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

Eight Tricks for Getting the Most Out of Your Swing
Fern boasted, “The swing was magic for our son William.
The motion and the noise worked great to get him into a
peaceful sleep. It became my third hand.”
Like all baby-calming techniques, there are tricks to using swings that
can improve your success with them.

---

1. Start swinging early. Babies love swings. After all, they’re
rockin’ and rollin’ in your womb for months. But if your baby was
preterm, has hypotonia (floppy like a Raggedy Ann doll), or is under
one month, ask your doctor’s permission before using it.
2. Never put your baby into the swing when he’s screaming.
Karp’s Law of Swings states: If you put a screaming baby in a swing,
what you’ll get is a swinging, screaming baby!
A little-known fact about swings (and bouncy seats too) is that
they’re not very good for making frantic babies calm. However, once
your baby’s crying has been temporarily quieted, they’re great for
keeping him calm and lulling him into sleep. So, always settle your
baby for several minutes before you put him in the swing.
3. Keep your baby’s arms wrapped. Swaddling helps swinging
babies quiet faster and stay quiet longer. However, you still need to
strap him securely into the swing’s seat by putting the bar or belt
between his wrapped legs.
4. Recline the seat back as much as possible. If the seat is too
upright, it can be hard for your baby to support his head. Recline it
back as far as it can go or use a swing with a cradle attachment.
5. Do a twenty-second jiggle whenever crying starts up again.
After your baby is in the swing, he may start to fuss again.
Remember, only tiny but vigorous movements are a great way to
turn on the calming reflex in a fussy baby. So if his crying flares up,
grab the back of the swing seat and start jiggling it forward and
back an inch, two to three moves a second. Within twenty seconds
he should relax again.
6. Use the fastest speed. Unless your baby is soundly asleep, the
slow speed will probably be too mild to keep him into a deep state
of relaxation. Cranky kids settle best on the fast speed and many
sleep best that way all night long. See what works best for your
baby.
7. Use loud white noise at the same time. Play a loud white noise

---

one to two feet from your baby’s head until he is so deeply asleep
you can lower it a bit (to a strong rumble) without waking him up.
8. Practice makes perfect. As with all of the 5 “S’s,” after a few
pleasant experiences in the swing, your baby may start getting
happy as soon as you put him in it.