How to calm a crying baby, the old-fashioned way

by Jennifer Jordan (Subscribe to Jennifer Jordan's posts) May 12th 2007 7:00AM

Categories: Newborns, Babies, Development

You know how every once in a while those old wives tales we always hear about turn out to be true? Well, I am skeptical at best about anything not essentially "proven" by modern science but have acquiesced now that I have a screaming six week old child who simply cannot be appeased.

Today he commanded my attention nearly the entire afternoon, to the point where I was about to go out of my ever-lovin' mind if I didn't find something other than holding him and rocking him back and forth for hours on end to keep him from screaming. He was fed, changed, not too hot or too cold, the whole nine yards. I tried singing. I tried swaddling. I tried doing nothing at all. None of it worked. I feared for the worst, then remembered something I heard from someone who'd heard it from someone else, who'd heard it from someone else....

I tried vacuuming. And it worked. Now, I am clearly no scientist (except in a parallel universe), but it seems to me that the notion that vacuuming will calm a screaming baby comes from the noise the vacuum makes rather than the vibrations it creates or that it makes the baby happy you're off your butt cleaning the house.

I believe I read somewhere at some point during my pregnancy odyssey--read, I cannot find a link to support this so go ahead and take it with a grain of salt or low-sodium salt substitute (but not MSG)--that being in the womb sounds like being at the airport, with all the planes flying overhead and general white noise created by all the talking and bustle. Airport noise, to me, an adult who is not a baby nor who remembers what it sounds like in utero, sounds kinda like the vacuum running.

Whatever.

Anyway, I first noticed this baby-silencing phenomenon when we were having the carpets in our hallway professionally cleaned. I live in an apartment building of so someone else has the thankless job of completing such a task. Said baby was screaming and mommy had other things she needed to take care of for five minutes like, say, going to the bathroom...and the baby sling/bjorn option was not working. So, I swaddled him, put him in his stroller and put the stroller next to the door just as the super-duper all-powerful vacuum was turned on. And he promptly went to sleep.

I thought perhaps it was the swaddling or the snuggly-ness of the infant carrier and chalked it up to coincidence. Then, today, I remembered the wives tale and my own personal experience. I put the little guy in his pack n' play and went to town on our hardwood floors, vacuuming like June Cleaver. And he went to sleep. And I sighed. Once I finished cleaning the bedroom floor I left the vacuum on and went to unload our dishwasher. Five minutes later and he was still asleep! And, he appeared to be SMILING in his sleep. Hmmm.

Score: Old wives, 1, Jennifer Jordan, 0.

Then the vacuum cleaner died.

Uhm, if any of you have any other old wives tales--or newfangled ones!--for calming a crying baby (check it out--the link includes a tip on vacumming!), I'd love to hear them! My nerves thank you in advance!

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Comments (9)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Brandi 5-12-2007 @ 7:45AM

I did that with one of mine, it worked wonders, so did the hair dryer, and going for a drive.

infact i had to use the vacum every night between the age of 3 months to 6 months to get her to sleep in her own crib.

SKL 5-12-2007 @ 9:37AM

You know, it's not a bad idea to give traditional ideas a fair try. Mothers have always been the smartest people in the world - not just in our generation. Mothers see the whole picture of childrearing and employ trial and error (as well as inspired intuition) continuously for decades; scientists pick a narrow hypothesis and test it to a limited extent using methods influenced by their own bias and ignorance. Anyhoo, score another point for our smart moms, grannies, etc.

Karen 5-12-2007 @ 10:02AM

I too used a vacuum with my first until I went out and bought a machine that created white noise. Then I turned that on when I put her to sleep.

Worked wonders!

Alena 5-12-2007 @ 10:43AM

Nothing worked better to calm my baby than the sound of a shower. We found that out when one day I was taking a shower and my baby started screaming. My husband came in the bathroom to tell me that he can't calm him down, and as soon as he entered, my son stopped crying. After several visits to the shower and wasting a lot of water, we taped the sound of it, downloaded it on the computer, and played it for him. It didn't work as good as the real thing, but still helped. Maybe it was the sound in addition to the extra humidity.

Jennifer 5-12-2007 @ 10:54AM

We have a noise maker that we have used with both girls. Our first, it was a combination of waves and cricket noises (you could combine noises). Going for drives with the first one also worked, second, no way.

With the second, she likes just the waves.

Even I like the waves, and will fall asleep rocking her in her room.

johna 5-12-2007 @ 11:34AM

Hi -- We would put my daughter secured in her infant car seat on top of the dryer and do the laundry -- that would calm her and lull her to sleep as well.

loverunsfreely 5-12-2007 @ 4:24PM

Babies learn to sooth themselves in relation to their mothers/caretakers. The best thing a mother can do is learn to settle and "calm down" in her own body. Then the baby's (in contact, skin to skin would be great) nervous system will be able to settle. If Mother is able to truly settle and the family system is okay and the baby still won't settle and cries without end, then the baby is trying to tell you something. It is probably in some sort of pain. Unless your baby's birth was vaginal and natural without complications and interventions (such as forceps, c-sections, pitocin, vaccuum suction, etc.) then there may be some residue "trauma" that needs to be resolved.

Unfortunately, most doctors don't know how to work with this, but there are people who do. Check out http://www.beba.org/ or http://www.castellinotraining.com.

Best of luck. I hope your babies can find ease.

Gnabicus 5-13-2007 @ 9:09AM

I'm convinced my step-son was ruined by using the car method. When he was a tiny tot they would go for a drive when it was bedtime....and it worked. He'd go straight to sleep. Fast forward to young adulthood, anytime we all get in the car for a trip....he's snoozing away inside 5 minutes.

george 5-17-2007 @ 6:52PM

First rule: there are plenty of educated guesses, but no one knows what will work for your baby.

That said, I'd suggest parents troubled by crying (and there should be plenty - current estimats are that 15-20% of babies are "colicky") try the Karp method. www.thehappiestbaby.com

Doesn't work for everyone, but it works for many (and makes dads feel useful). And his theory of why it works for many kids makes sense: spend 9 months traveling in what is essentially a noisy, moving hug and then get dumped out into a quiet, still crib: you'd be crying for a while too.

He has a video excerpt on YouTube showing a baby being calmed. It's pretty neat to watch.

George

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