when both cry at once

NJLH

I'm still feeling overwhelmed when alone with my girls. I get especially nervous when they both cry at once. I havent mastered picking them both up. I usually hold one for a bit while the other is crying then switch. They havent really taken to the swing yet. How do you handle the crying? People have told me to let them just cry it out but I cant do it. Thanks

Jen9807

Wow, I remember those days. To be honest that was the hardest part for me in the early months. I usually ended up crying too! Sometimes I had to call my neighbor next door because they would not stop and I could not pick them both up and calm them.  Luckily this only lasted a couple months and now they hardly ever cry, so keep that in mind! My advise is to try to befriend a neighbor that can come over in a pinch. My mom came to help in the begining a lot to. Sorry, that wasn't a lot of help. Good luck and know that it does get better.

jennmarie924

I know some people are against it but the pacifier is a wonderful thing in my house.  My girls are addicted to it though.  I try to soothe the more upset of the two and then go for the other when her sister is calm but sometimes they just want to be held.  It is overwhelming but you can handle it.  I wouldn't suggest letting them cry it out (they are too young for that) but if you need to calm one down before you can work on the other, that's what you need to do.  I have done it that way.

nbjenni

If both are crying, I just lay them both on the couch and sit in the middle. Then I try to scoop them up and hold them close to my chest. They usually stop crying fairly quickly. I really try to get them calmed down as soon as they start crying. Based on everything I've read, babies shouldn't be left to cry it out until after 4-6 months, since they can't really self soothe.

macchiatto

Obviously I dont' have personal experience with this yet, but would it work to "wear" one of them in a Moby Wrap, Hotsling or similar, so you have your hands free to pick up the other?

cands

Two ideas other than picking them both up.

1. Sit on the floor or bed, leaning against something.  Put your legs out straight in front of you,but cross your ankles, put one baby resting on your legs.  You can kinda bop them up and down a little, and they feel the comfort of being held without actually being in your arms.  Then you have free hands to pick up the other one.

2. Put on in a bouncy seat, and use your foot on the edge of the bouncy seat to bop it a little, and hold the other.

weemodin

At that age, I would swaddle them both.  I would sit one next to  my legs on my right side in the recliner glider.  The other one I'd hold.  Then, I'd switch them out.

When they were really little, I could hold them both in my arms sort of stacked on each other.

kyluvsaj

Lucikly, my babies took mercy on me and didn't do this too often (maybe once or twice a week).  When they did though the bouncy seat was a Godsend.  I would put one in my arms and after checking to make sure nothing was wrong with the other one, I would put them in the bouncey and bounce with my foot.

 

amygdala

OK, just the subject line of your post literally made me shudder (seriously goosebumps too). ?I so remember that awful feeling when they both cried at once...ugh. ?All I can say is that they will learn patience. ?Talking to the one that I was not holding & telling them that I can't get to them right now, but I will as soon as I can helped me to feel better. ?I figured even if they can't understand me, at least they'll get that I'm not completely ignoring them. ?I had better luck holding both at once if I was sitting on the floor. ?You'll get through it...we all did! ?

amygdala

OH, have to add that dd had colic until around 4m & ds had reflux until 10m, so there was a LOT of crying in my house the first year & they are both super-sweet, loving, secure kids now, so *try* not to stress too much! ?

lajolla09.30.06

I can't handle it either.  Yesterday morning was so bad (both screaming) that I called my husband at work sobbing hysterically telling him I couldn't do it anymore. 

Obviously I haven't figured out how to handle it yet.  My mom says that I should learn to be ok with them crying a little bit because me being hysterical makes them more hysterical (they definitely do seem to pick up on my mood).  

I don't have any answers for you but I do want to say I UNDERSTAND and I'm sorry!  I hope that they grow out of this phase soon... so that we don't go crazy!

coffee bean

cands:

2. Put on in a bouncy seat, and use your foot on the edge of the bouncy seat to bop it a little, and hold the other.

I used this approach all.the.time.  Good luck!