In perhaps the most important parenting book of the decade, Dr. Harvey Karp reveals an extraordinary treasure sought by parents for centuries—an automatic “off-switch” for their baby’s crying.
No wonder pediatricians across the country are praising him and thousands of Los Angeles parents, from working moms to superstars like Madonna and Pierce Brosnan, have turned to him to learn the secrets for making babies happy.
Never again will parents have to stand by helpless and frazzled while their poor baby cries and cries. Dr. Karp has found there IS a remedy for colic. “I share with parents techniques known only to the most gifted baby soothers throughout history …and I explain exactly how they work.”
In a innovative and thought-provoking reevaluation of early infancy, Dr. Karp blends modern science and ancient wisdom to prove that newborns are not fully ready for the world when they are born. Through his research and experience, he has developed four basic principles that are crucial for understanding babies as well as improving their sleep and soothing their senses:
The Missing Fourth Trimester: as odd as it may sound, one of the main reasons babies cry is because they are born three months too soon.
The Calming Reflex: the automatic reset switch to stop crying of any baby in the first few months of life.
The 5 “S’s”: the simple steps (swaddling, side/stomach position, shushing, swinging and sucking) that trigger the calming reflex. For centuries, parents have tried these methods only to fail because, as with a knee reflex, the calming reflex only works when it is triggered in precisely the right way. Unlike other books that merely list these techniques Dr. Karp teaches parents exactly how to do them, to guide cranky infants to calm and easy babies to serenity in minutes…and help them sleep longer too.
The Cuddle Cure: the perfect mix the 5 “S’s” that can soothe even the most colicky of infants.
In the book, Dr. Karp also explains: * What is colic? * Why do most babies get much more upset in the evening? * How can a parent calm a baby—in mere minutes? * Can babies be spoiled? * When should a parent of a crying baby call the doctor? * How can a parent get their baby to sleep a few hours longer?
Even the most loving moms and dads sometimes feel pushed to the breaking point by their infant’s persistent cries. Coming to the rescue, however, Dr. Karp places in the hands of parents, grandparents, and all childcare givers the tools they need to be able to calm their babies almost as easily as…turning off a light.
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Product Details
Author:
Harvey Karp
Paperback:
267 pages
Publisher:
Bantam
Publication Date:
May 27, 2003
Language:
English
ISBN:
0553381466
Product Length:
5.48 inches
Product Width:
0.62 inches
Product Height:
8.24 inches
Product Weight:
0.5 pounds
Package Length:
8.19 inches
Package Width:
5.51 inches
Package Height:
0.71 inches
Package Weight:
0.53 pounds
Average Customer Rating:
based on 925 reviews
Features
NATIONAL BESTSELLER!
1. The 4th Trimester: Re-creating the womblike atmosphere your newborn baby still yearns for.
2. The Calming Reflex: Quickly sooths fussing and crying.
3. Five easy methods to turn on your baby's calming reflex.
4. The Cuddle Cure: Comine with 5 S's to calm even colicky babies.
Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review: ( 925 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
356 of 364 found the following review helpful:
Magic Dec 02, 2004
By A reader
"moneysavers"
The advice in this book is pure magic. Our baby wasn't colicky but she was Very fussy. Everytime I did what this book suggested - swaddle, jiggle, hold sideways, and shush - she would stop crying instantly. Yes, Instantly. It was like pure magic. Nothing worked before this book. I encourage everyone to buy it, it is a life-saver.
I agree with a previous review, in that it is most helpful the first three months. That's what it's geared towards. The author calls it the fourth trimester and focuses on that. After I started swaddling her (as the author clearly isslustrates how to do) my daughter started sleeping through the night. I no longer need this book because I was able to be so responsive to her needs in the first three months, that she is now secure enough to sleep on her own without being swaddled.
This book is also very well organized. As a matter of fact, you don't even have to read the whole book! He has helpful summaries and bullet points along the way. Just reading one page where he clearly and succinctly summarizes everything can save your life the first three months and get your baby on the road to being a trusting, self-suffient child.
This book did more than just help me soothe my infant. It increased my self-esteem as a parent. I knew that jiggling my baby soothed her. But the horrified looks on people's faces when you start jiggling a baby! Oh my! At least after reading this book it helped me know that it was indeed ok to do what intutively worked.
Also, the author is right - there's no spoling a baby. I "spoiled" my daughter like crazy. And what do I have now? A clingly baby who is addicted to jiggling and swaddling (as many people predicted when I followed the author's advice - "she'll be addicted and you'll have to swaddle her FOREVER!"). No! I have a happy baby who goes to sleep on her own and sleeps through the night. By the way, she's 4 months old. She Never needs to be jiggled anymore, or swaddled. I still put white noise on in the background for her though. But I hear many adults sleep that way too.
This book is also very sensitve and kind to the needs of our precious little babies. He says that the first three months are the fourth trimester. That the baby was in you for nine whole months and got used to there being sound and movement and confinement. And when they're born it's unnatural (and, in my opinion, cruel) to leave them to their own devices and figure out how to be a human being in the world right away. They need our help while they get their bearings. They're so tiny and the world is so big.
As a matter of fact, many book I read suggest not swaddling past the second month, or even past the first month. But the author recommends doing it for as long as the baby needs it. All babies are different and need to take their own time! And not only for as long as the baby needs it, but also as much as the baby needs it. That's right, swaddle the baby as often as the baby wants it. Some books say this hinders development but the author points out that if the baby needs it, it calms the baby down enough for the baby to be a ble to pay attention to the world and learn. My baby wanted to be swaddled for many hours out of every day. I felt guilty becuase so many other resources say not to do that. But this book helped me see that it was only natural. The author asked - doesn't your baby seem happier this way? YES!! She was So much happier when she was swaddled. And this did not make her addicted to it, as I said before - she went from being swaddled most of the day to not being swaddled Ever quickly and effortlessly.
I know this is a long review. I just have to strongly recommend this book. It's usefuleness and help go so much beyond sleeping issues. I love this book. It is the single most useful book I have ever read.
103 of 104 found the following review helpful:
Good info...but not worth a whole book Jun 28, 2010
By Alex Atterbury The thesis in the book is excellent - by understanding a baby's needs and how the first few months are really the "fourth trimester," we can learn to use his five-steps to calming a colicky infant.
The problem isn't that the advice is bad, because it's excellent and very practical. It's that he just repeats and repeats the same points, occasionally slipping in another nugget of useful info. This should be a 10-page handout, not a book. Heck, I probably could paste in enough directions for you to do this in this comment box, thus saving you from buying the whole book.
My advice - check it out from the library or borrow it, because in 20 minutes you'll have figured it out and you you can spend the money on diapers (the need of which cannot be abridged!).
249 of 267 found the following review helpful:
Very good - but only for the first three months. Sep 06, 2002
By Judith E. Golden This book is an excellent read - having a nice easy style and with some Anthropology thrown in. Be warned, this is not very good for babies over three months. I have a two month old who is fussy, and I found that I already used a lot of these techniques without knowing it! The one thing that has really been helpful so far is swaddling. It seems to help her take naps better. For 3 months and up, look at "The No-Cry Sleep Solution". It is similar to this book in that it uses a common sense approach to getting babies to calm down or sleep. Also, Healthy Sleep, Happy Child" gives a more scientific explanation of baby sleep.
218 of 235 found the following review helpful:
The Happiest Baby on the Block May 30, 2002
By dhari thein This book saved our lives! Our little girl came home from the hospital wailing and it never stopped. She would cry for hours upon hours and nothing would soothe her--not cuddling, not feedings, not burping, not changings, not my mother-in-law (the baby soother extraordinaire), nothing...until this book!
The horror is finally over--the technique absolutely works every time. The book is well-written, easy to follow and the examples of other parents going through this are so reassuring. I am happy to report that now, at 7 weeks, we have lots of cooing, many smiles, bonding (nearly impossible with a screaming baby) and a lot more sleeping. You can call the author Dr. Karp, but in our house he is reverentially referred to as Saint Harvey--our patron saint of babies. If you have a fussy baby I can not recommend this book enough. It truly works miracles!
If I were the Queen of Everything I would make sure all new parents and hospital nurses learned this method. It could save so many, so much. Thank you Saint Harvey!
32 of 33 found the following review helpful:
The Most Important Purchase for New Parents Jul 30, 2002 I have read just about every major book that purports to explain why some babies are fussy and how to calm them. None of them can hold a candle to Dr. Karp's book. Forget about gas and all the other theories -- this book clearly and easily explains what newborns are experiencing. And the best part is the technique for calming that is based on cutting edge medical research. The book's explanation of the "calming reflex" is pretty fascinating, but if you really want to calm your baby, buy the accompanying video with the book. It is an eye-opener! When you see Dr. Karp take a dozen different babies and calm them in a matter of seconds, you finally see what the book can't stress enough -- it's a calming REFLEX, just like swallowing, and anyone can learn how to trigger it. The video is a surefire way to assure yourself that you are mastering the technique. It shows the technique again and again, with helpful tips and trouble-shooting. This is the ticket to new parents' peace of mind.
based on 925 reviews
Magic Dec 02, 2004
By A reader
"moneysavers"
Good info...but not worth a whole book Jun 28, 2010
By Alex Atterbury
Very good - but only for the first three months. Sep 06, 2002
By Judith E. Golden
