DVD Review: Happiest Baby on the Block

A friend of mine recommended that I watch The Happiest Baby on the Block. She said the DVD was way better than the book, so Matt and I netflixed it.

Although I found aspects of the movie disconcerting, I still recommend that parents of newborns watch it. I feel like I have some strategies in my toolkit to pull out when Matt and I are trying to cope with fussiness.

The main ideas presented by the movie are listed below. I'm not sure how I feel about swaddling, and shhh-ing really loudly in a baby's ear seems alarming. Then there's the whole "jiggle your baby's head like it's a plate of Jell-O" thing. It left me wondering if there are more proactive ways of preventing the kind of fussiness that needs to be dealt with in these ways (like by frequently wearing your baby in a wrap/carrier/sling so it's close to you and moving around).

However, watching the techniques in action as they quickly calmed babies was really compelling. I'm also compelled by the numerous positive reviews on Amazon. I'm definitely going to try them out if I need to!

My notes about the DVD:

• Babies are like smoke alarms. They have one cry for everything.
• Fourth Trimester: Babies are immature when they are born. They need lots of rocking, calming, and smoothing. The first three months are like the fourth trimester. They are often upset because they are missing the sensations that they experienced in the womb: confinement, noise, constant rocking.
• Calming Reflex: Babies have a calming reflex, just like a knee reflex. The trick is to figure out how to trigger it. Swaddling, side or stomach holds, shushing (white noise), swinging or jiggling movements can trigger the reflex.
  
• Swaddling: Most successful with square blankets. Swaddling makes a baby feel like it's protected and safe back in the womb. Pattern of wrapping = down up, down up. Put blanket in a diamond shape. Fold the top corner down. Line the baby's shoulders up with the top fold line of the blanket. Fold the left corner over the baby's right arm (which is in a down position) in a very, very snug position; tuck it and snug it underneath the baby's left side; fold the bottom corner up to the baby's left shoulder and tuck it a little under to keep the arm snug; pull the right corner out, snug it a little, pull it to the center, hold it in place; pull the bottom right hand corner of the blanket diagonally up across the baby's right side; snug it around, and tuck it into the back or side.
• Swaddling is most important for the first three months.
• Roll babies onto their sides with their faces slightly facing down--getting the right angle is very important.
• The third S is "ssshhhing" or white noise. You sssshhh as loudly as the baby is crying. You can use white noise machines, the static of a radio, a vacuum, hairdryer, etc.
  
• The fourth S is "swinging." You jiggle the baby's head like it's a plate of Jello-O. You can put your legs hip-width apart, lay the baby on your knees with its head on your hands, move your knees closely together to cause a jiggle in its head.
• The fifth S is "sucking" on the breast, fingers, or pacifiers. When a baby is sucking on a pacifier, you should try to pull it away a little to build a baby's sucking strength (they are trying to keep the pacifier in their mouth).
  
• Don't give a baby a pacifier until breastfeeding is going really well.

If you're interested in seeing the updated version of my infant care notes, you can go here.

One of the main benefits of watching the DVD was that it involved Matt in the preparation process. I'm the one who's doing all the reading, and I think it was really good for him to hear crying babies and see struggling parents.

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