Sleep Problems

In his best-selling book, The Happiest Baby on the Block, author Dr. Harvey Karp, MD shares his proven methods to soothe and comfort your baby. Dr. Karp, who has been teaching parents his baby-settling system for over 25 years, suggests that his Five S's help to to calm your baby by stimulating her natural soothing reflexes.

The Five S's are:

Swaddling
Side and Stomach Positioning
Shushing
Swinging
Suckling

Use these tried and true techniques to help you in getting baby to sleep tonight.

Swaddling is a great way to lengthen your baby's sleep. It simulates the womb by providing a warm, secure and snug environment. This age-old practice of wrapping your baby in cloth, is almost sure to help get your baby to sleep faster, and for a longer period of time. In addition to making your baby feel warm and secure, swaddling your baby is beneficial in keeping your baby from startling herself with flailing limbs and preventing scratches to your baby's face.

Swaddling also helps to restrain the Moro Reflex, which is an involuntary spasm in response to a perceived loss of balance.

Side and Stomach Positioning helps switch off the Moro Reflex by mirroring your baby's posture inside the womb, keeping baby from startling himself and waking. Do this by cradling your baby on either her left side to aid digestion or on her stomach for support.

Shushing provides white noise for baby like that found in the womb. The whooshing sounds that your baby heard while in the womb came from the blood flowing through the arteries. Imitate this sound by placing your baby in the side-lying position with your mouth relatively close to her ear while making a "shhhhh" sound.

Otherwise, use your fan, vacuum cleaner, blow dryer, or air conditioner can create similar sounds. Sound machines and CDs with sounds from the womb are also available for that same purpose.

Swinging or a gentle swaying motion, imitates the almost-constant movement your baby experienced inside the womb. This movement activates what Dr. Karp calls "motion sensors" in your baby's ears, instinctively triggering an involuntarily calming response from the baby. You can do this by rocking your baby, taking baby on car rides, placing baby in a baby swing or bouncer or by carrying baby in a sling.

Suckling is an instinctive and natural behavior found in newborns and is proven to be very calming to them. Offering your baby the breast or bottle can have an instant soothing effect. Also, you'll find that your baby need not be eating in order for suckling to be comforting to them. For that reason, pacifiers can be highly beneficial in getting your baby to sleep for the first three months. Pacifiers may also be helpful in the preventing of SIDS. If a pacifier is not available, your clean finger or knuckle can be used as a substitute.

While these five things are not the only tools to aid you in getting baby to sleep, they have been used by countless parents to successfully transition their newborns into great sleepers. Keep in mind that your baby has just come in to a completely new environment, unlike the womb she came from. The more that you can do to help your baby adjust, the more successful you will be at getting baby to sleep comfortably through the night.

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