“They Just Wouldn’t Stop Crying” #snapped

Source: @Christy Rector

When a baby cries, it can be overwhelming—especially when you're exhausted and unsure how to soothe them. But it's crucial for parents and caregivers to respond with patience and calm. Crying is a baby’s only way to communicate discomfort, hunger, tiredness, or even just a need for closeness.

No matter how frustrated or helpless you feel, never shake a baby. Shaken Baby Syndrome can cause devastating brain injury, blindness, or even death. If you ever feel on the edge, it’s okay to place the baby safely in their cot and take a moment to breathe or ask for help. Your calm response is not only protective—it helps build trust and safety for your baby.

#parenting #patience #warning

[minavelez]

It's not just parents. Sometimes it's daycares and babysitters.

[serasvega]

Here in Germany there are "Schreiambulanzen" (Screaming clinics) where you can go with your baby if it just won't stop crying and you feel overwhelmed. They'll help you calm down the baby and take care of yourself so you can get through this tough times without hurting the baby.

[oliviavanbrink]

Remember, if you are getting really stressed by your baby crying and you are struggling to console them, it’s always better to put them in a safe spot like a crib and walk away for a few minutes to calm down then to risk stress causing you to unintentionally hurt your child.

Needing a short break (best to have someone in the house but a break where you can’t hear the screaming for a few minutes) does not mean you are a bad parent. It just means your human and babies can be hard to take care of full time on little sleep. Sleep deprivation can cause us to do wild things, so just take the needed break and come back to your kid after 5 or so minutes when you are calm, it won’t cause permanent damage like trying to push through can

[bribrichan]

For the first several months of my life I cried constantly. I'm talking full-volume, distressed screaming, nearly non-stop. Doctors couldn't figure out why, as all tests came back normal.

My mother refused to let anyone but my father hold me for any amount of time and refused to let anyone else watch or babysit me. She was terrified that someone else would shake me out of frustration.

We found out years later that I have a congenital defect of my cerebellum, and was likely crying due to my baby-brain not yet being developed enough to compensate for the deficit. I was likely experiencing severe dizziness and pain. Any shaking at all would have had catastrophic results.

My mom is in her 70's now and has had tinnitus my whole life. She says she regrets nothing.

[punkypiez]

I keep telling this to my family when they tell me the "funny story" of how my uncle was left to babysit his sister.. or was it my sister.. don't remember tbh, they're very similar in age and the story is super old, point is, he as a 10-12 year old was left to babysit a baby and when my family returned they saw him shaking the baby while screaming "WILL YOU SHUT UP ALREADY OR
I've been told this so many times followed by laughter, like
by some otherworldly miracle she hasn't suffered shaken baby syndrome. I don't know how this is funny to them.

[EC-ylxk]

Let's not forgot it's not always by accident. Some children are abused the moment they are born.

[SpookyGhostHippy]

You can tell the first nurse didn’t even wanna shake the robot baby :( they made her do it how it would’ve been done it’s so sad

[Tormekia]

It's perfectly fine to wear noise blocking headphones if the kid is just having a Mood.

Comfort. Clean. Safe. They're doing the thing, your heart rate is nice and even as you listen to music in a quiet space.

Calm talking and comforting.

Note: do not leave line of sight while wearing them. It's just to protect your sanity when nothing seems to work.

Sometimes babies just

[CaolánCaitiff]

My girlfriend almost had this happen to her. Her parents started to shake and realized what they were doing and essentially went “Oh fuck were not ready to be parents”. So she ended up getting adopted. She’s mostly fine today thank god. I’m glad her birth parents were in the right mind to realize their mistake.

[MizGizma]

I remember when I gave the advice that if you are feeling overwhelmed with a crying baby that it was ok to put the child down in a safe place and put in some earplugs or wear headphones and take a break within sight of the baby and just let them scream. I had people coming out of the woodwork telling that was so abusive and whatnot. But my response will always be the same. A baby will survive spending some time crying. If mom or dad (or whoever) goes bonkers they might not.

[stefaniabaranski]

In the uk, we have to watch a video which explains shaken baby syndrome and tips to help parents calm down. This is before we are allowed to leave the hospital with our baby. It was incredibly helpful

[michellemueller]

I remember one time when my son was a baby, I couldn't get him to calm down, no matter what I tried. So I called my mom bawling my eyes out because being a first-time mom, on very little sleep, I didn't know what to do? My mom said, 'Bring him here.' So I headed to my mom's, and as soon as I got to her street, he started calming, and then i got into her house, I handed her the baby and went to take a nap. Thank goodness I had support, because unfortunately, not everyone does. 😢❤

[porkchop]

I have always had a temper, but the moment I held my child I knew that I could never hurt them ever. I legitimately worried that I would before they were born.

[jellytribe]

As a previous daycare assistant that blew the whistle and got the daycare i worked at shut down and license revoked and got the daycare director charged with child abuse and neglect, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be careful, if anything feels off it prolly is!! Dcfs is so hard to convince so I had to document everything carefully, with details and pics. People are extremely manipulative. Some adults are horrendous to kids...my daycare kiddos ranged from 6mo -5yra old and there were 12 of them. Its hard but rewarding work, they adored me ans I loved them with everything i had in me. I think about them all the time....the things that lady did to them fuels my nightmares...I did my best to protect them. The police are now involved too and Im hoping the daycare director gets charged more....

[Donna-plzn]

Mothers used to never be alone with their newborns for at least 3 weeks. Midwives would visit daily and there would be family there.

Nowadays, you are left alone within a few hours. You practically need to spell it out to health visitors that you are suffering to get any help.

[TammyRawdon]

⚠️ALSO, NEVER ACCEPT A SLEEPING CHILD TO BABYSIT⚠️ Whether you've just arrived there or they're being dropped off with you.
They may be injured (or even dead in one horrible case that I recall) and the äbüsër is trying to "pass the buck" onto you.
Insist on waking/ checking them BEFORE the parents leave.

Edit: And of course, do the same thing when you pick up your children, whether from a licensed daycare or family/ friend/etc.
Good luck and God Bless the little children 🤞👼🤞

[rosekopelowitz]

There were times as a new mom I felt the urge to shake my baby. We never that happened, I took deep breaths and made myself calm down. He usually calmed down soon after I did. There were a couple times I had to just put him down and walk away for a few minutes. I always thought I was a very patient person, but the stress of endless crying, sleep deprivation and postpartum hormones are a perfect storm. Thankfully bc my husband works from home, I was almost never alone with my baby and could take a break when I needed to. Parents really need so much more support than they typically get in this country

[jenniferg.]

Ever since I was a teenager, I told myself never to have kids because I don't want to end up in prison for the rest of my life.
(1) don't think I could tolerate a crying baby, and
(2) the thought of being pregnant always frightened me.
Once in a while, the fact that I realize my DNA stops with me makes me sad (for a moment)...but then I snap out of it and realize I enjoy my 8-9 hours of sleep.
I am almost 38 now.

[Blaag]

Put the baby in a safe spot and leave to calm down. Leaving your child alone for 10min won't do as much harm as shaking them. Seek out help if you are overwhelmed or completely tired out. That doesn't make you a bad parent. Taking care of a new born can be very stressful.

[sadiemeyers]

I used to bounce my body. I would hold my kiddo close to me and bounce lightly up and down. My hubby and I were already really exhausted and I didn't want to risk bouncing him too hard in my arms. Worked really well. Exhaustion made me too tired to bounce my body hard, and my little buddy was safe. No matter how tired and stressed I was, I was determined to make sure that nothing I did put him in danger.