Unsettled Babies: Strategies and Support

It's so hard when your baby is crying and at times it feels like they spend most of their day, evening or night doing so.

So why is you baby unsettled?

Well, I'd like to introduce you to the concept of a dial on our sympathetic nervous system or our fight or flight response.

In adults, as our SNS dial is turning up, our heart rate and blood pressure go up, we can feel restless and agitated and some of us can get uncomfortable feeling in our gut.

When babies start dialling up, a similar process occurs and they become unsettled, have trouble feeding and develop gut symptoms. As the dial keeps going up and up, so does their unsettled behaviour until they are really crying (and sometimes so are you).

There are times when they can be more sensitive, causing increased periods of crying and fussing, such as in the evening, when they are unwell and when they are experiencing a rapid increase in developmental skills.

The key to a more chilled out time together is to keep both of your 'dials' down to a level that is appropriate for whatever activity you are doing.

So next time you or bub are feeling unsettled, consider thinking about this dial and perhaps experiment with ways that the two of you can work together to gently turn it down.

As a Mum, GP and accredited practitioner in Neuroprotective Developmental Care, I have lots of experience helping Mums and Bubs in this area and I encourage you to come and see me if you'd like some strategies and support.

When we meet, the 1st thing I do is LISTEN. 

It may not feel like it sometimes, but you are an expert in your baby! 

Hearing your story and insights gives me such valuable information, that when partnered with a comprehensive assessment, helps clarify the issues and what we want to achieve.

To help your baby dial down and feel more settled, it's important that we've optimised the inter-relating factors that are important for wellbeing: their health, your health, feeding, sleep and their sensory diet.

I'll build your confidence in providing cued care and then it's often a matter of finding the best ways to experiment with 2 main tools - milk and sensory nourishment (more on these in other posts).

I'll never promise to 'cure' your baby of crying and fussing, but my hope is that we can improve things to make your days together more joyful.