Dr Karp's Theory to treat baby colic
In today's post, we intend to expand a bit more on the theory of Dr Harvey Karp. This summary is based on the book "The happiest baby in the neighborhood". To further expand on your theory we recommend reading the book or visiting its website at www.happiestbaby.com
In a nutshell, the basis of Dr. Karp's theory is that babies need a fourth quarter to finish developing. As the human being is so advanced and has developed so much his brain, this prevents the fourth trimester of gestation because the babies would be born too big (being impossible for the mothers to survive the birth). So, as nature is wise, it has advanced the gestation to the third trimester. However, this fact has as a consequence that some babies are still immature in some aspects.
Whether or not it is true that the baby needs a fourth trimester of pregnancy, what is certain is that the first trimester of a baby's life, he needs to be comforted, suckled, embraced, etc. Without time limit. Thanks to new research it is finally clear that responding to the needs of your baby, taking it and embracing it in the first trimester of life will not spoil it.
Remember that your baby has spent almost ten months inside your uterus. In a constant hug. Hot, feeling close, listening to your heart. Suddenly, the day of childbirth (which is usually a 'traumatic' act for the child) your whole world is turned upside down. Stop feeling the heat and the constant hug. Now you have to learn to breathe alone, you no longer eat through yours, but you also have to make the effort to feed yourself. No doubt, seek the comforting warmth of the chest. It is the closest thing to the sensation that I had felt until then. At the same time, while breast, he loves to listen to your heart ... just as he did when he was growing in your belly.
It is for the reasons described above, that Dr Karp observed that the only way to relax the baby was to emulate the sensations of when he / she was in the womb. And, to describe it in a simple and catchy way (so that it fits us quickly), it summarizes it in 5 actions that we must develop and that he names the 5S:
• Swaddling. Wrap your baby The first step to reassuring the baby is to make him feel embraced as when he was inside the womb. The best way to achieve this effect is by wrapping the baby in a lullaby. There are different techniques and different products that help the baby to have this sensation. It's just a matter of finding the technique / product that works best for your baby. In addition, the fact of hugging your baby also prevents the movement of legs and arms that cause colic and that only get the baby more nervous.
• Side / stomach position. Place your baby on your side or upside down. This position is very good for two reasons. Dr Karp says that this position is good because it reduces the reflection of the Moor (when babies open their arms scared why it feels like they are going to fall). In addition, but, personally I have verified that this position is very good to release gases. If your baby has problems releasing gas, this position is basic and will help reduce his discomfort.
• Swinging. Balances the baby. Once we have completed the two previous S, we will proceed to swing the baby. You have to understand your baby, what kind of movement he likes. Do you like that you swing? Or you prefer to make little jumps. The point is that any movement you make will have to be something constant. You will do it in a continuous way until your baby calms down. The intensity of this movement will also vary. At first you have to make movements with great intensity to calm the baby. Draw your attention. As it calms down we will lower its intensity.
• Shushing. Make a tranquilizing noise constantly. Like the sound of your heart when the baby was in your belly. The noise can be made with the mouth or with a device. It can even be the noise of the vacuum cleaner. Today there are many applications of 'white noise'. The easiest thing if you make the noise yourself is to make a "Shhhh" or "Mmmmm" sound. Like the previous point, at the beginning you have to make the noise with more intensity to get the attention of the baby, but as it calms down we will lower this intensity.
• Sucking. This is the final S. Babies usually calm down by sucking on the breast of the mother or the pacifier. To keep the baby relaxed, it is recommended that the whole process ends with a brief period of breast, or with a pacifier. In this way, it will lengthen the state of relaxation.
As we have already commented at the beginning of this post, this is a summarized version and to expand the knowledge that Dr Karp gives us, we should read the book that includes much more detailed information and references to different examples. But, nevertheless, this summary will help us to understand the principles of the theory.
We become automatic followers of the plan as soon as we begin to apply it. Following these five steps, combined with the heat in the belly of the Wawa Band, was the only thing that calmed our princess.
https://happiestbaby.com/shop/
https://www.kusiwawa.com/gases-bebe-tratamiento-natural
https://www.kusiwawa.com/el-cuarto-trimestre
In a nutshell, the basis of Dr. Karp's theory is that babies need a fourth quarter to finish developing. As the human being is so advanced and has developed so much his brain, this prevents the fourth trimester of gestation because the babies would be born too big (being impossible for the mothers to survive the birth). So, as nature is wise, it has advanced the gestation to the third trimester. However, this fact has as a consequence that some babies are still immature in some aspects.
Whether or not it is true that the baby needs a fourth trimester of pregnancy, what is certain is that the first trimester of a baby's life, he needs to be comforted, suckled, embraced, etc. Without time limit. Thanks to new research it is finally clear that responding to the needs of your baby, taking it and embracing it in the first trimester of life will not spoil it.
Remember that your baby has spent almost ten months inside your uterus. In a constant hug. Hot, feeling close, listening to your heart. Suddenly, the day of childbirth (which is usually a 'traumatic' act for the child) your whole world is turned upside down. Stop feeling the heat and the constant hug. Now you have to learn to breathe alone, you no longer eat through yours, but you also have to make the effort to feed yourself. No doubt, seek the comforting warmth of the chest. It is the closest thing to the sensation that I had felt until then. At the same time, while breast, he loves to listen to your heart ... just as he did when he was growing in your belly.
It is for the reasons described above, that Dr Karp observed that the only way to relax the baby was to emulate the sensations of when he / she was in the womb. And, to describe it in a simple and catchy way (so that it fits us quickly), it summarizes it in 5 actions that we must develop and that he names the 5S:
• Swaddling. Wrap your baby The first step to reassuring the baby is to make him feel embraced as when he was inside the womb. The best way to achieve this effect is by wrapping the baby in a lullaby. There are different techniques and different products that help the baby to have this sensation. It's just a matter of finding the technique / product that works best for your baby. In addition, the fact of hugging your baby also prevents the movement of legs and arms that cause colic and that only get the baby more nervous.
• Side / stomach position. Place your baby on your side or upside down. This position is very good for two reasons. Dr Karp says that this position is good because it reduces the reflection of the Moor (when babies open their arms scared why it feels like they are going to fall). In addition, but, personally I have verified that this position is very good to release gases. If your baby has problems releasing gas, this position is basic and will help reduce his discomfort.
• Swinging. Balances the baby. Once we have completed the two previous S, we will proceed to swing the baby. You have to understand your baby, what kind of movement he likes. Do you like that you swing? Or you prefer to make little jumps. The point is that any movement you make will have to be something constant. You will do it in a continuous way until your baby calms down. The intensity of this movement will also vary. At first you have to make movements with great intensity to calm the baby. Draw your attention. As it calms down we will lower its intensity.
• Shushing. Make a tranquilizing noise constantly. Like the sound of your heart when the baby was in your belly. The noise can be made with the mouth or with a device. It can even be the noise of the vacuum cleaner. Today there are many applications of 'white noise'. The easiest thing if you make the noise yourself is to make a "Shhhh" or "Mmmmm" sound. Like the previous point, at the beginning you have to make the noise with more intensity to get the attention of the baby, but as it calms down we will lower this intensity.
• Sucking. This is the final S. Babies usually calm down by sucking on the breast of the mother or the pacifier. To keep the baby relaxed, it is recommended that the whole process ends with a brief period of breast, or with a pacifier. In this way, it will lengthen the state of relaxation.
As we have already commented at the beginning of this post, this is a summarized version and to expand the knowledge that Dr Karp gives us, we should read the book that includes much more detailed information and references to different examples. But, nevertheless, this summary will help us to understand the principles of the theory.
We become automatic followers of the plan as soon as we begin to apply it. Following these five steps, combined with the heat in the belly of the Wawa Band, was the only thing that calmed our princess.
https://happiestbaby.com/shop/
https://www.kusiwawa.com/gases-bebe-tratamiento-natural
https://www.kusiwawa.com/el-cuarto-trimestre