Dr. Karp's Five S's: "The Happiest Parents on the Block"

My husband and I rented the video, "The Happiest Baby on the Block." What we learned in that video was that the techniques presented by Dr. Karp made the baby happy and made us happy as well. Not only were we able to calm our first child relatively quickly, she slept well and seemed less stressed and well happier. We got to experience her smiles and playful during the first two months, and I believe that if we had not known and used the five S's, we may not have experience her personality so soon.

After studying cultures around the world for years, Dr. Karp began teaching parents how to calm their babies down quickly and effectively using the five S's: swaddling, side or stomach laying, swinging/swaying, shushing, and sucking. Trying these methods in order will often help an upset baby calm down by triggering the baby's calming reflex.

Swaddling: To swaddle your baby, take a square blanket and spread it out on the bed or floor. Fold the corner across from you down. Place your baby on his back with folded corner of the blanket just across his ears. Take on side of the blanket and pull in down and across the baby securing baby's arm on the opposite side by the baby's side. You should pull snugly. The wrap the bottom corner (corner nearest you) up and across baby's other shoulder securing that arm by baby's side. Take the final corner and bring in midway down the baby's chest and then up over the other shoulder. Baby should be wrapped up like a little baby burrito. According to Dr. Karp, babies are seldom calm by just being swaddled.

Side/Stomach laying: After you have swaddled the baby, turn the baby to his or her side or stomach. This may calm the baby instantly or you may need to move to the next S.

Swinging/Swaying: If the first two steps alone are not enough to calm your baby down, you can place the baby in a swing or bouncy seat. (Be sure to keep the baby swaddled and strap the baby in). Turn the seat on its highest setting. If you do not own a bouncy seat or swing, you can sway (jiggle) the baby. You are not shaking the baby, but you are wiggling the baby enough for his head to jiggle a little while laying in your lap. Watching the video for this step is highly recommended because Dr. Karp demonstrates it several times throughout.

Shushing: In the event that the baby is still fussy, you can utilize the next S-shushing. You take the baby in your arms and place her ear beside your mouth and make shushing sounds. You should shush the baby as loud as she is crying and decrease the volume of your shush as the volume of the baby's cries decreases. The goal of shushing is to create white noise. You can also use a white noise machine, vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, or static from the radio to create the same effect.

Sucking: Finally, you can offer the baby a pacifier to help him calm down. Sucking like the other S's helps to trigger the baby's calming reflex.

The idea of each of these methods is to create an environment for the baby that is similar to the environment of mom's womb. Viewing the video and using Dr. Karp's methods will not only give you a secure and happy baby, but as parents, you will be more confident and secure in providing the care your baby needs.