I love books. Heart books. Live for books. Even as a little girl, I was like an A+ when it came to book report time. Read how many books? Pswhhhaaa, no problem. So now I am starting a new thing here on my blog to share with you my favorite books that I'm reading and why they're totally awesome. It's called "Sunday Reading." I hope you find some books to read, and share with me your loves too.
This book has been a savior to Dave and I. We have together almost ZERO experience with babies. This book gave us some extremely useful tools that literally carried us through these first four months of Dax's life.
We were introduced to celebrity pediatrician, Harvey Karp M.D., during the only pre-baby class we took: Baby Basics. The star of the show (and author of the book) demonstrates how to calm a crazed crying newborn baby. Karp's theory is that the first four months of a newborn's life are called "the fourth trimester." That babies miss the coziness of their mama's belly and the best way for us to help them through this rough transition from womb to earth is to simulate the conditions of the uterus: snug, loud, and lots of movement. He uses what he calls the five S's: swaddling, side position, shushing, swinging, and sucking.
Our little Dax was kind of a fussy (I like to think he's simply particular about his likes and dislikes). At times, to calm him down, we used all five S's in sequence. AND THEY WORKED LIKE A CHARM.
First off, we swaddled Dax from almost Day One with these easy-to-use swaddle blankets from Summer Infant:
And then we followed the other four. First, on his side (or tummy or against your body on a rocking chair). Then, we utilized either white noise or shushing in their ear. I prefer white noise (rain sound or heartbeat works best for Dax). Next, a soft jiggle motion, or a swing, or rocking or even a car ride (motion) works great too. And finally, sucking: Top off with a pacifier, bottle, or breast. Dax was then The Happiest Baby on the Block!
I can certainly attest to the fact that using these principles work. You can pick and choose different ways that work for you. While I was uncomfortable performing some of his methods (like this little shaking motion he does), but Dave was confident with them. And plus, he gives alternatives, so if one method doesn't work, he suggests others that accomplish the same goal.
Perhaps not necessary for an easier baby, but truly for us it was a lifesaver for those first few months. It helped that Dave really got into it. I loved seeing him go through the S's to relax our little guy.
Best of all, the book constantly reminds you: You Can't Spoil a Newborn Baby! Give your newborn as much love and attention you can give. Great advice for any new parent.
5 comments:
this book was a total lifesaver for us too, with our first baby. our second, well...he was a malcontent that even dr. karp could not cure! for most babies though, the happiest baby will save you!
never read it- went with my instincts- all have worked- love you but u read to much :) u r starting to sound a little like someone else i know :) follow your heart..ur a great mom...goofy
stacy: whatever. Your comment sucks! Reading and educating yourself is not a bad thing. I DO follow my instincts. I read a lot and I take some and I lose some and I also do whatever I want. READING gives me TOOLS to make me an even better mom. I think you should read MORE. So there!
TO OTHER READERS: ps stacy is my sister. you can tell right?
That's too funny! I knew she was your sister when I read it because that's so how I would speak to mine.
Anyway - sounds like a lovely book and I probably could have done with that. As it was, though, we ended up doing pretty much the same through trial and error.
That book was great! Thanks to those S's, we are swaddling pros! Between that and about a half dozen other books (and the internet, who could forget the internet?), we were able to fumble our way through those early months without too many unnecessary tears (ours or the baby's).
Post a Comment