The 5 S’s You Need to Know
If you find yourself randomly switching up soothing techniques to quiet your crying newborn, and feel like it’s barely making a difference, I recommend you try the 5 S’s.
While crying babies are very normal, and often nothing to be concerned about, that doesn’t mean that there’s nothing you can do to comfort, soothe, and get your baby to sleep (and give yourself a bit of a break!)
This technique comes down to a simple ideology: recreating the sensations of the womb.
With swaddling, side/stomach positioning, shushing, swinging, and sucking, you’ll be recreating the environment your baby called home for the last 9 months and bringing peace to everyone in your home!
Done in this order, you might not even need to make your way through all 5! Let’s start with
Swaddle
You can use the blanket your baby was sent home with from the hospital, or a fancy premade swaddle wrap. Either way, gently swaddle your baby tight around the arms and loose around the belly to give your baby the sense of feeling held and secure. Plus, this dulls their startle response and ensures that no flailing arms keeps baby awake. Remember that once your baby shows signs of rolling, swaddle is no longer safe for sleeping.
Side/ Stomach Position
While holding your baby, prop them on their side or stomach. If you transfer them to their crib, always place them on their back, but in your arms babies love these alternate positions!
Shush
Similar to the white noise of the womb, shushing just feels instinctually like how we want to soothe a crying baby, and it’s for a reason! It recreates the consistent hum of life in the womb, and doesn't always have to be soft, either. Consistent and firm can be a great way to shush.
Swinging
And of course we have to rock the baby! While supporting the head and neck, you can allow for the slightest range of back and forth motion of the supported head, to get the feel of a gently rocking boat. Moving your own body with the rocking helps to also soothe your nervous system, and during this step is a great time to take a breathe and recenter yourself! Be aware of not shaking or jolting the baby, and keep the rocking smooth and consistent.
Suck
Often, you may not even make it to this step, but adding sucking on a the breast, a bottle, or pacifier is the final S. Sucking has many positive effects on babies, and can be the final step in lulling your now soothed baby to sleep.
If you’ve reached the end of these 5 S’s and still have a crying baby on your hands, you can check to see if there may be a contributing issue (gas, hunger, dirty diaper, etc), take a moment to centre yourself and regulate your nervous system, and try them from the start again. While the 5 S’s can work wonders on their own, they do still require patience and time from you, the final piece to the 5 S’s!
If any of these steps feel confusing, you can find more information on safe practices on the links below.
https://www.happiestbaby.com/blogs/baby/the-5-s-s-for-soothing-babies
https://happiestbabyscience.com/wp-content/uploads/5-Ss-Handout_v0523.pdf