Baby Love!: The happiest baby on the block

Before Drew was born, one of Bill's coworkers gave him a book and told him to have me read it. He assured Bill that if there was only one book we read about parenting a newborn, this was it. The book was an easy read and I had it finished within a week. "The Happiest Baby on the Block" is written by Dr. Harvey Karp. It explains how important it is to recreate a "womb-like" setting for your newbown for the first 3 months of their life. Dr. Karp calls the first three months the "fourth trimester". He gives 5 ways to calm your baby, and says that if you live life by the "5 S's", your baby will be less likely to be colicky.

The 5 S's:
Swaddling- We swaddle Drew in a "swaddle-pod" every night. It has made a world of difference in his nighttime sleep. He will sleep anywhere from 4-7 hours straight when swaddled.

Shushing- Babies come from a loud environment when they are in utero and are not used to the quiet when they come out into the world. We have a little fan that we run when we put Drew to bed, to give that extra "white" noise. If he's awake and fussy, we will "Shhh, shhhh shhhh" close to his ear. We also haven't stopped "loud" activities when the baby is sleeping (laundry, dishwasher, dogs barking, vacuuming, etc.) We've found that these things actually make him a better sleeper. He can sleep through anything!

Swinging- Drew loves his swing or being rocked. Again, it mimics the feelings he must have felt in the womb when momma was moving all around!

Sucking- His favorite way to soothe...whether at the breast or sucking on a paci. He'll fall right asleep either way!

I am so happy I read this book before Drew was born. I started applying the "5 S's" first thing, while we were in the hospital. Dr. Karp says that sometimes you will need all 5 "S's" to calm a fussy baby and sometimes you might need only one or two. It is amazing to know that I have this little "bag of tricks" that I can use to calm Drew down when he's really fussy, and that it works within minutes!

I am hearing that Dr. Karp has another book out called 'The Happiest Toddler on the Block". I'll definitely be reading that one too! :)

Doesn't this look like a happy baby?

Last week was Drew's 2 month doctor appointment. My mom and dad came with me and got to meet Drew's pediatrician, Dr. Fisher (or Dr. Jeff and he calls himself to Drew). Our little guy is getting so big! He measured 24 inches long and 11.2 pounds. Since Bill was unable to be at the appointment, Dr. Fisher wanted me to assure him that it looks like we're on track to have a little linebacker. He said Andrew is doing great and is ahead of the curve developmentally (my little prodigy!). Then came the unpleasant part of immunizations. Drew got one oral immunization (which he loved!) and 3 pokes. The nurse felt bad because he's so long and lean that there's not much pudge to poke the needle in. Drew took it like a champ and only cried for a little bit. We got home that night and he wanted to be close to mommy all night... and of course, I let him.

I just love the little person he's becoming. He's so well behaved and so happy. He's discovering that he's not his own little world... that there are other people that he can smile at and look at and touch. He's learning his own voice, testing it out by cooing and giving out tiny squeals when he is excited. He wants to see things and doesn't like being held with his face against our chests anymore... he wants to be turned out to face the world.