I read so many books on baby sleep and daily routine that I really appreciated Chicago Public Library had the VHS version of Happiest baby on the block. It was two hours of crash course on the 5 essential methods to comfort the baby and help him/her to fall asleep.
The 5 “S” explained in the video are:
• Swaddling
• Side/stomach position
• Shushing Sounds
• Swinging
• Sucking
All these methods are extremely useful in comforting a newborn and, even though I haven’t experienced it, with colic babies. I used all these methods including swaddling. The only thing we skipped was a pacifier. He used me as a pacifier.
Watching the video, rather than reading the book, helped me better understand how you carry out the methods correctly, such as swinging, shushing and even swaddling.
Swaddling helped my son with his moro reflex a lot and made him take longer naps.
Shushing is very very effective in calming down a crying baby. The secret is to shush, louder than baby’s cry. Obviously, not to close and not too loud as to hurt the baby’s eardrums.
My son always slept on his side, as an infant. I made sure that I put him on an opposite side at every nap and night’s sleep. When I put him to his crib, I would pat his bottom, with the same rhythm as the soothing music or heartbeat CD and stay with him until he feel asleep. Sometime I would bounce the crib mattress by patting on it slowly, to give the heartbeat effect.
The Happiest Baby “Super-Soothing” Calming Sounds CD is among the CD’s I recommend in my Baby Sleep Music selections.
Leave a Reply