When it comes to holiday family gatherings, you can bet that your adorable baby will be the star of the show. With all the grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and everyone in between getting a chance to see baby, it can be a welcomed break for you, but also an overwhelming amount of attention for your little one. To help keep your baby calm during family gatherings, follow these helpful tips.
Keep Your Baby with You Initially
When you first enter the home, don’t immediately pass around your baby throughout the family. Instead, keep your little one in your arms where they can feel safe and most comfortable. Once your baby gets used to the environment, and they seem more at ease, pass them around gradually to family members. It can also help if you do the passing around so your baby can come back to you more often and not feel overwhelmed when everyone comes at them all at once.
Watch for the Signs
At this stage, you’ll already know what the signs look like when your baby becomes overstimulated, overwhelmed, and is heading towards the upset stage. So in order to you’re your baby calm during a family gathering, keep a lookout for any signs during your visit. If your baby starts to get distraught, take them outside or to a quiet area for a calming breather.
Take out a Crying Baby
If your baby starts to cry, it’s best to also take them into a quiet room where they can relax and calm down, maybe with a favourite toy on hand to distract them. Being in a more peaceful atmosphere with just you can quickly soothe your little one. And if you’re at a gathering with numerous babies, if one starts to cry it can trigger all of them to feel distressed. When this happens, it’s an appropriate time to take your little one to another room until the other baby can calm down.
Stay on Schedule
Your baby will notice if you go off of their regular schedule and will show you just how much they don’t appreciate it. So, when it’s their normal nap time, make sure your baby gets their nap. And most definitely, don’t’ miss your feeding time - you can always step out for a little while before rejoining in on the family fun.
Take Some Quiet Time
If it’s time to nurse your baby, then it’s your perfect opportunity to get away for a little while in a more relaxed environment away from all the noise and excitement. Not only will it help ease your baby, but it will also give you a well-deserved time out in a peaceful environment since it’s always an exhausting stage of life.
The holidays can be filled with so much energy and excitement that even as adults, we can become frazzled and overwhelmed. This will be all new to your baby, and you can’t always be certain of how they will react to all the excitement and noise. But with these simple techniques in mind, you can help in keeping your baby calm during family gatherings and happy, while allowing your family to enjoy seeing you and your little one as well.
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