On Saturday, we took the kids to the museum. We were gone from about 8:30 am until about 6:30 pm. Giggles was amazingly calm the entire day despite having less then optimal sleeping arrangements.
When we got home BeAGoodMom put Pookie and Geetle to bed while I put Giggles to bed. Instantly, the stress of the day overwhelmed her and she started her full out baby scream. 15 minutes later she was sound asleep.
Magic? Not really. But here’s what I did to calm down my screaming baby so she could fall asleep.
Photo by jessicafm
First, I did not bother talking to her. The few words I tried just made her angrier.
I quickly put her in her pajamas.
I tried rocking her which brought forth what I believe were her first profanities.
I placed her in her crib and swaddled her. I turned on the CD that she listens to every night and I walked out of the room.
That didn’t quite work. The screaming turned hysterical…and not the funny hysterical.
I returned to the room without turning on any lights or making any noise. I placed my hand lightly on her chest so that she knew I was there and waited about 5 minutes.
She continued screaming for about 2 minutes and settled into more sporadic yelling and crying. And then she stopped.
Then, I left the room.
She has me trained well.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
My magic for The Boy? Stick a boob in his mouth. LOL!
Isn’t it amazing how resilent babies are though? All of that stimulation, and Giggles made it until bedtime before melting down!
Oh yes, the boob works wonders! I’m sure it worked wonders for my boy (pictured in this blog entry) right after the photo was taken.
Jessica, That is an awesome screaming baby picture.
No matter how many times I’ve tried, offering anybody my boobs has never really helped anything.
Maria, You should have seen her yesterday (the day after the museum). Every time she would wake up it was pretty much just eat and then beg to go back to bed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her sleep that much in one day.
BAGD– I could see why your boobs don’t help anything…something about function. LOL!
Fortunately, Giggles loves me for who I am and not just for my body.