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

him like a tom-tom drum, with a cupped hand, at about
two pats per second.
Almost instantly, Noah quieted. His body melted into
his dad’s arms and a few minutes later he fell asleep. “I
was surprised to see how firmly he liked to be patted. But
he relaxed so fast and so deeply that I knew it was right.”
When Margie and Barbara’s son, Michael, was six
weeks old, he screamed so loudly at night that their
downstairs neighbor would often bang on the ceiling.
Margie tried to placate him with gentle rocking and
soothing songs, but nothing worked until she discovered
what she called the “Native war dance.” She clutched
Michael to her chest, his stomach pressed against her and
her arms around him like a straitjacket, and shouted,
“HA-ja ja ja, HA-ja ja ja.” With each loud “HA” she
doubled over and bent at the knees, making Michael feel
as if he’d fallen through a trapdoor. With each “ja” she
thumped him on the back and ratcheted her body partway
back up. By the third “ja” she was standing straight again,
ready for the next “HA.”
Margie said that at three
A.M.
, the vigor of the rhythm
and the loudness of the chant were essential. Usually,

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within ten minutes or so Michael was snoozing again.

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Main Points:
Sucking calms babies by satisfying their hunger and by
turning on their calming reflex
Three ways to help your baby succeed with pacifiers
How to sidestep six common pacifier problems