Newborn Soothing: The 5’s
The 5 S’s can be a lifesaver for parents during the first few months, commonly called the 4th trimester. Haven’t heard of the 5 S’s? It’s essentially a series of strategies developed by Dr. Karp to help recreate the feeling of the womb which can have a calming effect and reduce fussiness in our little ones. I’ve personally used these strategies with my girls (especially when that evening witching hour hit) and it worked! Here’s the basics of this popular method so you can try it out when your newborn is upset:
Swaddle: Wrap that baby snug in a swaddle! This helps decrease their startle reflex and reduces their crazy wiggling which allows for them to be soothed faster and *hopefully* increases their sleep once calm. Velcro swaddles like SwaddleMe and Halo were my personal go-to’s and the Ollie Swaddle is highly recommended as well.
Side-Stomach Hold: While you should always put your baby down on their back for sleep, holding your baby on their side, stomach, or over your shoulder tends to be much more soothing than other positions when upset.
Shush: White noise or shushing sounds can be very calming to a baby because they are used to the loud sound of blood flow in the womb. So rather than keeping it silent for your baby to calm down and fall asleep, consider having white noise or even loudly making shushing noises yourself to get the job done. It needs to be loud enough for your baby to hear it over their own fussing (but obviously not too loud).
Swing: Slow rocking helps keep calm babies calm, so if your infant is already upset and crying your best motion is actually small, faster ones like gentle jiggles. Imagine how they might have been gently bouncing in the womb as you moved around! Always support the head and neck and keep motions less than an inch back and forth.
Suck: Sucking is incredibly soothing to upset babies so if you are sure they aren’t hungry or don’t eat when offered, try a pacifier instead.
You’ll want to do them in this order, and it takes practice to get them down properly AND see how your infant responds best. Consistently try them and don’t give up after just a few attempts. Share this with new or expecting parents so they can feel like baby whisperers! If you would like some personalized help, let's have a chat :)
