Sleep and soothing3 min read

Harvey Karp's five steps, in plain English

A reliable sequence for the inconsolable evening hour.

Karp was a paediatrician who noticed that newborns calm faster when adults imitate the womb. He named five conditions and found that doing them together works better than any one alone.

Swaddle. Side or stomach (only while you hold them, never for sleep). Shushing, loud and close to the ear. Swing, a tiny rapid jiggle of the head. Suck, which is not a feed, just a finger or pacifier.

It is more useful as a recipe than as a theory. When the witching hour starts, run through the five and watch which two or three settle your baby fastest. That becomes your house move.

Try this week

Tonight, try the full sequence once before assuming nothing works.
Notice which of the five your baby responds to most, and lean on those.
Loud is the one most parents underdo. White noise should be as loud as a vacuum cleaner.

Reference. Harvey Karp, "The Happiest Baby on the Block"