All of our babies have had different things that soothed them whether it be a binky or thumb, swaddling or swinging, snuggling a blanket or twirling hair (theirs or mine). So for the last 7 weeks we've been trying all of these tried and true comfort items with Ryan without seeing a real preference for any of them. Thankfully Ryan is a good baby and doesn't usually cry unless there is a reason and is easily consoled, but there are times, like when he is in his car seat, when he is uncolsolible and we all would love to have something that would help calm him down. Well, I finally found something that soothes him in an unexpected place - a hairdryer. Last week we were all scrambling to get ready for church and Ryan would not, under any circumstance let me put him down without him wailing. I tried everything - the bouncer, the swing, the bed - but he just wanted to be in my arms. It finally got to the point that I just had to put him down and let him cry or I was never going to make it to church. So I put a sad and upset Ryan in his bouncer in my bathroom and began blow drying my hair. As soon as the hairdryer turned on Ryan stopped crying and froze. He didn't cry at all the whole time I did my hair, but as soon as I turned the hairdryer off he started back up again. So I left the hairdryer on the whole time I was getting ready. Worked like a charm. I started turning to the hairdryer to soothe Ryan more often and eventually I downloaded an app that does a hairdryer sound and now we play that whenever we are in the car and Ryan is upset and to help him fall asleep in his crib at night. It really is amazing to see how the minute I turn on the sound he stops crying and his whole body relaxes. I just love getting to know Ryan and discovering his own little preferences.
