Are your nerves shot? You're not alone. Every parent you see has been right where you are at one time or another. Especially when dealing with a crying baby.
We are hardwired to respond to our baby's cry. So it is no wonder that we get edgy when our child cries and cries. We feel the need to do something but nothing seems to help or we don't know what to try next. This is often stressful.
Here are a few tips for calming yourself down so you can deal with your squalling cherub.
- Put on some soothing music from our free baby music page. - Get some cheap ear plugs from your nearest Walgreen’s, CVS or Rite Aid. There are foam rubber ones and some soft ones that are little pieces of paraffin. The soft ones block more sound than the foam rubber ones but neither completely eliminates the sound. You’ll still hear your crying baby. You’ll just hear them less which can help take the edge off and calm your nerves. - Relax your shoulders. When we are stressed, our shoulders tighten up. It is hard to be stressed if you relax those muscles. Pay special attention to relaxing the area at the top of your back and around the base of your neck. Relax those muscles. - Breath deeply. When we stress out, our breathing gets shallow, high and fast instead of our usual slow deep breaths. So change your breathing to deep and low. Think about breathing the stress out from down deep.
Hopefully these ideas will provide you some quick relaxation. Now, give yourself some positive feedback by saying
I am an awesome parent I am an awesome parent I am an awesome parent
When you are more relaxed and more positive, you're ready to deal with your baby's situation.