This past Monday I went to my Earn While You Learn Appointment at the Care Clinic. It's an awesome program where you go in to learn about taking care of your baby/toddler and earn baby bucks. The baby bucks can be spent on a range of items including diapers, wipes, clothes, furniture and other things people have donated. I mostly love going because I love the environment and how wonderful my mentor (Judy) is towards me and Zemirah. I would highly suggest it to any mom/mom to be, even if you don't need baby items just the learning and support makes it worth it!
I was looking through the list of videos this week and Judy asked if I had seen “The Happiest Baby on the Block” dvd (there are books also). I told her no and she told me it was one of her favorites, so I figured why not give it a watch. Boy am I glad I did! Though most of the information wasn't new to me there were some key things I learned that I really felt could help Phil and I and other parents.
The books and dvds are by Dr. Harvey Karp. Who is he?
Here are some of his thoughts that I'd like to share with you.
He recognizes that soothing an infant can be surprisingly tough for a parent. He said that often the instinct to soothe a crying baby is natural but actually knowing how to isn't as instinctual. He compares babies to a smoke alarm and says that they often make a shriek noise no matter what the problem is. In the case of the smoke alarm, it goes off whether the house is on fire or if you have burnt the toast. He gives some WONDERFUL suggestions on how to soothe your little love(I will get to these in just one minute).
One of the most profound statements on the entire dvd was when he said “The first three months after birth should really be considered the fourth trimester.” What he means by that statement is that during the first three months out of the womb an infant is developmentally the same as a fetus. With that in mind one should consider the environment that the infant just came from and what for the past 9 months he or she has found as comforting and secure. Inside the uterus the infant is experiencing constant sound (this sound is as loud as a vacuum), is experiencing confinement, and also weightless movement. All that considered Dr. Karp came up with the 5 S's to help soothe an infant. Here they are:
- Swaddling: He uses the Down, Up, Down, Up (DUDU) Method. Here is a very clear drawing of all the steps. When swaddling your babe the legs don't have to be completely straight but you want the arms down on their side. You also want to make it snug so the baby won't escape (again think of a uterus).
- Side or Stomach: Put your infant on their side or stomach to soothe. Keep in mind though babies should ALWAYS be put on their back while sleeping.
- Shushing: Infants should be shushed at the volume they are crying, otherwise they can't hear you. The volume to shush was a new one for me and even watching the video at points I felt a little irked like it was rude to shush in an infant's ear so loudly. But again when one considers how loud it is in the womb (louder than a vacuum) it makes sense. Infants love white noise (vacuums, blow dryers etc.) so why wouldn't they love loud shushing? Check out this video of Dr. Karp (the shushing part starts at 4:53): Dr. Karp on The View
- Swinging: A natural motion for an infant is to swing. Dr. Karp showed how you can naturally swing your baby. He also calls it a 'jiggle'. You only want to do this motion an inch or so back and forth and he says to support but don't restrain the infants head (thinking of it like jello jiggling on a plate). He also talked about mechanical swings and how they are good devices but that one should never put an already upset baby in one. They are not meant to calm an infant. When putting your babe in the swing he suggests that in the first three months to swaddle them and then put them in (you can take the legs out of the swaddle if need be) and to make sure that they are buckled into the swing. He also said that it's best to put the swing on a high speed because infants really like that movement. This took me back to when Zemirah was born, I was so excited for her to try out the swing that Grandpa Newhouse got for her. Although we didn't put her in the swing upset, we didn't have her swaddled, and we had it on the lowest speed. Here was the result:
This makes me think of the Rod Stewart lyrics “I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger.”
- Sucking: This can be on the breast or on a pacifier. One of the most significant things I learned during this part was how to get an infant to latch onto a pacifier. Most parents when trying to teach an infant to keep the pacifier in their mouth push it in. He suggests that rather than holding it in their mouth to use your finger to tap down on the pacifier (like you are trying to get it out of their mouth). This will cause the baby to suck harder to keep the pacifier in its mouth whereas holding it in their mouth doesn't cause them to suck harder and you end up doing most of the work rather than training them.
All of these methods (swaddling, stomach/side, shushing, swinging, sucking) can be used individually or all together. He suggests that you can start to phase out of the 5 S's when an infant is 4-5 months. Overall it's finding what works for your baby.
If you are in the Marquette area and attending EWYL classes at Care Clinic definitely add this to your videos to view. Otherwise you can order books and dvds at: http://www.happiestbaby.com/
I am super excited to try out some of these methods on Acorn. Even the shushing, though I'll likely have to keep telling myself to think of how loud it was in the womb.
Peace to you and your households,
Mama B.
