Thanks to Dr. Harvey Karp!

Most new parents have probably heard of Harvey Karp's book The Happiest Baby on the Block. Harvey and I had heard about it, but last week - after too many very sleepless nights - we sat down and watched the video. As Harvey said, it made him want to cry seeing how easily this man was able to calm and soothe a screaming baby. According to Dr. Karp, the first three months of a baby's life are the "fourth trimester", and replicating womb-like conditions is a soothing thing for them; it's all about activating the "calming instinct." How, you ask? Well, he has five Ss: swaddling, sushing, lying on their side, swaying back and forth (kind of jiggling), and sucking. The sucking is usually taken care of by nursing, but a finger or pacifier helps. The swaddling is really hard - Resli grunts and groans and makes you think she's totally miserable all wrapped up tight like that. But then you pick her up and put her under your arm like a loaf of french bread, bounce her up and down -gently- a little, and loudly "SSSHHHhhhhh" in her ear (supposedly what it sounds like in the womb?!?), and she's OUT like a light. It's like flipping a switch, it's an instant change. She's snoring within seconds and, usually, you can put her right down in the crib and she's good for 3 or 4 hours. If she gets an arm free, though, she'll wake up - that's how powerful the swaddle is.
After we watched this video, we went out and bought a swing (see the picture below), which has already made up for its cost by allowing us to sit down and peacefully eat dinner, together and without a baby in either lap, for the past week. And we bought a white noise machine that we turn up nice and loud in her room, make the whole place a big womb! And, at the risk of jinxing our luck, we've had great success. Since then, she has slept more and more soundly at night than ever before. And we're starting to feel a little more like human beings! A little, not a lot. But every little bit counts. So, thanks to Dr. Karp for his miracles!
Some pictures follow, of the Ss in action and some other adorable moments.
-Gillian