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Hey there friends. Welcome to the better postpartum podcast. I’m your host Angel Swan, crunchy mom, coffee addict and postpartum doula turned new mom, coach. This podcast is your audio guide to not just surviving but thriving during those early and newborn days. If you want to care for yourself, your household and your baby with confidence, grab your earbuds because this is the only podcast that you need. So what do you say? Should we get started with today’s episode? Let’s do this. Hey, friends, thank you for tuning in today. Before we get started, I just wanted to read as really awesome reviews submitted by Brittany, she says this podcast is so helpful for navigating the postpartum period. I love the new Quick Tip Tuesday episodes. This is my third baby and I didn’t know how to treat his cradle cap until I gave that episode a listen. Thanks, Angel. Hey, thank you, Brittany for that review. And if you have been loving this podcast, and you’re learning from it, please do me a giant favor, go to Apple podcasts and hit subscribe, leave me a five star rating and a review the little love notes that you leave me they really do make my day. And it helps boost this podcast up in the charts to help other moms find this podcast so that they can learn from it too. So thanks again, Brittany. Now let’s get into today’s episode. So have you ever felt like your baby is just like, angry to be alive? I know I have. And I’ve had a few clients with angry babies too. And I’ll tell you a secret actually. I really only one of those little babies, I would say maybe actually had colic. The other ones just had underlying conditions. But anyways, we’ll get to that. So if you take your baby to the pediatrician, a lot of times they’re just going to tell you oh, they’re crying a lot. Yeah, yeah, it’s they just have colic, and they’ll send you off with the colic diagnosis. And that is so hopeless. I hate it so much. I feel like colic is a super lazy diagnosis. And in my experience, it’s actually very rare that a baby is just screaming their head off day and night for no actual reason. So when your baby cries, it really it usually means something. So today, we’re just going to talk about some things that you can try to help your baby settle down and be more happy and calm. So first things first, and I do feel a little silly saying it. But sometimes we do need these little reminders, which is you know, are your babies basic needs being met? So are they hungry? You know, maybe you just fed them and you’re like, there’s no way you’re hungry already. You just ate. But listen, cluster feeding is a real thing. And if they’re cluster feeding, is no wonder they’re going to be screaming at you. Because you’re watching the clock to tell you when they should be ready to eat. In in reality, they don’t want to eat in two hours they want to eat right now. So think about whether or not they might be hungry, whether they’re having a cluster feeding kind of day. The next obvious thing to check is their diaper. Some babies are incredibly particular about their diapers being clean. Jenny is one of those babies she used to scream her head off if there was even a tiny speck of poop in her diaper. I’m talking like she started she tooted and a little bit of poop came out with it. That was not okay for her. It did not matter that, you know, she probably still had a big poop that would come any second. She would not tolerate having that little short in her diaper. So I would have to clean her up. And then literally within five minutes, she would fill up her diaper with poop. Okay, so just think about the diaper. Next thing is are they too hot or are they too cold. So a good way to check if your baby is warm enough is to put your finger inside their onesie and feel their chest. If they feel hot, then you know go ahead and remove a layer. If they’re too cold, then bundle them up in another layer easy peasy. The next thing is to try getting some gas out of them. Babies will not always give you a good burp after they eat. Crying also causes them to take in air. So that would mean that they would need to burp again. So if they’re crying a lot, try burping them. Or maybe they do give you like a little burp but they don’t get it all out. But you think that they got a good burp so now you’re not trying to burp them anymore.

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So they have gas trapped? Because when your baby doesn’t get out all their burps, the gas actually gets trapped down in their lower belly which really, really hurts So, the first thing is you try to burp them. And if they’re stubborn burper start by sitting them up right on your lap. rest their head in your hand, and alternate, patting their back with rubbing firmly upwards from the bottom of their back up to their shoulders until you get a good burp. If that doesn’t work, put them over your leg so that their tummy is like resting on your leg so your leg is kind of pressing on their belly. And continue alternating the padding and the rubbing. And if they don’t burp, then try to get a fart out of them. So lay them in your lap, break up any gas bubbles in their tummy with your fingers. And you do this by walking your fingers around their belly in a clockwise motion. And then you can paddle your hands down their belly for a few seconds. Next, you’ll pick up their feet and rub their heels in a circular motion with your thumbs. And finally, bicycle their legs slowly and every now and then gently press both of their knees into their belly to try and get out some of that gas. And then you’ll just repeat that process a couple of times until you feel like you’ve gotten all the gas out. And if your baby is having more tummy troubles besides like the gas, and maybe they’re spitting up a lot of milk, or they’re spitting up like really old and curdled milk. And you can see that they’re visibly upset and uncomfortable. When this is happening. Try using some gas drops and get yourself a probiotic. And then also try to keep them in an upright position for at least 30 minutes after they eat. So you can keep them upright by holding them propping them up in a Boppy pillow, setting them in a bouncer like whatever works for you, whatever you’ve got around. A lot of moms will wonder if their baby has some kind of food allergy that’s causing their tummy issues. And then they will immediately start an elimination diet. This is for the breastfeeding moms. The My advice is, wait, wait to try an elimination diet until you’ve ruled everything else out. Eliminate elimination diets are not very fun. And it takes a long time to really see any results from that. So it really it takes so long that you might notice an improvement in your baby’s temperament. But it’s really impossible to say whether or not that’s from the elimination diet, or if it’s because your baby’s digestive system is finally maturing and making it easier for them to digest their milk. So it’s really tough to say sometimes without an actual like, allergic reaction, you know, with like hives or something else. So before you try that elimination diet, just try gas drops, try a probiotic. And when you give the gas drops, give it right before each feeding. And that’s going to give you maximum effect, because essentially, it’s a supplement. And just like any supplement that you might take, it only works if you take it regularly. And for gas drops regularly taking them means before H feeding. And then when you give the probiotic, that’s a daily thing. So you just give it to them once a day and that should help to improve their gut health. Okay, the next thing that you can try is to work on your soothing method, your soothing technique, if you will. So Each baby has their own preferences, and they have a special combination of things that works to sue them. The key here is to remember the five S’s of soothing and mix and match those things until you’ve got a winning combination that works for your special little baby. So the first S is to swaddle them. This mimics how it feels to be all cozied up in the womb. I have seen so many babies that just go from screaming, screaming screaming and their parents. For some reason, don’t think to swaddle them, so the baby will just scream. And then I’ll come in and put the baby in a swaddle and they’re immediately happy. So that’s one thing you can try. The second S is to get them in a side or stomach position. So when you’re holding them, you’re going to cradle them and have them on their side. Or you can lay them across your arm and have them on their stomach. The third s is to shush, shush. You concious your baby until the cows come home, but I much prefer using white noise over like me physically shushing them, so you can get a white noise machine and crank that thing up. You can also just get a white noise app on your phone and use that.

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Yeah, but crank it up. Don’t your lips, your mouth is going to be so dry from so much shushing so just give yourself a break. The fourth s is to swing or sway. So you can sway you put them in a swing, you can rock in a rocking chair or a glider, or even bounce on a yoga ball, just really motion. If you’re gonna sway, I really like to try and sway so that the baby’s kind of going in like a figure eight motion, I don’t know why that really seems to work. A lot of babies, though, actually prefer bouncing on a yoga ball. If you’re going to do that, just be careful to not hurt yourself if you’re still recovering from birth. Obviously, if you’ve had a vaginal birth bouncing on a yoga balls not going to feel so great for a while. Same with a C section, it does take some core strength to be able to bounce on the yoga ball. And when you’re using your core, right after having a C section. That’s kind of a no go. So maybe wait to use that technique until you are recovered. And then the fifth S is for suck. So if your baby takes a pacifier, go ahead and give it to them. You can also offer your finger for them to suck on. And if that doesn’t work, I mean, you can always just comfort nurse them to help them calm down. Here I am, I’m giving you permission to whip out the boob and comfort nurse your baby. Because I don’t believe that moms should be looked down on for comfort, nursing, comfort, nursing is biologically normal, and it works away faster and better than anything else. You are your baby safe space, you know. And comfort nursing is great. Like it’s a magical power. I know sometimes it’s like really too much, you know, maybe you get touched out. But when you’re not feeling touched out, like go for the comfort nursing, Why suffer you know? Alright, so next thing if you want to soothe your baby, but maybe you’ve got other things to do. Try baby wearing them. Seriously, I say this all the time you have to wear your Baby, it’s the best thing ever. Baby wearing is just as cozy as being in a swaddle. And it’s actually really it’s better. Because your baby can smell you they can feel your touch, they can listen to your heartbeat. And that is so comforting for them. I always recommend a ring sling or like a Stretchy Wrap like the Moby Wrap for newborns and small babies. And then once they get a little bigger, you can move on to the structured carriers like the Ergo baby carrier, which is going to be a little bit easier on your back. Okay, another thing that you might consider is adjusting your baby’s sleep schedule. So first things first, are you following the Eat place next sleep routine. And if you have no idea what I’m talking about, you need to go back and listen to episode 25. Go and listen to that. It’s a serious game changer. It’s amazing. I promise you it will help you and your baby get through the day. Get them more sleep get you more sleep. It’s awesome. So make sure that you’re getting your baby to bed before they’re overtired. And overtired baby is angry and they’re hard to settle. So another thing to note though is if your baby’s going through a sleep regression, you’re going to have to make some adjustments to their schedule and give them some more time to sleep. So when you’re working on any adjustments to their schedule, their sleep schedule in particular, just consider how many hours on average that your baby should be getting in a 24 hour period depending on their age. And use that as a little bit of a guide to make sure that you’re getting that your baby’s getting enough sleep. Alright, next thing that you can try is a massage. So you can look up all kinds of baby massage methods on YouTube, but really the easiest thing to do is just give them a gentle foot massage. You can massage your heels, that’s great, because a lot of times it is tummy trouble that is making your baby fussy. But you can also massage the entire soles of their feet. Massage their little toes, literally the whole foot. You can do full body massage if you want. Some babies really love a gentle head rub maybe a light massage on their temples, massaging their sinuses or around their mouth and their jaw to relieve any teething pains. Just go on YouTube, look up infant massage, and you will get a ton of ideas on there. So if you’ve literally tried all of the things and you still have a little ball of anger in your on your hands, consider taking your baby to a baby chiropractor to have adjustments done.

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I know it sounds a little wild, but I have seen baby chiropractors work miracles like magic. Just think about how traumatic birth can be for your baby. It’s definitely hard Don’t you but it’s hard for them to, you know, so much pushing or even being pulled out of the womb during a C section. Both of those things can cause their body to be out of alignment. And this will cause them a lot of discomfort and having a baby chiropractor, do some adjustments might give them the relief that they need to be that happy baby you’ve always dreamed of. So just consider it. It’s definitely not the cheapest option of all of these. That’s why I listed as like your last resort. Yeah, the baby chiropractor though they are great, but I do want you to try everything else before you do that. So I hope that some of these ideas help you calm your baby down. And if they did, let me know. Send me a message on Instagram at Angel dot swan. Also, if it didn’t work, let me know. Send me a message on Instagram. And I can send you some more resources if you need them. So yeah, just hang out with me on Instagram at Angel dot swan. Make sure you go to my website and grab my awesome free postpartum planner. My website is Angel Swan calm. And of course, don’t forget to go on Apple podcasts and rate review and subscribe. Please go and do that. I will love you forever. Thank you so much for listening. You guys. I will talk to you soon. Buh bye. Thank you so much for listening to the better postpartum podcast. Here’s what I want you to do next. If you loved what you heard today, would you do me a giant favor and leave me a written five star review. Those little love notes that you leave are the perfect way to thank me for putting out these episodes just for you. Seriously, it would mean the world to me. Next, take a screenshot of the episode you’re listening to right now and share it on your Instagram stories and make sure you tag me at Angel dot swan. That’s SW o n so that more moms can find this podcast and hopefully get the advice and encouragement they need to truly thrive with their babies. And don’t forget to come back every single week for more nuggets of wisdom and truth bombs about the early motherhood journey. I’ll talk to you next time. Bye bye