About Dr. Karp's Method
 |
|
Dr.
Karp believes that babies, especially in their first few months of
life, can experience "fourth trimester" issues. Babies can have a
difficult time getting used to the huge amount of stimuli present in
life outside of Mom's body. Their reaction to all of this is to cry and
cry.
The
Happiest Baby On The Block method formulated by Dr. Harvey Karp,
addresses these issues by helping you learn how to effectively recreate
the environment of the womb, outside of Mom's body. Once you have
learned the steps, you will be able to alleviate some, if not all, of
your baby's colic symptoms.
There
are 5 components to this method which, when used together, work
amazingly well to calm your crying baby and in many cases help your baby
go to sleep with no fuss.
Using
cross-cultural techniques combined with his own research, Dr. Karp has
developed the "five S's system". Some babies will need all five, others
just a few to help induce what he calls the "calming reflex."
|
|
|
Swaddling - Tight swaddling provides the continuous touching and support the fetus experienced while still in Mom's womb. |
|
|
|
|
|
Side/stomach position - You place your baby, while holding her,
either on her left side to assist in digestion, or on her stomach to
provide reassuring support. Once your baby is happily asleep, you can
safely put her in her crib, on her back. |
|
|
|
|
|
Shushing Sounds
- These sounds imitate the continual whooshing sound made by the blood
flowing through arteries near the womb. This white noise can be in the
form of a vacuum cleaner, a hair dryer, a fan and so on. The good news
is that you can easily save the motors on your household appliances and
get a white noise CD which can be played over and over again with no worries. |
|
|
|
|
|
Swinging
- Newborns are used to the swinging motions that were present when they
were still in Mom's womb. Every step mom took, every movement caused a
swinging motion for your baby. After your baby is born, this calming
motion, which was so comforting and familiar, is abrubtly taken away.
Your baby misses the motion and has a difficult time getting used to it
not being there. "It's disorienting and unnatural," says Karp. Rocking,
car rides, and other swinging movements all can help. |
|
|
|
|
|
Sucking
- "Sucking has its effects deep within the nervous system," notes Karp,
"and triggers the calming reflex and releases natural chemicals within
the brain." This "S" can be accomplished with breast, bottle, pacifier
or even a finger.
These
steps sound pretty easy, but seeing them done properly, in conjunction
with each other, is the key to relieving your baby's colic symptoms and
making Mom, Dad, and baby less stressed and much happier!
You can learn more about The Happiest Baby on the Block Technique from Dr. Karp's book (available from Amazon.com)
or with his VHS tape or DVD. Many people have reported that they have
had MUCH more success with the calming technique after they actually saw
it in practice on the DVD or VHS. |
|
Cart is empty
