Rating: 
Summary: Creating order out of chaos
Review: As a first time mother with a colicky newborn I felt my life had descended into chaos. Dr. Karp's book helped instill a sense of order and calm for both my son and me. The Happiest Baby on the Block philosophy and strategies make intuitive sense and, most importantly, worked to calm my baby. I now feel more in control and knowledgeable about ways to soothe my son. I'm also getting more sleep :) Instead of buying clothes or toys as gifts for new parents, I'm giving them this book.
Rating:
Summary: Right on the Money!
Review: Wish we had know about this book with our first child - would have saved many sleepless nights and anxiety. We are using the methods in this book with our newborn son and the results are incredible! The swadling/shooshing technique really works and subsequently, our son is easier to calm and sleeps longer through the night!
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Summary: Dr. Harvey is our Hero!
Review: We bought this book when our daughter was three weeks old and it has profoundly influenced our daily - and nightly!- routine for the better. The "Cuddle Cure" works every time we try it because the combination of swaddling, side holding, shhhh-ing, sucking and swinging is such common sense yet Dr. Harvey has medical science to back it up. He explains very easily why neurologically babies need a "fourth trimester" and why the combination of these things illict a calming reflex. It literally works within minutes and we are able to calm our daughter by following these simple steps. She knows that relief is in sight once she is swaddled. Also, it is helpful to us because if she continues to cry we know that it's either because she is hungry or needs a new diaper but she doesn't "fuss" anymore after we use the 5 S's. We are also amazed at how long she sleeps through the night - she can literally go 7 hours straight without waking up since we swaddle her (she is 2 months old now). It is a pleasure to sleep again, particularly because for first 3 weeks she had her days and nights confused and woke up everytime we would put her down. We were emotionally and physically exhausted until we got this book and started using the 5 S's. This book was a tremendous help to us and we would highly recommend it to anyone with an infant. Happy reading!
Rating:
Summary: Zzzzzzz - finally
Review: My husband and I were exhausted beyond belief after trying our own (numerous) techniques to get our 4 week old firstborn son to sleep. Nothing was working for us and he was only sleeping for an hour or so at a time each night. After applying Dr. Karp's techniques, he began to sleep for three and four hour stretches on a regular basis. We have regained our sanity! Additionally, we have employed the same techniques when our son becomes extremely fussy during the day and in almost all instances, we are able to calm him down within a minute or two. We are thinking of renaming our son Harvey!! Just kidding....but we are seriously indebted to Dr. Karp and so thankful that his theories have made all the difference to us. Life has become manageable again.
Rating:
Summary: Even if your baby is fussy, rather than colicky, it works
Review: I stumbled upon this book while looking for books on how to get my baby to sleep more hours through the night. I decided to give it a shot, mostly because of the reviews posted here on Amazon. It's the best [money] I've spent! While our son is not colicky (he doesn't scream and cry), he is fussy. His fussiness began at seven weeks- he just seemed unhappy- crying etc. He also had trouble falling asleep- especially during the day. He only would sleep 2-3 hours at night. Now we use the methods described in the book, and it calms him right down. He stops crying and becomes very peaceful and sleeps like the dead (five hours straight last night!) The methods are not difficult and the book is very funny. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a fussy or colicky baby!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: We bought this book two weeks before the birth of our fourth child. We were trying desperately to avoid the situation we found ourselves in with our third: a fussy, high maintenance baby who cried often and was difficult to console. We began practicing Dr. Karp's methods while still in the hospital. We were astounded at the results. We realized that we had stumbled onto the secrets of baby soothing! All in one volume! People scoffed. Friends told us it was too good to be true. Many seemed to gleefully await the dreaded six-week mark when "colic" supposedly appears. Our little one sailed right past the "colicky" period. Content. Sleeping six hours at six weeks and ten hours at ten weeks. This from a breastfed baby! Dr. Karp makes the distinction between true colic and an unhappy baby. It will be very easy to tell if your baby is truly suffering from an actual medical problem or if your little one is simply craving a return to the way it was in the womb! We cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you could only buy one baby book, THIS SHOULD BE THE ONE!
Rating:
Summary: Finally a Book I can Recommend!
Review: As a mom of 20 years, a nurse of 23 years, a birth/ parenting educator of 6 years, and a lactation consulant of 5 years.... I have waited a long time for this book! I am now including "The Happiest Baby on the Block" in my "Intuitive Parenting" classes, and recommending it to my clients. Why? Well, for one, it is research based. As far as I can tell, the only book of it's type that is based on more than just a few anecdotes, or a compilation of the work of others. HBOTB draws it's wisdom from actual research on what helps colic. Until now, colic has defied medical and, at times, intuitive management. It has been the great baffler for which we parents have taken alot of blame... but no more! Second, it works! I am always reluctant to recommend any parenting book because in 23 years, I have found few that actually do what they say they will. This book delivers! In every situation where I have helped parents implement Dr. Karp's strategies I have seen improvement. Improvement in baby's ability to calm, improvement in parent outlook, and.... to top it off, improved feeding! What do I mean by "improved feeding?" I mean calmer latching, less fussing at the breast, and fewer spit-ups. I mean good weight gain! I will continue to observe for the downside to this book (there has to be one, doesn't there?) But for now, I am encouraging moms and dads to read the book, try the 5 S's and enjoy their babies! Sincerely, Susan Keith-Hergert RNC, MS, IBCLC
Holistic Natal Care
Cincinnati
Rating:
Summary: absolute magic!!!
Review: My wife and I just laughed and laughed over how effective Dr. Karp's calming techniques work. We just couldn't believe it! Our first baby cried and cried, but our new second baby has been a dream come true thanks to this book. And regardless of what an earlier reviewer said, not everything in this book is obvious and already known...in fact, some of it is downright counterintuitive. I can't recommend this book enough!
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Summary: If you have a crying newborn, GET THIS BOOK NOW!!
Review: This book worked like magic the FIRST night we tried it. It's really a mircacle. We had tried everything, it seemed, with our 5 week old until we read and tried Dr. Karp's methods this past week. It's SPOOKY how well the methods work and how QUICKLY!! Don't waste your money and time with any other sleep books until you read and try this one. This is a well-written book that can be sped read in a couple of hours. If you buy it TODAY and follow the "5S's," you will sleep TONIGHT! How's that for results??!!
Rating:
Summary: I Highly Recommend This Book
Review: As a new mother of a fussy one-month-old baby, I got "advice" from just about every person I met or talked to. None of this advice was helpful, and much of it went against what I believe in. Dr. Karp's book not only gave me fool proof ways to help calm my daughter, it also reaffirmed by belief that you cannot spoil a newborn.
His threories make sense, his techniques work. I recommend this book to any parents who want to provide their babies with the most natural ways to fall asleep and calm his or her crying (NOT LEAVE THEIR BABIES TO "CRY IT OUT"!!). Following Dr. Karp's techniques will leave your baby calm and you feeling like a great parent.
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