The Happiest Baby on the Block and The Happiest Toddler on the Block 2-Book Bundle pdfdrive com

rocking, Augie finally gave in and his little body relaxed
for good.
As you can see, even if your “S’s” are perfect, you may have to
patiently wait a few minutes for your crying baby to fully respond. Three
particular traits of an infant’s nervous system can fool you into thinking
the 5 “S’s” aren’t working:
1. Baby brains have a hard time shifting gears.
If you think your baby is screaming loudly, you should hear what’s
going on inside his head! Chaos so distracts and overloads your
newborn’s immature brain that he has a difficult time escaping his
frenzy to pay attention to you. It’s like when your good buddy is in a
fight. You try to pull him out of it, but he struggles against you to keep
slugging away. It’s not until later, when he finally calms down, that he
admits, “Thanks, you’re a real friend. I just couldn’t stop myself.”
So expect your baby to resist the 5 “S’s” until he calms down enough
to realize that your shushing and jiggling are exactly what he needs from
you.
2. Baby brains are very s-l-o-w.
When your baby is four months old, his eyes will quickly track you as
you move around the room, but for now his brain is a little too

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undeveloped to do that. During these early months of life, it takes a
couple of seconds for messages from his eyes (“I just saw mom move!”)
to travel to the part of his brain that gives out the commands (“Okay, so
follow her!”).
This dragged-out response time is even more pronounced in colicky
babies. All the tumult going on inside their heads overwhelms their
brains, making their processing time even slower.
3. Baby brains get into cycles of crying.
When your crying newborn does start responding to the 5 “S’s,” he
may only settle for a minute before he bursts into crying all over again.
That’s because your baby’s distress from crying is still cycling through
his nervous system like a strong aftershock following his just ended
“baby earthquake.”
Your baby may need you to continue the 5 “S’s” for five to ten minutes
—or more—after he calms down. That’s how long it may take for his
upset to finish cycling through him and for the calming reflex to finally
guide him into sleep.
These cycles can be confusing. They make it seem as if your baby has
experienced a jolt of pain, but that’s rarely the case. Instead, what’s
occurring is like what happens when you catch a fish. The fish struggles,
gives up for a few moments, then suddenly fights again. With persistence
you’ll find that the 5 “S’s” help your baby’s cycles of crying gradually
diminish and melt into a blissful peace.