Alleviate your newborn's crying!

Babies are used to being cozy, warm, and bundled up, which bring us to the first S: swaddling. When we first brought our son home, my husband and I made the terrible mistake of thinking that he hated being swaddled. Every time we tried, he would fight it, kick out of it, and generally seem to not enjoy it. Sound familiar? We stumbled upon these awesome swaddles by Aden + Anais, and bought them because they were very large compared to a normal swaddle, and light weight for those hot summer days. When we put our son in it the first time, we wrapped him as tight as we could. He tried to kick out of it for about 30 seconds, and then he was out. Cold. He slept for 3 hours. We COULD NOT believe it! Finally, a swaddle that worked for him. I recommend all new mommies to put these on their registries, and they are usually the gift I give at baby showers. They are THAT good.

You have now swaddled your baby, but he/she is still crying. What to do? Up next is the second S: side/stomach position. While your baby is comfy cozy in his/her swaddle, gently pick him/her up and place them on their side/stomach while you are holding them. An easy way to do this is to lay the baby across your arm, and support the baby's head in your hand. Babies naturally like to sleep in this position, which helps calm them down. I would spend many of hours walking around with our son, sleeping peacefully on my arm. My son also had terrible acid reflux, and this position really helped with his problem. You can also get a sling/wrap. We used the Moby wrap, which kept my son upright and leaning against my chest, freeing my hands. A great baby sling. You can see in the picture the side/stomach hold; he is close to passing out!

So, you've swaddled, have baby in the side/stomach position, and baby is still fussy. Bring on the 3rd S: the shhhhh sound. Perhaps the BEST little secret we stumbled upon as parents of a newborn. Our son would be calm in mere seconds by doing this. My mom, a daycare teacher, said she has never seen anything like it, and now uses the technique for the babies she watches. While your baby is swaddled, and you are holding him/her in the side/stomach position, get right next to their ear, and say "SHHHHHH" as loud as you can. You may think this is unwise to do, but I can assure you, it WORKS! The decibel reading inside the womb is actually LOUDER than a vacuum cleaner. Yes, you read that right. So, imagine hearing that 24 hours a day, and then all of a sudden, everything around you is relatively quiet. This "sshhing" noise mimics the inside of the womb, and turns on the calming reflex. Many new parents make the mistake of trying to be quiet in order to not wake the baby, when in fact, the more noise, the better. I'm not implying to start a band and play live music in your child's nursery, but go about your daily life, and don't worry about waking the baby.

A great little gadget to use is a white noise machine, which my son still loves to use. Also, it helps you not run out of breath!

Next up we have the fourth S: swinging. Oh how great is the glorious person who invented the infant swing! Swinging keeps a baby in motion, something they are very used to inside the womb. Imagine moving pretty constantly for nine months, and then you are expected to sleep and be calm while lying still. We had an infant swing that our son loved. We also had a portable one that fit our car seat. This thing was awesome! He would fall asleep in the car, and wake up upon entering the house since he stopped moving. Well, placing the car seat in this little gadget kept him moving. Amazing! You don't need an infant swing to do keep baby moving either. Just lightly bouncing baby in your arms, patting his/her butt, or rocking from side to side will calm a baby. Mix this with the three previous S's, and you are bound to have a calm and sleeping baby!

Last but not least is the fifth S: sucking. Sucking is a natural reflex for a newborn, and instantly calms them. This is why many newborns will fall asleep at the breast or bottle. They are being soothed by this activity (plus, they are getting extra cuddles from mom or dad!) A pacifier also works great, especially for the breastfeeding mom who doesn't want to be used as a pacifier! We used soothies the hospital gave us and Nuk pacifiers. Just beware, babies can get hooked on them! Try not to let your baby use them after 6 months, or they will start to rely on the pacifier to go to sleep.