The 5 S's

There is a video and book out there called "The happiest baby on the block". It's all about how if you follow these five things, a crying baby will stop crying. 1. Swaddle the baby 2. Put the baby on his Side/Stomach 3. Shake baby (not shaken baby type of shake, more of a jiggle) 4. Shush in the babies ear 5. Give baby something to Suck

Watching the video, it takes you step by step. So Lucas and I decided to give it a try. So, first we swaddled Owen. They don't just mean wrap the baby, they mean restrain the baby. So, arms at his sides, blanket tightly wrapped around him. He looked like just a head. This calmed him a bit, but we only just started the process.

Next we turned him on his side. He may appear calm, but I think we have stunned him by this point. So, maybe Stun should be one of the S's. His eyes got so big. I think if I could read Owen's mind, he's thinking: What are they going to do next? They've taken away my arms, now I'm sideways. Just hold still, stop crying... it's only going to get worse if I don't stop crying.
Next, we jiggle his head like a "bowl of Jello". Again, notice the fear in his eyes. I'm sure the jiggling does remind him of his old uterine home... but we aren't in Kansas anymore. I think he already knows this.
No picture of us "shushing" in his ear... but here's one of him sucking. Sucking the thumb right off of Lucas' hand. Notice how he has escaped from the swaddle, he really loves his arms. We call him our Houdini, he reminds me the patient that drives me crazy because he keeps getting unrestrained.
Overall, we are lucky that Owen isn't that cranky of a kid. But it's good to know we can stun the tears right out of him.

So to recap, maybe the 5 S's should be: 1. Secure 2. Scare 3. Shake 4. Shush 5. Stun