Shhh...

We are very lucky to have one calm, cool and collected little baby in miss Eloise. She has a sunny, smiley disposition but on occasion it does take some effort to get her settled and off to sleep. I was given an awesome book called The Happiest Baby on the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp and in reading it Chris and I have learned some great tools for those times when Eloise is not a happy camper.

Image source: Amazon.ca

The focus of this book is on helping parents of babies with colic, but I've found many of Dr. Karp's techniques useful for when Eloise is upset too. My favourite technique, and Chris' too, is the '5 S's': swaddling, sucking, shh-ing, swaying and side/stomach. For swaddling we use our favourite swaddling blanket, a pacifier for sucking, a Sleep Sheep to provide the 'shh' and a close, side-lying cuddle while we sway her. Works like a charm every time!