Tips to Soothe That Newborn Baby

I have a co-worker who was due this month with her first little baby. As this wonderful lady had been getting bigger and bigger with baby over the past few months, I tried to pass along any tips or product recommendations that I could think of since my first-time baby experience was relatively fresh in my mind.

Of all of the subjects that we discussed, the best tip I could possibly offer a new parent is how to soothe a fussy baby.

Why You Should Love Dr. Harvey Karp
Soothing a fussy baby is something every first-time mother and father are going to want to learn quickly. I definitely recommend listening to the expert on the subject, Dr. Harvey Karp.

Dr. Harvey Karp, your new best friend
image from wikipedia

To me, his look is a bit stuck in the 90s, but his advice and methods are current and the best ones I've ever used.

I haven't read the book of the same name, but I watched the DVD called The Happiest Baby on the Block, and it is genius. Spread the word to every expecting mother you know. She'll thank you for it. In fact, if you're wondering what to get for a baby shower that's not too pricey but super useful, then I highly recommend the DVD.

A great baby shower gift idea

GET THE INFO. FOR FREE: Even without the book or DVD, you could get away with the points I've outlined here. There is also a short video from WebMD of Dr. Karp highlighting these same points. And a description of why these methods work from babycenter.com.

Velcro swaddle
image from Amazon

The Five S's:

1. Swaddling
• You can wrap baby in a swaddling blanket (see how-to video here)
• Some swaddles come with zippers or velcro to make it a little easier; I recommend the velcro (this was one we had and liked) since it is easy to snuggly adjust based on baby's size as he or she grows
2. Side/stomach position
• This is for soothing, not for sleeping—sleeping should always be done on back
3. Shushing
• This is basically any loud white noise, so you could shush in baby's ear or use a white noise machine of your choice
• Relax Melodies is a free app available for Android and iPhone that has many white noise sounds and a customizable timer to shut itself off at the end of the countdown (I love to use it myself too when I have a little trouble getting to sleep)
4. Swinging
• Any rhythmic motion can be good whether it's your arms, a rocker or an automatic swing

• 

  Fisher-Price swing, image from Amazon

  My husband and I were super grateful to have an automatic swing like the Fisher-Price Snugabunny Cradle 'N Swing. The product description from the link will give you all the information you need, but I'll say that my favorite features were the multiple swing speeds, the mirror in the center of the mobile above baby, the option to swing side-to-side or head-to-toe and that the music/sounds and swinging will shut off automatically after a while
5. Sucking
• A pacifier or your own clean finger can help in a pinch

My daughter tried to help Mommy out by offering her fussy brother a finger after pacifier fell out of his mouth,
from November 2014 when they were only a few weeks old