I know that the important thing is to figure out why they are inconsolable and try to prevent it from happening...
But what do you do in the moment?
I have my sister's 8 month old nephew, and we've only had him for 2 months and don't have kids of our own (or the Dr. Sears book, just yet) so we're still really trying to figure things out.
It's only happened a few times, but last night and for his nap today, he was absolutely unconsolable. Nothing changed in the routine, dinner, walk, bath, some snuggle and reading time, bottle (he won't sleep without one) then bed.
He went down ok, but a few minutes later was crying and I couldn't console him no matter what I did. Over the course of 2 hours I tried rocking (he didn't want to be held or at least now how I was holding him -tried at the shoulder and the typical nursing positions), massage (tummy, back, legs) but he kept grabbing my arms like he wanted to be held, tried teething tablets, tylenol, diaper check, bed check, temperature check, tried rocking again, tried leaving the room, pacifier, teething rings (he tried to stick the pacifer and teething rings in his mouth at the same time and was screaming the entire time)
The only thing that momentarily quieted him was the distraction of seeing the dogs, so I thought about maybe taking him into another room and distracting him for a while but I didn't know if I should.
Finally 2 hours later, we were both exhausted and he finally took a juice bottle and he settled down. He kept waking up every 1-2 hours, so I know something was wrong - teething, gas, I'm not sure what but what I do know is I have no idea what to do in that moment.
Do i just keep trying to find a position where he will be held? Do I take him to do something to distract him? Should I just sit with him and keep touching him while he tries? I'm so clueless and I feel so horrible that I don't know how to make him feel better, whatever it is. Any other suggestions I might not be thinking about?
But what do you do in the moment?
I have my sister's 8 month old nephew, and we've only had him for 2 months and don't have kids of our own (or the Dr. Sears book, just yet) so we're still really trying to figure things out.
It's only happened a few times, but last night and for his nap today, he was absolutely unconsolable. Nothing changed in the routine, dinner, walk, bath, some snuggle and reading time, bottle (he won't sleep without one) then bed.
He went down ok, but a few minutes later was crying and I couldn't console him no matter what I did. Over the course of 2 hours I tried rocking (he didn't want to be held or at least now how I was holding him -tried at the shoulder and the typical nursing positions), massage (tummy, back, legs) but he kept grabbing my arms like he wanted to be held, tried teething tablets, tylenol, diaper check, bed check, temperature check, tried rocking again, tried leaving the room, pacifier, teething rings (he tried to stick the pacifer and teething rings in his mouth at the same time and was screaming the entire time)
The only thing that momentarily quieted him was the distraction of seeing the dogs, so I thought about maybe taking him into another room and distracting him for a while but I didn't know if I should.
Finally 2 hours later, we were both exhausted and he finally took a juice bottle and he settled down. He kept waking up every 1-2 hours, so I know something was wrong - teething, gas, I'm not sure what but what I do know is I have no idea what to do in that moment.
Do i just keep trying to find a position where he will be held? Do I take him to do something to distract him? Should I just sit with him and keep touching him while he tries? I'm so clueless and I feel so horrible that I don't know how to make him feel better, whatever it is. Any other suggestions I might not be thinking about?