When Jack-Jack was born, I learned of a fantastic book and video called The Happiest Baby on the Block by pediatrician Harvey Karp. It changed the way I approach the crying newborn problem. Dr. Karp talks about the five S’s: swaddling, side (or stomach) swinging, shushing, and sucking. In a nutshell, babies are happiest when the environment mimics their blissful life in the womb. Swaddled, held on their side, swung or jiggled, they feel more like they felt before that awful event known as birth.
Shushing was probably the biggest revelation to me, and the one that has worked the best. Babies in utero hear the sound of blood rushing through their mother’s circulatory system. They calm down when you “Shh” them–but not in a librarian sort of way. It has to be a really loud “SHHHH”.
One of my favorite bloggers, Merlin Mann of 43Folders, just became a dad. He mentioned in a Twitter post that running the vacuum cleaner was the “nuclear option” in his battle with the baby crying. I think the vacuum cleaner replicates the “Shh” factor that Dr. Karp recommends.
I suggested a more economical and environmentally-friendly approach: a vacuum cleaner CD. Yes, such a thing exists at Pure White Noise. For $13.45 (including shipping), you can get “Baby’s Vacuum Cleaner CD” with a full-hour of vacuuming.
(This doubles as a Noisy Neighbor Hack: I bought “Calming Electric Fan” for myself when a new neighbor with a loud stereo moved in–it works great!)
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we used shh-ing and swaddling a lot with our twins with great results. i would add a 5th “S” which is slinging. but beware aunties – you may not be able to last that long if you are not used to it.
oops – i guess that would actually have been a 6th “S”.