5 S’s (Swaddle, Side, Shush, Swing, and Suck)

Developed by Dr. Harvey Karp, pediatrician, author of Happiest Baby on the Block, and creator of the SNOO, the smart baby bed known as the world’s safest bassinet, the 5 S’s are a simple and helpful set of steps for soothing little ones in those first 2 months, when their self-soothing skills are essentially non existent. Studies have been done on just how effective the 5 S’s are in calming babies under 3 months and they show pretty conclusively that babies calm down much quicker after a traumatic event like immunizations when the 5 S’s are utilized compared to a parents normal attempts to calm baby.

The 5 S’s stand for:  swaddle, side, shush, swing, and suck. You can find a video here which goes over them in a bit more detail.

Swaddle: Babies love a swaddle. They may fight it at first, but if done properly, it recreates that snug womb sensation that makes them calm down. You can use a muslin blanket to swaddle a baby, but make sure you are doing it properly. Dr. Karp demonstrates the DUDU method here.

Side: Babies should only sleep on their backs, but for soothing, babies love being on their sides because it doesn’t trigger the Moro Reflex ( the feeling of falling that makes their arms jerk).

Shush: The louder you can shush, the better. Think vacuum cleaner or white noise machine level. If the baby is crying louder than you are shushing, it won’t work.

Swing: Gently jiggle/ swing baby a little bit from side to side in your arms. Babies love movement.

Suck: A breast or a pacifier usually spells instant quiet for a newborn.

When all of these are done together, baby calms down the vast majority of the time.

By Hannah Mira, Founder of Bonsoir Bebe Sleep Consulting