Soothe your crying baby

Babies in their first six months of life cry for all the same reasons that newborns do. The big difference is that they are becoming better at soothing themselves and the main way they do it is through sucking. Babies have a need to suck, not just for food, but to feel at peace. If your baby has not already discovered his hands, help him out. When the baby is in a quiet mood, help him put his fist to his mouth or offer him a pacifier.

Pacifiers
Medical experts are much less concerned about the use of pacifiers than they once were. There is plenty of evidence that if a baby's need for sucking is met early, and if parents do not simply use a pacifier to replace other kinds of soothing, the baby is unlikely to depend on it for long. There is just one word of caution. Babies who are already crying in earnest or who are in the middle of a good colicky wail will not be calmed by a pacifier. Sucking is most effective before the baby's crying is out of control.

But because it's unsafe to tie a pacifier around a child's neck, you may find yourself scrambling all over the house in the middle of the night looking for it. Not every child accepts a pacifier; some find other means of comforting themselves -- whether by thumb-sucking, hair twiddling, blanket stroking, or some combination. At least, they always have these soothers at the ready. Often, there is little the parent can do to discourage a comfort habit: Many children begin sucking their hands or stroking their ears within days of birth.