When I find a product or service that I think other people would enjoy, I am the first to jump up and sing its praises. And I've got some praisin' to do today, folks. Oh, yes I do.
First, Amazon.com. Yeah, yeah, everyone knows Amazon. Big Whoop. But wait--here's the deal: I ordered a DVD from them a couple of weeks ago, and it never came. I tried tracking the item, but the farthest I could track it was to Dallas, and that was LAST WEEK. So, skeptically, I went to Amazon's customer service link and found that there was no phone number to call. If you want to contact Amazon by phone, you have to enter your phone number and wait for them to call you. This wasn't looking good. Instead of sitting by the phone, I decided to use the email option. I typed out my problem (where's my shit, yo?), listed the order number, clicked "send," and went about my business (that's a fancy way of saying that I cleaned up more spit up and poop.).
Three hours later, I got this email:
Greetings from Amazon.com.
I'm sorry, but it appears that your order has been lost in shipping.
I've placed a new order for you at no charge...
It is scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. That. Is customer service.
When the Mr. got home, I told him all about Amazon and how they showed me Real Love. Then he went to check the mail.
You know where this is going, don't you?
The "lost" DVD was in the mailbox. And the new one had already been shipped (already!), so I couldn't cancel the order. If I decide not to keep it (and I may keep it and pay for it and give it as a gift...keep reading), I'll have to just refuse delivery.
Anyway.
The DVD is my second Really Good Stuff item that I want to tell you about.
If you are a parent, you will understand what I mean when I say that this DVD may have very possibly Changed My Life. And I mean that.
If you are not a parent, but may one day become one, remember this. It might save you.
The DVD is Dr. Harvey Karp's The Happiest Baby on the Block.
See, The Boy is a very good baby. He doesn't cry a whole lot, and Good Lord is he ever cute. He even lets me sleep for 3- and 4-hour stretches at a time during the night. But y'all? The Boy wouldn't nap. Well, he'd "nap" for anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes at a time, but the MAX was 30 minutes. And on those days when he'd only catch a few 5-10-minute catnaps, he'd be downright crotchedy and only want to nurse, nurse, nurse all day long. I just chalked it all up to his not being much of a napper and having some growth spurts.
Well.
I watched this little 60-minute video last night, and in a nutshell, Dr. Karp thinks that the first 3 months of a baby's life should be considered the "Fourth Trimester," during which Baby is just trying to adjust to being outside the womb. Then he explains the 5 S's--five very, very simple things that we can do to make Baby feel more comfortable and calm. When you really think about it, it's just common sense. But I'm a sleep-deprived new mom, and who has time for common sense when you're knee deep in poopy diapers, right?
Y'all. This morning The Boy took a 2-hour nap. Did you hear me? TWO HOURS!
Right now, during what is usually his most active/cranky/hungry time of day? He's been asleep for almost an hour and shows no signs of letting up any time soon.
This is unheard of. I've filed our tax return, answered emails, and MADE COOKIES for crying the hell outloud!
And in between these glorious newborn naps, the child has been just plain happy. Smiling, almost laughing, and NOT EVEN CRYING DURING HIS DIAPER CHANGE! Diaper changes! With no crying!
My God, I didn't know it could be this good. Really, y'all, I didn't.
Of course, I'm giving it a few more days before I'm officially sold, but if this continues, I'm going to have myself a glass of milk, just to see what happens. I have a sneaky suspicion that his afternoon/evening crankiness may have nothing at all to do with food sensitivities.
The Boy's just been tired.
Thursday, February 02, 2006
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5 comments:
What are the steps?!
HBOTB is *absolutely* a miracle - our little madam was opposed to napping (still is) until we overcame her opposition with the 5-S techniques (swaddling, swinging and shh-ing being the biggies). FYI, in the spirit of good stuff, if the swaddling works for you, you should try the Miracle Blanket - it (mostly) contains our wriggler (that sounds dirty) where regular blankets ceased being effective around 6 weeks.
BUT. I have to add - HBOTB has been like parenting crack for hubbie and I. Baby is days away from leaving the fourth trimester and I just can't see giving up the S's. I'm actually terrified to try (and obsessed with this matter), but as Baby becomes more powerful (fuelled by the sleep, no doubt) she is becoming resistant to the techniques at times (and is shortening her naps again). BUT I CAN'T MOVE ON. Don't know how; afraid to try.
This however should not in any way detract from the miracle that is HBOTB - I would (and do) still push it upon every new/expectant parent I know and even some I don't. Tho' I suppose I'd be doing that with crack, too.
Erica--the 5 S's are Swaddling (tightly!), Shhh-ing, Side or Stomach (not to sleep, just to soothe, although I sometimes let Alex sleep on his side), Swinging (or jiggling), and Sucking. Swaddling is a must, and I added Side and Swinging (actually I did the jiggle that is demonstrated on the video). Alex was OUT. I had to wake him up this afternoon to eat. He usually needs a paci several times during the day, and he didn't take it even once today.
There is a book, but I recommend the video because it's pretty short and you can see exactly how to do the strategies.
2Badladies--Thanks for the tip about the Miracle Blanket. I was actually looking at that on Baby's R Us today! Right now, the only blanket we have that really works is the stretchy thermal kind, and I want to get a couple more of those.
I can definitely see how weaning from the 5 S's might be a challenge. Since swaddling seems to be our #1 help, I'm hoping that we can just gradually loosen the wrap as he gets older. However, I've heard of babies as old as 6 months still being swaddled to sleep.
I'm just happy to have this kind of progress right now! It's also good to hear that HBOTB worked for you too. Maybe this isn't just a fluke!
I forgot to mention in my last comment that you should definitely have a listen to the 'soothing sounds' on the DVD. They're these totally psycho womb sounds, but they worked really well with Emilia for a time. Calmed her, and kept her sleeping longer. It took hubbie and I a few weeks to explore this option on the DVD; we totally could have put it to use earlier. Anyway. It might not work with every baby (and it's a bit much for grown-up ears, even if you have soft spot for German garage-goth metal - which this stuff sounds like it would serve as the downbeat for.)
Re: your comment on my post about needing an HBOTB swaddling support group - TOTALLY. I'm committed to continuing swaddling for the moment - cuz it works - but I'm having (as you saw) my crazy anxious moments. BTW, despite my daughter's well-documented ability to get out of the Miracle Blanket, I still totally stand by it - it works better than anything else would...
2bad--I ordered the Miracle Blanket yesterday. :)
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