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The Answers To The Baby Snooze Questions Every Sleep-Deprived Parent Has

The Answers To The Baby Snooze Questions Every Sleep-Deprived Parent Has
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li"The 5 S's."

If you've had a baby in the past 15 years, you've likely had someone whisper these three little words to you as you stood helpless in the face of your baby's crying.

The phrase, which comes from Dr. Harvey Karp's The Happiest Baby on the Block, is part of the pediatrician's regimen for calming babies and helping them get to sleep happily.

What it's all about

They stand for "swaddle" (i.e. the baby burrito), "side" (holding a baby on their side or over your shoulder), "shush" (just like it sounds .. or alternatively, white noise), "swing" (rocking a baby firmly for movement) and "suck" (if you've ever seen a pacifier work its magic on a newborn, you know what this is about).

Doing these five things, either one at a time or all together, can help soothe babies and also (more importantly?) new parents. Dr. Karp is a guy who knows what he's talking about (he's even invented a crib that brings all these ideas together), which is why we invited him into our studio to ask him some of the most common sleep questions when it comes to babies.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.