The Happiest Baby on the Block

Finished baby book #2: Harvey Karp's "The Happiest Baby on the Block." Another good read and seemed to make a lot of sense. Summary:

His theory is that the first 3 months are actually the 4th trimester - that baby is essentially still a fetus. Thus the best way to sooth baby is to recreate a womb like atmosphere by following the "5 S's" or what he calls the cuddle cure. When baby is fussy:

1) Swaddle
2) Side/Stomach
3) Shhhh
4) Swinging
5) Sucking


With a little practice I think we can definitely handle this - hope it works as well as he says it will! His philosophy falls towards the "On Demand" end of the spectrum in terms of anti schedule for the first 3 months and feeding as needed to comfort. This directly contradicts the last book I read, so I totally get why new moms get overwhelmed when even the "experts" disagree. So we'll try and have the mindset that there isn't a right or wrong way and just figure out what works for us and ask that everyone respect our decisions even if it's not how they personally would go about it.

On deck: "On Becoming Baby Wise - Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep."