12.9.11
Have you heard of the 5 S's?? Well we learned them at our baby basics class last night. Apparently if I have these mastered baby will be a happy camper! So I'm taking note of them here, just incase. I will need all the help I can get in those wee hours of semi-consciousness. And come to find out, Darren is a way better at swaddling than I am! Who knew?
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Sucking
Sucking triggers the calming reflex and deepens a baby's level of relaxation.
Swaddling
Tight swaddling is the cornerstone of calming. Swaddling also helps keep babies from accidentally flipping onto their stomach. Avoid overheating and loose blankets. I recommend wrapping babies with their arms straight at their sides. Wrapping with flexed arms usually fails because the arms soon wiggle free. Swaddling is the cornerstone of calming. Swaddling is the only "S" that does not directly turn on the calming reflex. In fact, many babies struggle even more for a minute or two when first swaddled with straight arms; that's probably because their biceps are hypertonic from their position in utero—we don't know with certainty.
Shushing
Loud, harsh, white noise mimics the noise of blood flowing through placental arteries when a fetus is in the womb. The louder a baby cries, the louder the shushing has to be to calm him. The "shhh" sound imitates the sound of blood flow that fetuses hear. It has been measured at 75 to 88 dB.
37 This white noise is approximated by harsh, loud sounds from hair driers (85 dB) and vacuum cleaners (75 dB).
The noise needs to be as loud as a baby is crying for it to trigger the calming reflex. Continued white noise (at levels up to 80 dB) can keep the reflex turned on and help babies stay soothed and asleep.
Swinging
Lying motionless deprives newborns of sensory stimulation. Swinging (rhythmic, jiggly movement) in rapid, tiny movements, like a shiver (two to three times a second), soothes agitated babies. Use slow, broad swinging to keep your baby soothed. Never shake a baby in anger. Slow motion, however, is usually ineffective at soothing babies who are upset. Turning on the calming reflex in a crying baby requires fast, low-amplitude movements of the head (to stimulate the vestibular apparatus). This motion is like a fine shimmy or shiver (my patients call this the "Jell-o head" jiggle). The head is supported so it moves with the body, and it goes back and forth only about an inch but very quickly—120 to 180 times a minute! This imitates the fetus's in utero experience and is completely different from the large amplitude, whiplash-like swings that cause shaken baby syndrome. Nonetheless, parents should be warned never to jiggle their baby when they're angry or frustrated.
Side or stomach position
All babies should be put to sleep on their back.* However, being on the side or stomach is best for calming the baby; it turns on the calming reflex and shuts off the Moro reflex. (The Moro reflex makes a baby's arms shoot out when he is startled by his own crying.) Being supine triggers the very upsetting Moro reflex. This "S" can be activated by putting a baby on her side, on her stomach (again, not for sleeping), or over an adult's shoulder. Some babies are so sensitive to position that, even on their side, they won't calm down if they are rolled the least bit toward their back.
I'm starting to look pregnant from the front now. I've been waiting for that cute round belly to appear, but it hasn't happened yet. I'm carrying very low and still have my belly button intact! Carrying low has it's benefits though. I can make it up and down the stairs and not be out of breath!
~33 weeks~
