Carrying Effects on Babies

Carrying is Repetition to Soothe
Over the years, we’ve
promoted “repetition to soothe” as a tool to calm your crying baby.
Carrying is a perfect example of this. It both brings baby close to your body
and involves repetitive movement.
How to Use Carrying as Repetition to
Soothe
Anytime
your baby cries, first you want to try to find out why he is crying. Check for the obvious
reasons first, like hunger, discomfort, or a dirty diaper. Then check less obvious
things like overstimulation (lights, noises, people, etc.) If your baby
is still upset after you’ve fixed everything, then try repetition to soothe.
Hold your baby close and repeat a calming action or words over and over. This
is where carrying can be incorporated! You may be wondering though just how you
are supposed to know if you’ve taken care of the reason for the crying, if it’s
not completely clear. If there is an underlying issue (like pain or hunger),
crying will continue after the carrying stops.
Slings and Soothing
Slings or other
baby carriers are a great way to carry your baby and save your arms! Remember,
the key to calming is the repetitive motion, so don’t stand still! For more
information about slings, click here. Remember to follow all manufacturer
directions to ensure safety when using any baby carrier.
What are some
other examples of how you use repetition to soothe with your baby?
ReferenceEsposito G, Yoshida S, Ohnishi R, Tsuneoka Y, Rostagno Mdel C, Yokota S, Okabe S, Kamiya K, Hoshino M, Shimizu M, Venuti P, Kikusui T, Kato T, Kuroda KO. Infant Calming Responses during Maternal Carrying in Humans and Mice. Curr Biol. 2013;23(9):739-45.
We bounce and bounce on an exercise ball. We also recorded ourselves shushing with a white noise app so we won't pass out from it.
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