Top soothing tips! What works for you?

[Meandacat]

What gets your LO off to the land of nod best? (Or at least stops them crying long enough for you to take a deep breathe and remuster your patience? )

So far I've tried shush-patting (very limited success), shushing on its own (useless), dummies (great until she spits it out, which she does.... a lot), singing (nooooo, mum, please stop!), vibrating chairs (absolutely no noticeable effect), rocking (ok, we're onto something here), pushing about in the pram (definitely onto something)...

So what have I missed?

Put the hairdryer on! It was the only thing that worked for my ds! How old is your lo?

coming up for 11 weeks. The hoover worked once. Once.

I sympathise, DS was like that.
He was much happier lying on his tummy, but we were too chicken to let him sleep for long periods like that, used to let him drop off on tummy and then gently flip him over.

Swaddling helped a bit too I think.

Wish we'd known about this, would definitely have given it a try.

Not exactly rocking, more sort of bobbing up and down with babe in arms and making a 'ssshhhhhhhh'-ing noise to the count of 5, almost continuously. I learned it from the 'Happiest Baby' book by Harvey Karp - best and easiest book on settling a baby I have read!

DS is now 7 and that 'ssshhhh'-ing sound still makes him stop crying if he's hurt himself.

Ooh - just realised the link above is to exactly what I was just talking about!

For some reason what seems to work for my dd is doing nothing. I will just take her to a quiet room and hold her without moving. Gradually she will just get sleepier and sleepier. Unfortunatly it does sometimes mean im stuck with a sleeping baby on my chest if i don't put her into basket on time.

second the hairdryer. and bouncing up and down on one of those birthing/yoga balls

My DS cried constantly from when he was born until about 10 weeks - I actually felt like jumping off a cliff it was so bad!

I took him to baby massage and cranial osteopathy which helped him to be more calm in the evenings.

Also a bit of skin to skin contact helped.

Also things like a white noise CD or putting a fan on seemed to do the trick, as well as my hairdryer trick above!

They naturally start to soothe a bit better once they get to 3-4 months anyway.

I'll probably get flamed for this but have you tried a dummy?

Sorry just re-read your post - you have tried a dummy - oops!

Sorry me again just thought of something else - I invested in a baby swing - it was quite pricey, but it definitely did the trick - my non stop crying DS used to sleep for 3 hours in his in the day - it kind of does the rocking for you meaning that you can flake out on the sofa get on with something.

It's worth trying stuff you've tried before again. For example, I thought my DD hated being swaddled, but now, although she protests a bit as I swaddle her, she usually calms quickly after (once I do the other Dr Karp things). The Dr Karp method has not worked a couple of times for her, but mostly it does. I almost gave up on it when it didn't work a couple of times, but tried again and it was like magic. Babies aren't always predictable and they change A LOT! Also, with the 5S method, it's worth modifying the way you do it until you find the most effective way for your LO. With DD, I find it works best if I cradle her close to my chest, faced towards me in a sort of too-high breastfeeding position. I pop the dummy in so it can be held in place against me then do the shushing and rocking (sort of swinging her from side to side). It mostly does the trick.

Distraction sometimes work. Once when even the 5S method failed, she magically went silent and calm when I held her up level with the mobile DH made her. Waving toys at her also sometimes helps a bit.

Good luck!

Agree with IC - definitely try things you've tried before. We had a long spell when DS would never sleep in the pram or car, but now he'll do both. Shush patting was initially useless, then really helped a few weeks later.

And modifying the 5Ss method is a must. Different babies like different types of holding/motion.

Meant to say that rocking works if DS is fairly calm to start off with, but frantic jiggling up and down works best. I swaddle him and lie him across my lap facing into the crook of my elbow, as if I were feeding him, and jiggle my knees & whole body frantically.

whispering twinkle twinkle little star works for my little one! also... youtube.com, type in fisher price lullabies! some beautiful soothing songs on there that seemed to really work! even i felt like drifting off to sleep!Im going to buy a cd with lulliabes on now and just play them when trying to get her off to sleep

Another vote for playing music to my DS as well as/instead of singing. My soothing technique of last resort (don't want to get too reliant on having cd player available) is a song by Adam Lambert ("Broken Open"). It works like magic.

I used to have to sing Mr. Sandman or Isn't She Lovely which did work, but only as long as you keep singing - can get a bit exhausting - I vote for the CD!

Thanks for all the suggestions - everything seems to work about twice and then never again!

Playing her Sigur Ros holds the record for soothing her three times. But she appears to have gone off them.

DD =- cuddling worked well, background noise eg radio...

DS - feeding to the gills then leaving to go to sleep by himself (wailing loudly until i exit the room)...again radio on low as background noise helps (yes to womans hour - Nooo to the afternoon play..so screechy!).

DD found it incredibly soothing if we stroked her face, from the centre of her forehead down her nose. Slow, gentle strokes and her eyelids would start to close. Very random, but it worked for us. That, and singing.

there are things called 'divine drops' that is a baby yoga thing. you just hold them close and do a sudden drop, like a squat. they don't have to be big, you can vary the 'drop' iyswim. works for DS. he stops almost immediately, usually after the first one, definitely after the third or so.

and i sometimes sing a particular nursery rhyme.