You've done all 5 S's, and little Jr still won't shut up (the 6th S); here are some more ways to get baby to relax.

1. Get naked!  Get naked! Get naked!

Remove baby's clothes, including their diaper. Babies can't brush away annoying tags, or scratch seams. Sometimes this irritation is enough to drive baby crazy. Getting them naked is always the first step because it allows you to start troubleshooting whats wrong from the ground up. Its a baby reset button.

Once they're naked:

  • Look over feet and hands for hair that may have wound tightly around the toes or fingers - this happens more often than you would think!
  • Look for bites or red spots.  Maybe baby got bit by a bug, or like we said above, something on their clothes was irritating them.
  • Check their diaper area for any irritation. Make sure you pull back those little folds where their leg meets their groin. This can be over looked since baby's legs are still curled up, and it can get super irritated in there.  
  • Check their under arms - same as with their groin, they can have skin in their under arms that needs to be pulled back to get the creases clean.
  • Look behind each ear to check for any redness. Place a finger behind their ear right at the jaw to feel for any hotness.  Baby may have an ear infection that's causing discomfort.  
Use this opportunity to do some skin to skin. Get topless (since both sexes have chests, both mom and dad can do this), and hold naked baby against your skin.  If you've already ruled out any diaper irritation, its fine to put one back on in case you don't like golden showers.


2. Give baby a bath or take one with them

They're naked and still crying?  Draw them a nice warm bath. If you have one that hates baths, or if you'd just like to continue the skin to skin with baby, take a bath with them. Be careful if you're tired though. You don't want to fall asleep with baby in a bath tub.  If you're feeling a like a relaxing bath will send you snoozing, I'd recommend a shower instead.  Just make sure the water is a nice warm temperature, and lay off using any soaps so that you don't make baby slippery.

Now is also a good time to bust out some soothing scents.  Lavender is a no brainier. Whether its a few drops of oil in the bath water, a scented soap, or some drops of oil distributed across a washcloth and laid across baby's back - the scent will help to soothe you and baby.


3. Give baby a massage

So, they're bathed and still haven't shut up relaxed completely, how's about a massage? Get some olive oil or coconut oil and go to town on their little arms, legs, and torso.  This will also help them if the issue was irritation. You're basically giving them a whole body scratch, so if anything was itching, you're going to get it for them.

Take some time to get behind the ears too.  Even if you didn't see any irritation/feel any warmth when you checked earlier, there is a chance that baby has non infected fluid built up and needs help moving it.  You can find a great video for helping move that fluid here.

Massage is great for helping baby pass gas too. Move baby's knees up to their belly and give a slight push. Bicycle their legs and move each knee one at a time to their belly. Here's a video demonstrating those techniques.


*Bonus Technique- GIVE UP!

Sorry, I know its not why you're here, but I do have to slap you in the face with one honest to goodness truth: Sometimes babies just cry.  I know its not what you want to hear, but it is the truth.  Its important to reset your thinking on this so that you and baby stay safe. If you've tried *ev-er-y-thing* and baby is still inconsolable, stop looking at this as a problem to be fixed, switch your mindset to one of just buckling up for the ride.

If you keep having failed attempt after failed attempt, you'll get frustrated, and that would now make two of you.  You can just hold baby and be present, with some gentle rocking until they tire out. If this is your sixth night in a row and you just can take anymore, its fine to swaddle baby, place them in a safe place such as a crib, and walk away. You heard me - put them down, and walk away.

Give yourself a few moments break. Remove yourself from the situation in order to regain some control over your emotions. Its fine, baby is safe - they're crying regardless of your presence - and honestly you may feel so awful for leaving them alone, that you find that new reserve of energy to continue the battle. Ha! Here's a funny video to give you some laughter, which is great for piercing the darkness. But seriously, know when you've reached your limits, and take care of yourself so that everyone can stay safe.

Do you have any tried and true baby calming methods? Comment below with what has worked for you!