The Happiest Baby on the Block
by Harvey Karp
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Book Summary Information
Author: Harvey KarpBrand: Random House
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2003-05-27
ISBN: 0553381466
Number of pages: 267
Publisher: Bantam
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780553381467
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of The Happiest Baby on the Block
Book Review: New parents: This is the one you need
Summary: 5 Stars
This book made the single biggest difference for my family during my son's first few months of life. I've seen it make a huge difference for many other families, too, across a broad spectrum of baby and parent temperaments. My son's first few weeks were an incredibly wonderful, but utterly exhausting, time. While I had flipped through this book several times before, it was only when I really read it closely and internalized the advice that things got better. The advice allowed both my husband and I to soothe our son, and it provided the first real sleep we were all able to get after our baby was born. I recommend it very highly. If you can borrow or rent the DVD, The Happiest Baby on the Block - The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Baby Sleep Longer (DVD), I advise you watch that as well -- but it's probably not worth the 20 bucks if you're on a budget. We got the DVD on Netflix.
Before my son was born, I heard that the book is full of obvious advice -- a repackaging of stuff that most people already know. Not so, in our case. Within hours after my son was born, he needed to be soothed, and my husband and I found ourselves imitating the "shushing" we'd seen on the Karp DVD because we truly had no clue other than that. But we didn't have much faith in Dr. Karp at that point. In the book and especially in the DVD, the author seems to spend so much time "selling" the legitimacy and originality of his method that my husband and I were both instinctively distrustful. In my son's first few weeks, we were pretty sure he didn't want to be swaddled, and we had no inclination to follow Dr. Karp's five steps in order and in combination. But my son was a very troubled sleeper, and at some point in the weeks after he was born, I returned to this book and read it very closely, a couple of times over. We tried the five steps and they really helped -- my husband and I joked that we were "Karping" our son. We fell in love with the Miracle Blanket - Baby Swaddling Blanket - Blue, the Graco Lovin' Hug Swing, Barcelona Bluegrass, and the Wubbanub Pacifier - Yellow Duck. As we more fully embraced the ideas in this book, we were able to get our son to stop crying and sleep in a swing, which gave us a leg to stand on in getting him to soothe himself independently and eventually sleep in his crib.
I also really came to appreciate the tone of this book. Before my son was born, I thought it was a little too cutesy for me. But as an exhausted, worried, delirious, first-time mother, Dr. Karp was my best friend. He struck just the right tone: Comforting, reassuring and informative, striking the right balance between giving me advice and telling me to trust my terrific instincts. Even after I had his advice memorized, I found myself turning back to the book, because it was such a comfort.
I highly recommend this to all parents. For parents of new babies, this is a no-brainer purchase. I even recommend this, though, to parents of older babies (maybe up to 4-9 months of age) with sleep troubles. We ended up using many of the Karp soothers for longer than the first few months -- we let our son drive the pace, and let him let go of the five steps as he was ready. My son is now one year old and a great sleeper. Baby sleep decisions are extremely personal, but in my opinion, my son just needed extra help sleeping until he was old enough to soothe himself. This book gave me the tools I needed to help my son, and empowered me to make decisions based on my own observations about my baby.
Summary of The Happiest Baby on the Block
In perhaps the most important parenting book of the decade, Dr. Harvey Karp reveals an extraordinary treasure sought by parents for centuries?an automatic ?off-switch? for their baby?s crying.No wonder pediatricians across the country are praising him and thousands of Los Angeles parents, from working moms to superstars like Madonna and Pierce Brosnan, have turned to him to learn the secrets for making babies happy.
Never again will parents have to stand by helpless and frazzled while their poor baby cries and cries. Dr. Karp has found there IS a remedy for colic. ?I share with parents techniques known only to the most gifted baby soothers throughout history ?and I explain exactly how they work.?
In a innovative and thought-provoking reevaluation of early infancy, Dr. Karp blends modern science and ancient wisdom to prove that newborns are not fully ready for the world when they are born. Through his research and experience, he has developed four basic principles that are crucial for understanding babies as well as improving their sleep and soothing their senses:
The Missing Fourth Trimester: as odd as it may sound, one of the main reasons babies cry is because they are born three months too soon.
The Calming Reflex: the automatic reset switch to stop crying of any baby in the first few months of life.
The 5 ?S?s?: the simple steps (swaddling, side/stomach position, shushing, swinging and sucking) that trigger the calming reflex. For centuries, parents have tried these methods only to fail because, as with a knee reflex, the calming reflex only works when it is triggered in precisely the right way. Unlike other books that merely list these techniques Dr. Karp teaches parents exactly how to do them, to guide cranky infants to calm and easy babies to serenity in minutes?and help them sleep longer too.
The Cuddle Cure: the perfect mix the 5 ?S?s? that can soothe even the most colicky of infants.
In the book, Dr. Karp also explains:
* What is colic?
* Why do most babies get much more upset in the evening?
* How can a parent calm a baby?in mere minutes?
* Can babies be spoiled?
* When should a parent of a crying baby call the doctor?
* How can a parent get their baby to sleep a few hours longer?
Even the most loving moms and dads sometimes feel pushed to the breaking point by their infant?s persistent cries. Coming to the rescue, however, Dr. Karp places in the hands of parents, grandparents, and all childcare givers the tools they need to be able to calm their babies almost as easily as?turning off a light.
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