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Parenting

08th Jan 2019

This doctor’s special technique can calm a crying baby in moments

This method works in SECONDS.

Trine Jensen-Burke

If you have ever worn down the floors in your house, pacing the floors up and down trying to calm a crying baby, this will no doubt be of interest. 

All parents will know how stressful it can be, exhausting even, to listen to your baby being upset and unsettled.

US paediatrician Robert Hamilton has seen a lot of crying babies. And just because of that, the doctor, who almost daily administers vaccinations to his many tiny patients, has an unusual technique for calming them down, which, according to this video, works surprisingly fast.

 In the short video, the paediatrician demonstrates his now famous “Hold” technique, where he wraps one of the baby’s arms in front of the other and holds them in place with one hand, all while supporting the baby’s head. He then leans the baby slightly forward, and with the other hand, grabs the baby’s diapered behind and kind of wobbles it.

Most parents with a new baby will probably discover that new babies do indeed like to be held and often loves swaying and gentle rocking, as it probably reminds them of what life was like the womb, and Hamilton’s method is just really another way of doing this.

However, the doctor is keen to stress that if you do give the technique a try, make sure you lean the baby forward as you wrap, because they do like to throw their heads around and that can cause a parent to lose their grip.