If One Is Good, Two Are Better: Calming Babies with
Multiple “S’s”
Nina and Dimitri were dismayed that their champion
cryer, Lexi, got more enraged when they tried to calm her
with the sounds of the hair dryer or the infant swing.
However, when they used the hair dryer and swing
together, they worked like a charm.
Someone once said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Well, when
it comes to babies that’s especially true. In fact,
thousands of suckers,
swingers, and even shhhhers come into the world every day! Just as
babies have different hair color and temperament,
each infant differs
slightly in the way he needs to be calmed. Some settle best with rocking,
others quiet instantly with white noise, and
some surrender as soon as
they’re put on their stomachs. These easy babies require the help of only
one of the “S’s” to make them feel calm and serene.
Cranky infants, however, need more help. They often require two,
three, or four of the “S’s” done together
to cease their cycle of
screaming. And the fussiest, most colicky babies demand all 5 “S’s”
simultaneously.
Getting Acquainted: An Experiment in Soothing Your Baby
To find your baby’s
favorite calming technique, place him on his
back when he’s a little bit fussy. One by one, add another “S” and
see how many it takes to settle him down.
1. Shhhh him softly. If that doesn’t work, do it louder, right in
his ear.
2. Swaddle his arms to keep them from flailing. Do that while
