The Happiest Baby on the Block - The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Baby Sleep Longer (DVD)

I am using this to teach teen parents. I wish I had it when I my children were newborns.

This video came highly recommended from a friend who is a new parent. It is absolutely fabulous - I am 7 months pregnant, so have yet to apply the (very simple) techniques learned in this video. One of my biggest fears is that I will not be able to calm my baby. It is amazing to see screaming babies in this video turn to relaxed and quiet in a matter of seconds (literally!). The video is giving me the confidence I need to be able to tackle being a new mom.

As parents of twins, I can't begin to stress how valuable the techniques and tools that Dr. Karp offers on The Happiest Baby on the Block DVD were to us. Not only did this make us feel empowered to be able to calm and soothe our two little guys, but we were able to get them to sleep for longer periods of time. One of our boys was 8.5 lbs at birth and the other was 6.5 lbs. I tried to tandem feed them, but the ackwardness of the weight made it very uncomfortable. Being able to feed and bond with one at a time and being able to have the other one swaddled and soothed during the process, really made for a truly special experience that I was able to enjoy with each of them on their own. In conjunction with the DVD, we also used the Soothing Sounds CD. Our boys are now 4 years old and we are still using the CD at night . . . its amazing. The boys go to sleep easily and sleep for 11 hours. The CD also comes in handy when traveling as we are able to provide the boys with the familiarity of home. I highly recommend both of these products.

I bought this for my daughter a few weeks before birth, hoping she would watch it. Of course things got busy with the new arrival and the DVD got pushed to the side. The other night the little angel would not be calmed and they thought of the DVD. The next day they watched it and low and behold the techniques worked! They finally got a good night's sleep. They only wished they had watched it sooner.

They said the quality of the video is simular to home movies, but you quickly forget that when your baby is calm and relaxed. It gives you such confidence to help your child calm down. Even when she wakes in the night it's feeding, change, and right back to sleep. (for everyone).

I highly recommend this DVD and hope all new grandparents help their new grandchild to be more relaxed in their 4th trimester.

This DVD was very helpful, especially in learning how to do the techniques. We ended up buying one for our Doula so it could be apart of her library for other clients. It increased our babies sleep and by her second month she was sleeping through the night pretty consistently. The best is learning how to do the swaddle correctly!

Really helpful to new parents. This method for quieting baby really works and fast!

I enjoyed what I learned from this dvd, but remember it is a guide..not the bible. The tips/tricks are very helpful, but each baby is unique and this may not work all the time for all babies. For instance, my daughter really doesn't like to be swaddled unless she's very tired. Overall, it's well worth the investment.

Every parents should be required to watch this video. I recently attended Dr. Karp's seminar for American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)in Boston in Oct. His research findings on methods to calm the fussiest babies work like magic. I'm not a parent yet but I'm giving copies to my first-time parent friends.

A friend had recommended this video before our baby had arrived. We watched it and it looked unbelievable. We have been using Dr. Karp's techniques for 3 weeks now with a newborn, and they really work. We refer to him as the "Baby Whisperer." I would recommend this DVD (or his book) to anyone!

The suggestions in this video have worked for us with our daughter. We found out about it from two different moms who said it worked for them as well. We have experimented and have found swaddling our daughter keeps her asleep for a much longer time. The shushing and the sucking always do the trick for when she starts to cry. I will be recommending this to all of my expectant friends.

This DVD is a must have for all first time parents and any parent whose child cries for no apparent reason. This DVD is the reason why I've retained my sanity and now truly enjoy my 2 month old son.

I bought this DVD when my son was 2 weeks old and the household went from non-stop crying on both our parts to harmony and much less frustration on my part. Dr. Karp shares some great, time proven techniques of the 5 S's and it is well worth watching this DVD. I was convinced my son had colic and would just be a crier, but that is not the case. Sure, now he cries when he's hungry, tired or gassy, but it never lasts long and I know how to help him calm down.

Great DVD! The techniques actually WORK!!! I was skeptical but willing to try anything after 4 weeks of living with a colicky baby. With practice the 5 s's DO work about 9/10 times which is better than the 1/10 success rate that I had with other suggestions. THANK GOD FOR DR. KARP!!!

I ordered this cd when it was 2am and I could not get baby to sleep. Was so glad I ordered it! Tried the technique immediately and it worked like a charm! Thank you Dr. Karp!

It is product that every parent should have, my daughter sleeps very well using these methods.

Useful tools particularly for new parents. Dr. Harvey Karp steps through 5 techniques that can be used singly or in combinations to help calm your child. Karp's brand of Swaddling works most consistently for us particularly for at least one sleep period per night. Alternating this with the use of a Grobag (http://www.grobag.com/) has proved successful in keeping our little guy asleep until he needs to eat.
Grit your teeth an ignore the cheesy music. It's worth trying these, or combinations of these, to comfort your wee one. Is she hungry? Does he need changing? Does she have gas? Yes or No, try the 5 S's where appropriate.

Buy this DVD for yourself and anyone else you know who has a baby or is pregnant!! Dr. Karp is amazing! I went from feeling like an overwhelmed, unprepared new mom to a mom who could handle having a newborn. It was a wonderful feeling to actually have a way to quiet my baby.

My husband and I started this when our baby was about 5 weeks and it was a miracle!! He actually went down for naps and nighttime sleep with minimal frustration. This is seriously a lifesaving DVD. I have made this my gift for all baby showers. I give a copy of "Happiest Baby", The First Years swaddling blankets and a pack of Soothies pacifiers....the best sleep kit ever!!

This video is the best! We were having trouble settling down our twins and this video helped so much!

everyone told me i needed to get this dvd it works wonders, but when my husband and i watched it, we were pretty disapointed. everything on the dvd we had alread been doing with our child, kinda like instinct i guess. also the extra sounds on there, were not really impressive. maybe the cd would of been etter to buy, because i think there are more and you cant really have your dvd player going all night. the lady in the babystore roped me into spending the extra money. not worth it. the best investment for white moise is the Sleep Sheep. I love that thing, my husband and I fall asleep to it as well, since baby sleeps in our room.

As a first time mom I tried to read everything I could about newborns. This book was given to me as a gift, and it could possibly be the best gift I received. My baby was not colicky but did have trouble sleeping through the night and calming down from crying fits. The 5 S solutions were invaluable. He loves to be swaddled, but at 4 1/2 months and 17 lbs he has become to large to even fit in the "swaddle me" wraps. Making the shushing sound when he cries still works and he seems to forget why he was even crying in the first place. A great book when you don't know how to calm your fussy baby and just want a few hours of sleep!

Although we had learnt many of the techniques shown by Dr. Karp in our childbirth preparation classes, it was useful to see them again in DVD form. Not least because swaddling is something of an art form, similar to advanced origami but with a baby thrown in the mix.
The quality of the video is just above good amateur level, but that seems to be the standard for instructional videos of this sort.
All in all, I would recommend this product, especially to parents who maybe haven't had the opportunity to attend classes prior to the birth of their child.

This video should be mandatory viewing for all new parents before they leave the hospital. The five techniques Dr. Karp demonstrates will sooth 99% of all crying children. (unless there are more serious issues going on) We used these techniques on both children and they are literally like magic. Once we went to visit a new mom and her little boy was crying and she was looking a little frazzled. I took the newborn, turned him on his side in my hand and gently shook him, as Dr. Karp described, and his crying stopped instantly. His mom was astonished.

One of our children did not respond as consistently to these techniques as we expected. It turned out that he had gastro issues that only medicine would relieve. But they still applied most of the time. I can't recommend this video highly enough.

Don't pay attention to the negative review. This is an excellent video. This guy is a pediatrian who's devoted his entire life to helping parents understand their children. Well worth the money.

Here's the synopsis... swaddle your newborn, flip him on his tummy or side in your arms and make a loud shhhhh noise in his ear. That was the hole video. GOOD LUCK!

Being a Mother-Baby nurse, I thought that I had swaddling down pat. I knew swaddling was comforting and did it regularly for my almost 5-week old. Leila is not a fussy baby but occasionally has these tantrums where nothing consoles her. I am breastfeeding also so we were up every two hours to feed. I was at a breaking point - thinking this SUCKS! Am I ever going to sleep more than two hours at a time? Then I got this video last night. Immediately used the SHHH and like magic, she stopped crying. I used the swaddling technique with "arms down" and she slept for three hours, woke to eat, and then slept for four more hours! Dr. Karp's rationales just made sense! I was swaddling incorrectly which is why she was up so often! If her hands get out and she hits herself, she'll wake up. DUH! Wouldn't you? I feel so much more confident and ready to tackle any crying bout she can bring on. Thank you Dr. Karp for making these techniques make sense and teaching an RN some new tricks.

This really worked for us. According to this pediatrician, colic peaks at 6 weeks old but there are some simple things you can do to make your baby happy.

This book taught me techniques to help my husband and I survive the first 6 months of my child's life. My daughter was very needy as a baby, more than other children, I would cry because I was so stressed out from her crying. I just could not take it anymore, until I followed this book...WE FINALLY GOT SLEEP :) now, I'm such a strong believer in swaddling.

I watched this dvd shortly after my son and I arrived home from the hospital (as recommended by a friend) so I don't know what it's like to have babies scream and scream. My son would start to get fussy and I'd use some or all of the 5 techniques demonstrated in the dvd and he'd calm right down. It really helped to form a very strong bond with my son right from day one. So now this is the first thing I suggest to/give to new moms.

The tips in this video really work and allow you and your husband to sleep extra hours every night! Our daughter is 2weeks old and is very good natured but would get fussy some times. The calming reflex and 5 S's are the perfect parenting-for-newborn tools. Frankly I'm disappointed that the lessons aren't taught in the hospital before coming home since they're so basic and work like a charm!

Our pediatrician suggested we get this video and we are happy we did. The techniques demonstrated in "The Happiest Baby on the Block" work! Our little fuss pot can get really wound up but the swaddling, swinging, shushing, and sucking combo knock him out. Our 4 week old baby calms right down with the shushing and sleeps better and longer swaddled. It was particularly helpful to see just how loud and vigorously the swinging and shushing needs to be to have the desired effect.

Thanks to a childcare class at our hospital, we discovered the techniques of Dr. Karp. As excited parents-to-be we diligently watched the DVD and thought, we'll see. Watching the video, the babies had this magically calm look on their faces once Dr. Karp did his 5 "S"es. We figured this was some good editing...of course they would only show the situations where it worked.

When our daughter was born last October, we couldn't get her to stop crying in the hospital. She was fed, changed and warm. What could it be? The we remembered Dr. Karp's 5 "S"es and (amazingly) our daughter magically stopped crying just like the babies in the video. It worked!

We have recommend this to every parent-to-be that we know. My husband even gave a pregnant waitress an extra $20 on her tip with a note ordering her to spend it on this DVD!!

Thank you Dr. Karp for figuring this out. While I cannot say that our baby never cried, you saved us many moments of frustration. We can't wait to check out the Happiest Toddler on the Block DVD.

This is an absolutely amazing "must" for any parent - new or old!! The technique taught in this DVD works!!! Where was it when my children were born?? As a new grandmother, I found it just the thing I needed for an unhappy baby. My daughter actually told me about it. A copy of this DVD was given to her just before the birth of her first child. Every house with a newborn should have a copy!

I recommend this DVD to every prospective parent I meet. When my husband and I found out I was pregnant with our first child we were nervous. During the last trimester we watched this DVD (we actually practiced his swaddling technique before the baby was born). Dr. Karp knows babies and after watching this DVD we were more capable of handling our newborn when he arrived. My son cried less than other babies at the hospital. I actually think my son IS a happier child because we followed Dr. Karp's advice. Now my son is 19 months and I'm reading "The Happiest Toddler on the Block". Thanks Dr. Karp!

Baby hasn't arrived yet, but I watched this with my husband and we were impressed. Watching the faces of the crying babies in the video was amazing: you can see, as Dr. Karp explains, the very moment when the "calming reflex" kicks in. Their eyes soften into sudden contentment, and best of all you understand exactly what was done to get them there.

Dr. Karp makes the simple comment that Dads are often even better at these (particular) techniques than Moms. Something about how they enjoy the physical interaction, or have the stamina for lots of bouncing, etc. When my husband heard that, he literally sighed in relief.

This video is great learning material for both parents, and I think a great way to help Dad feel comfortable "in the driver's seat" with child care; a very good thing for Moms!

I love this DVD - it works - it is amazing...but if you don't get it before the baby gets here, you may not have time to learn the techniques well and the baby may outgrow the methods. Four months and you are done.

That said this is my favorite baby shower gift and after two grand babies, several nieces and nephews later - it is the toast of our family. Now everyone has to check who is giving the DVD so there aren't a dozen at every baby shower.

Buy it - you won't regret it - especially good for new parents and fathers who are a little unsure...this gives you the confidence you need. However, don't hesitate to buy this if you have five children and don't know these techniques - if you value your sleep and sanity...

jp

They introduce the concept of teaching sign language to babies on a very clear way, it just makes sense. They describe the different techniques and how to avoid common pitfalls (like gettting frustrated)

The only thing is that I was expecting them to cover more words and sentences in the DVD, they only include 6 words and the accompanyig book contains over 25 more. But I guess that if you understand the basics on 'how' to teach the words, you can always introcude as many as you want and that is what the DVD actually covers very well (how to teach)

This DVD will completely change your parenting experience. It is amazing! It is so simple and fool proof. These techniques take the stress, anxiety and frustration out of parenting a newborn and allows you to soothe, and truly enjoy your baby. This is a baby shower Must Have! The five S's are the key to sanity with a new baby!

This DVD saved my sanity! I can't say enough about it and how much it helped me and my baby feel better and her sleep longer. She had acid reflux, so I wasn't even able to put all the techniques on the DVD to use, but with that said, I still got her to stop crying/screaming and to sleep longer just using some of them. I love it and I recommend it to every parent out there, and/or as a Baby Shower gift.

This DVD should be given to each and every new parent!!! What a life saver. WONDERFUL.

I show the "Five Ss" segment in my Newborn Care classes that I teach. They aren't brand-new concepts, parents have been doing them for ages to calm their babies, but Dr. Karp puts them together in an easy-to-remember-when-sleep-deprived package. Very helpful for anyone who will be caring for the baby.

Dr. Karp gives the same 5-step program for hushing crying babies that he gives in the book. I think it is probably worth getting the DVD instead of the book, because it is useful to see the techniques demonstrated. He shows them repeatedly, different situations, different babies. He also shows the techniques not working sometimes, which is good - and then he shows what to do next. Karp has a slightly cheesy presentation, and always speaks in a soothing monotone that drives me a little crazy, but I got more value from this than I expected.

Every new parent, especially ones with fussy babies should see this and put these simple techniques into practice.

My husband and I watched this DVD shortly before our son was born and we started using the 5 S's on day 1. They worked and our baby seemed happy and we told everyone how great the 5 S's were. However, after a few weeks we realized that our son absolutely could not go to sleep without swaddling and shaking (and he needing shushing frequently, too). He was 5 months old when we were finally able to stop swaddling him and 6 months old when we trained him to go to sleep without the shaking.

Some friends of ours had a baby when our son was 3 1/2 months old and we loaned them the DVD but they never watched it. They've never swaddled their daughter or shook her and she seems perfectly happy and goes to sleep without a problem.

I wonder...did we create a baby that was dependent on swaddling and shaking because of our obsessiveness and desire to do everything right? Or, was he just more needy than our friends' daughter?

My opinion: these techniques really do work but it may be best to wait and see if your baby needs them. You don't want to create a situation where your baby is unnecessarily dependent on them.

Thankfully I saw part of the DVD is a newborn care class that I took. I immediately went out and got it for myself so I could watch the entire thing. AMAZING! It worked. All of it. Friends, family, and other mothers were amazed at how quickly we could soothe my baby boy if he got upset. We rarely got past the 3rd "S". I now buy the book and DVD for everyone I know who is having a baby! This is a great way to eliminate the frustration of a crying baby. This should be REQUIRED for all parents of new babies!

My wife gave birth to our twins in March. Thanks to the nurses at the hospital, we've been swaddling them from day one. But, we quickly learned that swaddling alone is not always enough to calm a crying baby.

As a first time father, I had no idea how to soothe our babies. And, during the first couple of weeks at home, there were quite a few very frustrating nights of what seemed like endless crying (even though it was probably only 5 minutes!). I wanted desperately to help my child. But, I lacked the knowledge to effectively soothe my crying baby.

This DVD changed that. Dr. Karp's calming techniques work. And, his presentation (while a bit repetitive and simplistic) is an effective way to learn the techniques.

I highly recommend this DVD to all parents of newborns - but especially to first time parents. Without it, I'd still be tearing my hair out trying to calm my twins. Instead, my children, my wife and I are all a lot calmer and a lot happier.

I was really skeptical about this whole 5 "s"'s thing, but when I actually had my son and got a chance to apply the techniques I was blown away with the results! This was wonderful to have around especially when I forgot how the hospital taught me how to swaddle, I could watch the movie and do it.

Eventually I was able to apply the techniques enough to get my son into a regular sleeping pattern and eventually he made a smooth transition into sleeping longer.

It's funny, people are so quick to assume their kid is "colicky" just because they cry a lot. Babies cry, it's what they use to communicate. Harvey Karp gives parents a way to help us sooth babies when they do cry, and when the techniques don't work then we can effectively start running down a list of other solutions (are they hungry? do they need a diaper? etc.) until we can get them to stop crying.


The book and/or movie is worth it. I've been sharing it with my pregnant friends ever since.

My daughter went through a phase where she was VERY fussy. We tried everything and we found ourselves getting very frustrated with her. After about a week, I was looking online for help and suggestions, when I came across this book. I ordered it and when it came in I read it and couldn't put it down! It was so insightful and helpful! My daughter would drift right to sleep no problem using the tips from the book. She is now almost 11 months old and goes to sleep on her own, but if she has bouts of fussyness, we know how to help her!

I made my husband watch this with me and we were amazed when you could see the reflex kick in on the babies facial expressions. The swaddling definitely works for us. We did try the other S's however it didn't work as well on our baby. Maybe we were doing it wrong but yet we loved the video. Also the calming noises that come with the video helped us a lot as well. I have a friend and a sister who's babies are both cholicy so I bought them extra copies to see if this might help them.

This video changed our world and we are sorry we didn't have it sooner. Our little boy responds almost instantly to the techniques taught in this video. He rarely cries now and when he starts to get fussy, we swaddle him up and do the 5 S's and he's good to go. We higly recommend this video and will be giving it as a gift at baby showers from now on! It's the best gift any parent can receive.

Great video! This is a mircale worker for even common fussy babies. Our son had been pretty mellow until he was 6 weeks old then just started to get fussy without warning and nothing was working well. Someone suggested this video and we purchased it. The only thing I regert was not purchasing it sooner. We noticed a difference that night. Our son is 8weeks and sleeping 6 hour stretches through the night. Not to mention we can lay him downin his crib while he is awake and he goes back to sleep without a fuss. This is a must!

I chose to buy the DVD instead of the book because I don't have time to eat, much less read a book these days. The DVD was very helpful in getting my baby to stop crying and to sleep much longer throughout the night. I have a better understanding of what my baby's needs are now and I feel better equipped to deal with his fussiness. The two things from this DVD that helped me the most are swaddling and shushing. I use these every day all day. If you think your newborn does not like to be swaddled, try it anyway. I had given up on swaddling my baby until I watched this DVD. I reccomend this DVD to anyone with a newborn 0-3 months.