feeds, but hes still feeding every hour and half to two hours. anyone had this problem?? thinking of changing to cow and gate but not sure?? anyone else changed there babys milk??open to any help, thanks

crying baby

Submitted by debbiie on Sat, 08/01/2011 - 13:48.
My baby cries a lot at night. She stops immediately any time she breastfeed. this is good to know but i've had sleep lesss nights as she wants my breast in her mouth all night even if she is not sucking.

Hello

Submitted by WhiteRose1 on Wed, 22/12/2010 - 15:24.
I am new in here. My second son is 5 weeks old at the moment, he has terrible colic, I am using infacol but he is in pain most of the time, I am breastfeeding, so I don`t know why my son has colic. He is lutching properly and getting wait but he is even on the bres in pain. He keeps crying and pull his legs up. When he is crying so long I just put him on my brest to calm him down, but it has happened sometime that he brought up all his feed. So. I don`t know what else I should try. He is crying baby and I feel sometime I can`t cope anymore.

feeding my 15 week old baby

Submitted by Vixon30 on Mon, 20/12/2010 - 09:16.
Hi there I am in desperate need of some advice. My daughter is 15 wks old and has always been a sicky baby. In the last month each time I feed her she has been making very bad what can only be described as straining noises after she has finished her bottle - however she is not constipated. She then crys uncontrolably and is sick. I thought it was a reflux problem but doctors have told me that as she goes through the night for 10 hrs this is not the case. I have put her on gaviscon infant for the last 5 days and to start with it was really helping as the noises were less and hardly any sicknesss. Is anyone else out there suffering with the same problem? I would really appreciate any advice. Have tried infacol but done nothing. I hate to see her so upset and she seems to be in alot of discomfort.

oh

Submitted by jewelc on Tue, 14/12/2010 - 09:31.
oh dear,six mnths is long way to wait,, huh

colic

Submitted by uliya on Sun, 12/12/2010 - 21:31.
trust me it stops after 6 months... u just got to wait!!!!

help

Submitted by jewelc on Sat, 11/12/2010 - 17:17.
hi i am new here and i dont know how and where to ask help.please advice is there anybody can advice pls,,,, my baby sleeps more hours on daytime but the problem is he only sleeps while he is on my lap.. many mums adviced me not to carry all the time instead leave him to cry and settlees himself ,,,, so i tried that many times but it doesnt really work. he cries and cries one time i fed him and he fell asleep so i put him down really slowly,,, but within 15 minutes he cried again ,,, so i ended up with carrying him all the time at daytime....one time i put him down and he cried so i just ignored him but he cried a lot and i was terrified as he cried deeply and became really black and took me ages to get him breath again .. so this is the only problem... everytime i feed him he falls asleep in seconds so when i put him dowmn he cries again and again ,,, can you help pls,,,, not much problem at nightime as he sleeps at least 4 hours straight in his moses basket then cries again at 12 midnight so i feed him then sleeps again from 1 until 3 so not too bad during the night as i can put him down during the night ,, just the daytime is the problem ,, i struggle to go to toilet and have my lunch ,,, i am alone here no help and very isolated we are in the middle of nowhere pls advice and help i am getting crazy.... plus he has his head so itchy as he've got an ezcema type in his head so that doesnt help either as he itch a lot pls pls helppppppppppp

my little girl is 12 weeks

Submitted by heathersgrotto on Wed, 08/12/2010 - 23:02.
my little girl is 12 weeks old, suffered from really bad colic from about 2 weeks old, had her on infacol which worked at first but didnt seem to be working. i was finding it hard so i spoke to my HV who advised changing her to C&G Comfort, within 5 days i had a different baby until about 5 days ago, her symptoms seem to have reappeared, had her to the Drs who prescribed gaviscon infant, she no better 3 days on. i thought about trying colief but because you have to add it into the bottle at least half an hour earlier this is no good as my dtr is so unpredictable with her feeding!! any suggestions?? The dr doesnt want to change her milk again, but my baby is unhappy :(

I found Colief helped when

Submitted by murphy3 on Sat, 04/12/2010 - 11:23.
I found Colief helped when our baby had colic it's wortha try. Good luck

my daughter is now 5 1/2

Submitted by louiseamybump2 on Thu, 02/12/2010 - 22:53.
my daughter is now 5 1/2 mnths and seems 2 cry uncontrollably when she is tired to the point when she makes her self sick i pick her up to comfort her but she gets worse she scatches pinches me does anybody have any ideas that could help my situation

crying

Submitted by laine5 on Wed, 01/12/2010 - 16:37.
my baby Jessica is 8 weeks old and spends a large proportion of the day crying. She had very bad colic from 3 week old so has infacol, and has continued to cry alot I have spoken to our GP who has assured me that she is fine and for some strange reason just crys. She is feeding well and is changed very reqularly. I'm just hoping she will improve soon. entertaining her sometimes works for a while but she soon reverts back to crying. glad i'm not the only one with a noisy baby. hang in there other mums im sure we will all be fine again soon.

put down

Submitted by jewelc on Wed, 01/12/2010 - 11:33.
hi is there anybody have the same problem as mine ... my baby is 6 weeks old and everytime i feed him he falls asleep while suckling so whenb i put him down he cries and cries so i ended up with carrying him most of the time very frustrating ,,,they said to always put the baby down after feed but it is easy to say than done i can tell because that doesnt happen with my baby.. when i feed him he falls asleep so what can i do

My LO is 5 weeks old now and

Submitted by tecnotummy on Wed, 17/11/2010 - 23:15.
My LO is 5 weeks old now and has had terrible colic since he was 10 days old. Despite trying Infacol and dentinox I was prescribed colief to add to his feeds. The doctors have also recommended I change his formula to Aptamil Comfort and it worked for a few days but for the past 48 hours we have had non stop crying again!!! I'm glad I'm not the only one out their experiencing this but I still feel totally useless when he won't settle. If anyone has any suggestions please let me know - i'm willing to try anything :-(

Crying

Submitted by TUTTERSMUM on Thu, 28/10/2010 - 04:03.
Oh I do feel for you all! I had 2 of 4 babies like this and I tried every 'remedy' sleep mixture in the country. The only thing I tried which I found to work was to switch to SMA LF (Not Low-Fat as my dear husband thought, but Lactose Free!) It is free on prescription from your GP. My little girl was waking every 20 mins and wriggling, wriggling, wriggling! After 3 weeks I put her on to the LF and I kid you not for the first time in those 3 weeks she slept 4 hours on the trot. At 1 year old I put her back on to ordinary milk and she seemed to be fine. Now drinks it straight from the cow LOL. I think some babies find it harder to digest the lactose as humans weren't really designed to drink cow or any other animal's milk for that matter and most formulated milk is obviously just that. Really really hope this helps - don't get too down, it'll soon be just a blur :) xxxooo

has my baby got colic

Submitted by squeeky123 on Wed, 27/10/2010 - 10:37.
at 2 1/2 - 3 weeks he's crying and difficult to settle in the evening around tea time right through till bed time. I've got him on infacol and have tried everything to comfort him but he just seems to want to feed more frequently during those hours after being brilliant throughout the night and morning / daytime :( Any ideas or advice is most welcome or is anyone in the same situation?? xx

my little one is a right

Submitted by nicola760809 on Fri, 22/10/2010 - 12:46.
my little one is a right moaner too. she is 13 weeks tomo. im breastfeeding and its the only thing that will settle her. even if she just comfort sucks. she wont have a dummy either so seems like she is always on me. guess i've made her like this though as i was told feed on demand and i did. change her if still crying then cuddle then feed. now she so used to it that she dont want to break the habit. trying to keep her entertained for a while between feeds but she is so easily bored! isnt motherhood frustrating :)

crying but its not colic!

Submitted by tashlaocke on Mon, 18/10/2010 - 10:19.
my daughters nearly 14 weeks. when she is good she is great, so smilie and chatty! but when she is bad she is horrid!!! she has the loudest most powerful cry iv ever heard and i was a nanny and baby room nursery worker before having her!!! she seems fine one minute and loses the plot the next, i think its when she is bord or tired but i cant be sure! she used be like it so i changed her milk which has helped lots but her crying sessions seem be random times with no consistent pattern! im not expecting any answers because i accept this likely a phase and/or her personality! but would love know if any other children r like this, is it a girl thing?

Hello i'm a first time mum my

Submitted by mellon85 on Fri, 15/10/2010 - 14:35.
Hello i'm a first time mum my little girl is 6 weeks old today she's really starting to suffer with wind, finally i was told she has colic. I've tried infacol with no results i've got colic bottles and am using dentinox now that worked for about 2 weeks but now she seems to be really unconfortable again, can any one recommend anything else i could try?????

Im a first time mum too, my

Submitted by alexina25 on Mon, 11/10/2010 - 16:48.
Im a first time mum too, my daughter is now nearly 11 weeks old and suffered form colic. My mum went out and bought me dentinox whick as soon as i gave it in her milk she would bring up the wind from the milk and the excess wind. I found it brilliant. yes it does make the baby poo runny but it help your baby!!!

hi..my baby is 13 wks old, he

Submitted by 2010henry on Sun, 03/10/2010 - 13:51.
hi..my baby is 13 wks old, he crys a lot as he still has colic and aid reflux. He has hospital appointments as he is on medication to help with the reflux,as gaviscon did not work on its own. There seems to be no miracle cure for this, except growth. We have taken Henry to an osteopath for cranial osteopathy which has helped a lot and has improved his sleep. This is meant to be very effective for colic and reflux...the younger the better. Also after feeds keep the baby in an upright posistion as positioning is very important. We have also ordered a wedge for the babies cot as he Henry would be sick and scream when laid flat. Flat is not good for a baby with acid reflux, This is the worst posistion for them. I have read every book, computer report there is as i do not accept that baby will just grow out of it as an acceptable solution. As new parents it is exhausting for us and tough for the baby to endure...so the above is what has helped us. I hope this helps other exhausted parents as six months of reflux is tough!!

crying

Submitted by beccabryan on Mon, 30/08/2010 - 11:17.
hi im a first time mum. my baby crys all the time and im finding it hard going. my doc finks she has acid reflux but non of the gaviscon etc seems 2 b working. we back at docs next week but is there anyfing i can do then 2 help me and her.

Colic

Submitted by SimoneR on Fri, 13/08/2010 - 12:02.
I was having such a hard time dealing with my 10 week old constantly crying, from about 2 weeks old, all evening from about 3 o'clock to 11 or 12 o'clock. The health visitor advised Colief which is amazing but very expensive. She is still a bit colic'y but not half as bad. I have just ordered some anti-colic bottles, they're not Dr.Brown but tommee tippee with the same design- wind pipe down the middle of bottle. I hope these help. Any other ideas? Ive seen SMA milk which is white and lactose free has anyone tried it?

Crying Baby

Submitted by clairmarie1 on Wed, 04/08/2010 - 15:28.
With my first daughter, who is 8 years old now as soon as she cried I would pick her and as time progressed I would leave her 5 minutes more but the crying game I couldn't handle and by the time she was 1 years old she knew I would pick her up everytime she cried. This time its different...so different. My 17 week old has just changed sleep patterns, the 7 hours she went at night is now between 4-5 hours. Its hard and no parents enjoys the fact that their baby is crying and to a mum it goes right to the heart. My advice is: set a day or the week when you can build youself up to sorting this out, it gives you time to prepare and understand. When your baby cries listen to see what cry it is, leave them for about 10 minutes and if still crying go to them, check the obvious signs: nappy, wind, food and do what you need to do. Try not to make eye contact, especially if you know 'they are tired' only use eye contact when necessary. I wrap my little girl up tight, I never did this with my eldest but that helps alot too, they feel safe, warm and its very comforting. When you've done your checks and they do need more sleep put them back into the cot and leave for at least 20 minutes. When you first leave them for that long, its hard but it does get easier - honestly. After 20 minutes still crying, do your checks again and repeat. I've learnt so much from being a 2nd time mum so give it a try but be prepared it takes at least 2 weeks for them to settle and your routine must be the same each time. During the day if you do all this and they still cry and you have a friend or family member call them up, get them around and let them have time with the baby. I never did this with my first but my friends LOVE IT! so don't be scared or shy too. Yes your a mum but no one said you have to do it all by yourself, even if your a one parent family. Good luck. ps: my little girl has been crying on and off for the past 1 hr and 45 minutes, she is now asleep and I feel proud I have kept to my routine and now its me time, hence writing on here LOL x

Colic and sickie babies

Submitted by jlmtaylor on Sun, 01/08/2010 - 16:32.
Hi My baby is now 4 and a half months and we used Colief which seemed to work for his colic although it is very expensive but I have heard that you may be able to get it on prescription. Also the hospital recommended powdered Gaviscon as he used to be sick with nearly every feed, so my advise would be to talk to your doctor to see what they recommend. Occasionally he is still sick but putting weight on nicely and that is the main thing.

colic

Submitted by louiseandfreya on Tue, 06/07/2010 - 20:24.
hiya everyone need advice for my little girl shes 4 weks old now and has colic shes on aptamil comfort was on aptamil normal but was advised by midwife to change to aptamil comfort for colic babys just nearly everytime me or my partner feed her she brings it back up but has good burps during her feed and its bout 20 mins after her feed anyone had this or got good tips on how to stop this

Eczema

Submitted by lubby123 on Wed, 30/06/2010 - 23:39.
Hi My 5 month old little boy has very bad eczema esp on his face. I am still breast feeding but would like to start mix feeding him with formula. When he was 4 month old, I tried Aptamil and his face started swelling with red blotches and his eczema became more inflammed. After a few weeks i tried sma and he got the same reaction and i have also tried cow & gate, all have caused an instant reaction. I then decieded to continue to breast feed exclusively which I aim to do till he is 6 months, but I am looking to start work in a few months time and don't know what to do as I would like to stop Breast feeding soon, Has anyone had a similar problem ?

Re: eczema formula reactions

Submitted by Jo-4 on Tue, 20/07/2010 - 20:44.
Hi, I confess I haven't had this problem, but a friend of mine has- turns out he's got a dairy allergy. Ask your doctor for him to be tested for allergies, particularly dairy, and they can prescribe a dairy free formula for you. Hope this helps!

hi my 2 week old boy started

Submitted by lors78 on Fri, 25/06/2010 - 21:12.
hi my 2 week old boy started to develop colic too and he would scream all evening,i changed his bottles to dr brown vented bottles and would recomend them to anyone as the amount of improvement from the first try of the bottle is remarkable

I found that cow and gate

Submitted by kariba on Fri, 25/06/2010 - 17:04.
I found that cow and gate comfort is fantastic for colic! really made a diffrence in our little man. our son was born on the 5 May and is our first one too.

colic

Submitted by trace97 on Fri, 18/06/2010 - 20:39.
im a first time mum my babie is 3 weeks and has colic im useing sma lf but is there some thing i can do to make him feel better

Colic

Submitted by bexy1984 on Mon, 21/06/2010 - 14:41.
Im a 1st timer too! My baby is 8 weeks now but has really been suffering with colic. We used Infacol with every feed which was really good up untill she was old enough for Gripe Water (have to be 4weeks old) which seems to work better for her. We have recently taken her off SMA and are trying a different formula,she settles alot quicker and is less windy and sick now she has Aptimil. We also used Medela special needs feeding bottles which are not cheap and take a bit longer to feed with but are fantastic for colicy babies,they have a valve in the neck of the bottle which doesnt let any air into the teat at all. Baby has to suck to release milk which stops all of that air and milk flooding them which makes them gulp more air down making the wind worse. You can order them from Mothercare or pumps4mums.com,it is really worth trying one if you can,my baby is completely different on them. I hope this helps a bit. :-)

submtted

Submitted by princess113 on Fri, 21/05/2010 - 22:29.
But the think is i am a new mum as well .my baby has a crying think .i put him in his walker for 5 mintuer and he go made .i bring him to the kitchen and i talk to him and it doesnt stop crying .I nowhe is teething but he just crying when i leave him .has anyone had the same problem .i need help beacuse i get upset as well beacuse i not now what to do .

my baby has little crying

Submitted by kittymail on Tue, 06/04/2010 - 19:17.
my baby has little crying spells midwife said she has little bit of colic, were using colief really is good makes her stools runny , but hay better to have that than the poor little girl in pain. has anyone else had the colic problem any hints or tips im a first time mum and all so new new me x