Daddy Magic: The Pacifier Clip

The pacifier clip is something that attaches to your pacifier. The other end clips to your baby's clothing. You can find these at any baby store.

Some babies don't really need this. However, some babies spit out their pacifiers.

If you find yourself picking up a pacifier off the floor a few times each day, then it's time to go get a pacifier clip.

Save yourself the trouble of picking up that pacifier all day.

This is especially good for sleeping. When you go in at 2 in the morning to put the pacifier back in your baby's mouth and get her to fall asleep again, you want to find the pacifier. You'll always find it when you have it clipped to your baby. Otherwise, it may be under the crib, in a blanket, or anywhere in the room. You don't want to loose pacifiers, and you don't want your baby screaming while you search for it.

That's Daddy Magic!

Note: When your baby is a toddler, she will pull off the clip and fling it even further. That's when you know it's time to stop using the clip.






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Daddy Magic: Wrap a blanket over your baby's hand

There is a difficult stage in teaching your baby to sleep. That's when he is getting too strong for the swaddle.

He breaks out of the swaddle.

Unfortunately, he's also too young to have developed hand coordination. As a result, he pulls his pacifier out of his own mouth. So he's screaming at 5 in the morning, because he broke out of his swaddle and pulled his pacifier out of his mouth.

What do you do?

Wrap a blanket over his hand that is pulling out his pacifier. For our daughter, it has been her left hand. He won't be able to pull out his pacifier. You can also accomplish this by putting a blanket barrier on his neck so that he can't get his hand up to his mouth. Another method is to use the pacifiers without the handle at the end (one brand is hollow so you can stick your finger in them and pump the pacifier in his mouth; another brand has a knob at the end). Another method is using mittens or those baby shirts where the sleeves have built-in mittens to cover your baby's hands.

Use any one of these methods to survive this transition and get some sleep! You and your baby need your sleep!

Get sleep? That's Daddy Magic!!!







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Daddy Magic: How to get your baby used to the Swaddle

How do you get your baby used to the swaddle?

This is my third post that is ONLY on the swaddle!!!

Why three? I'll tell you why! I keep coming across people who throw their hands up in the air and say, "Our baby doesn't like the swaddle!"

Of course not! Teach him to like it!

Click here to learn why you should do it:

http://daddymagic.blogspot.com/2007/01/daddy-magic-get-your-baby-used-to.html



Here's how to get her used to the swaddle:

(1) Hold your baby tight to you.

(2) Make sure the swaddle is tight!

(3) Use two blankets if you need to.

(4) Use larger blankets if you need to.

(5) Pump the pacifier in her mouth.

(6) Hold her sideways.

(7) Bounce her. Use your full body motion from your toes to your ankles to your knees to your hips to your spine to your elbows to your wrists.

(8) Run with her if you have to.


Bottom line: Get her used to the swaddle! Read the link above to learn why you should do this. Embrace the Daddy Magic.





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Daddy Magic: Turn on your Fan

Turn on your fan to lull your baby to sleep! This is also great for your toddler and infant.

Some babies sleep better than others. We have one baby who slept better as an infant and a baby. Our toddler had more trouble at every stage. Babies are different. That's life.

However, we've learned to turn on the fan. Make sure your fan makes noise, because that is about 80% of the point. The hushing sound is magical! Turn it on the lowest mode, as long as it is loud enough. It's as if you were nearby your baby, hushing him. "Shhh!" Constantly. All night long.

That's great! Why? Because you don't need to do it! Go to sleep instead. =^)

This is a great technique to be used with patting your baby, the pacifier, and the swaddle (see other posts).

The fan will be your biggest fan. That's Daddy Magic!




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Daddy Magic: Pat Your Baby to Sleep

I've mentioned this before, but I use this almost exclusively in the current stage of my baby's growth. So I want to go in depth on this topic:

Pat your baby to sleep!

This is an excellent alternative to swaying and tightly holding your baby.

With one hand, hold your baby's pacifier and pump it gently. Get him to suck on it. I would also use a "Shh" sound or run a noisy fan. This also works much better if your child is in a tight swaddle (see other posts on swaddling your baby).

With one hand you are stabilizing and pumping the pacifier (you can stop pumping as your baby takes over and sucks on it).

With your other hand pat your baby on his stomach/chest. It is best in the middle of his stomach/chest (about the rib cage) but this depends on the size of your hand and baby.

Pat the baby sternly. Don't pat him gently, but if he's making noise or your pat is making noise, then you're probably doing it too hard. =^)

Pat the baby very quickly, depending on how quickly your baby is breathing. At least match the speed of your baby's breath, but you should probably pat faster than that.

Do this for 30 seconds. Count them in your head. Then slow down your pace a little. Your baby's breathing should slow down and match your pace. If his breath doesn't slow down to match it. Go back to the original speed and try again. Honestly, you should persevere through this and keep trying until it works. The reason is because you're training your baby to respond to this type of soothing. He will learn, and it will get easier. Persevere!

So, you slowed down your pace. He will slow down his breathing to match it. Count another 30 seconds. Then slow down your pace again. Count another 30 seconds. Your pace should be much slower. He must match this pace. If he doesn't go back to your second pace. Try again until he slows down with you.

After he successfully slows down to the third pace, stop. You may want to have a fourth pace, but I only use three (if you use too many stages this will take too long, which is against the point of this technique). If he is still breathing quickly and heavily, continue patting him, find his pace, and start there. Try again until he is breathing calmly.

Once he is breathing calmly and sucking on the pacifier, leave. He'll fall asleep. You are only calming him down so that he can put himself to sleep. You are not putting him to sleep. You are teaching him how to do that himself.

Here's why you should do this technique:

(1) It's faster. Like 5 times faster than rocking or bouncing him to sleep.

(2) It's quieter. If you begin pumping his pacifier and patting him speedily, he will be quiet as you vigorously pat him and pump his pacifier. You are in control.

(3) You are teaching him to put himself to sleep. You are teaching him to let you sleep through the night. You are enabling him to do the work for you! He will learn to fall asleep without you, as long as he is calm. If you rock him to sleep, you are teaching him to cry until you come rock him to sleep.

This also works with toddlers, but if you teach your baby this discipline, you won't need to teach him when he is a toddler.

The point is to gradually ween your baby off of the patting and thus, stop (do it less and less). You teach your baby how to sleep through... Baby Steps!!!

This method needs to be used sparingly and in conjunction with the "tough love" method of letting your child cry through the night (see specifics on that in another article).


Pure Daddy Magic!




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Daddy Magic: Teach your baby how to fall asleep

I think a key that many people miss is that you need to teach your baby how to fall asleep.

Your baby doesn't learn anything on his own. You need to teach him how to fall asleep.

The first step to doing this is to lay him down to sleep in a swaddle, with a pacifier, when he is close to sleep, but not asleep. Lay him down when his eyes are half full. He may be more likely to cry sooner for the first few days. Endure this.

After he cries for five to fifteen minutes, try again. Make sure he has his swaddle and pacifier. Then rock him near sleep. And lay him down before he falls asleep. You'll only have to do this a few times.

Gradually lay him down sooner each time. Eventually you'll be able to lay him down, and he will be awake and content. He'll fall asleep on his own.

I know parents with toddlers who still can't fall asleep on their own. What--the???

Don't let this be you!!!! Embrace the Daddy Magic.




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Daddy Magic: Run with your baby

How do you get a baby to calm down instantly? Simple! Run with your baby!

That's right! This is even more effective if you are using the swaddle, side, and suck technique. Shh helps some too, but not as much.

Run with your baby!

It's simple. Your baby is going to fall asleep when you're on the freeway. But the moment you stop at a traffic jam or stop for gas, what do you get? Crying!

Apply that lesson to your home!

If you are using too much up and down motion, then you'll notice that your baby is getting tense. His whole body will tense up, he'll bring his knees up, and his face will get tense. So, stop immediately when that happens!

However, you can hold your baby tightly and take off running down the hall. Instantly quiet baby! Do a few runs down the hall.

It will also give you some exercise. Use this method to calm down your baby, infant, or toddler. Your baby or infant will get closer to sleeping after a few runs.

This is pure magic. Daddy magic.




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Daddy Magic: Get your baby used to the Swaddle

I was with my wife this week and she asked a friend if she swaddled her baby. The response was that her baby doesn't like being swaddled.

News flash: YOUR BABY WILL NOT LIKE BEING SWADDLED!!!

You have to understand. Your baby will not like most all things written here in Daddy Magic. You've got to get your baby used to these things, which means causing discomfort to your baby.

Then why do it?


Keep your eyes on the prize:

(1) Happier baby (a baby who is content)

(2) Baby who sleeps through the night

(3) Healthier baby (a baby who sleeps longer is healthier)

(4) Healthier and happier mom (a mom who sleeps through the night)

(5) Better marriage (otherwise you'll be sleeping with the baby, no sex, no talking to your spouse in bed)




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Daddy Magic: How to burp your baby

Burping your baby can truly be an artform.

The burp is important for three primary reasons:

(1) The baby will avoid spitup

(2) The baby will avoid prolonged discomfort

(3) Your baby will be happier and healthier


Let's look at #3. Why would a successful burping methodlogy make a happier and healthier baby? The answer is actually a process of how the burping affects the countenance and health of your child:

(1) A baby who is burped quickly and easily will eat faster.

(2) Since the baby eats faster, the parent is much more likely to feed the baby more at each sitting.

(3) This allows you to feed the baby less often, on a schedule that looks like this: 4AM, 8AM, 12PM, 4PM, 8PM, 12AM, where you eventually drop off the 12AM feeding, followed by the 4AM feeding (so your baby sleeps for 12 hours at night).

(4) The more sleep your baby gets in one chunk, the happier your baby is, and the happier you are when you are around your baby. The baby sees that you are more happy, and she is more likely to be happy as well: you are teaching her how to be happy by example.


Now that you know that the burp is important, how do you burp a baby?


There are 5 core ingredients to successfully burping a baby:

(1) Position
(a) Vertical
(b) Vertical then to horizontal (on his back), then to vertical
(c) On his stomach, with his arms and knees placed under his body (this decreases SIDS)

(2) Patting - Firm and methodical patting on his back

(3) Movement - Up and down vertical movement that is methodical and fast, but subtle

(4) Time - It is often a waiting game. Sometimes the vertical positioning alone is all you need to do, and then you wait for three minutes. Patience is a virtue!

(5) Timing - Timing is important. You should be pumping the bottle in your baby's mouth. As soon as he isn't sucking on the bottle (when he has drank a lot), it means he is ready to burp. Immediately get him in position. Once done burping, if he hasn't finished his bottle, feed him some more until he is completely done. He should go through two "rounds" of burping. Each "round" of successful burping means two good burps, often right after each other.



Burping an infant:

Burping an infant is the classic form of burping.

(1) Place a burp rag on your shoulder.

(2) Put your baby over your shoulder so that her mouth is right over the rag.

(3) Firmly pat your baby on her back. You should do this a little harder than most people do at a regular tempo, but not too fast.

(4) After doing this for awhile, firmly rub your infant's back.

(5) If your baby is crying or is not burping after trying this method, try laying her down and then picking her back up for more. This adjustment in horizontal/vertical positioning will help her as she learns to use her digestive system.


On her stomach:

A good alternative for an infant or baby is to lay her on her stomach. Please do the following...

(1) Place your baby on a soft surface (maybe on a blanket that is on the carpeted floor; if you don't have dogs or crazy toddlers)

(2) Lay a burp cloth directly under her head.

(2) Place her arms under her chest. This will lessen the physical body pressure that she is putting on her diaphragm. This is important whenever placing your baby on her chest because of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). The #1 cause of SIDS is when babies sleep on their stomachs--they suffocate.

(3) Bend her knees so that her legs are also holding some of the pressure of her body's weight.

(4) Let her lay in this position for awhile and periodically move her gently back and forth, up and down, and move her legs around a bit. This may help relieve some of her gas pressure.

(5) If she is crying or if this method isn't working revert back to the infant method above or do the baby method below.


Burping a baby:

If you've gotten your infant used to burping, then you can get your baby to become an expert at burping. =^)

(1) Place your baby in a sitting position on one of your legs. Have him sit facing one of the sides, like sitting side-saddle on a horse.

(2) Place a burp cloth directly in front of him. Use that hand to hold his front and to hold the burp cloth in front of his mouth.

(3) With your other hand, steady his back.

(4) Move your leg up and down by rolling your foot upward and downward from your heel to your toes. Do this at a very fast but very subtle rate of movement. The slow and extreme movement would create more of a ship or airplane type of feeling, which is more likely to make your baby spit up.

(5) If your baby is crying (our first baby cried a lot during the burping process), sing/hum while you move your leg. Use a fast-paced western song. You will be surprised how babies are ready to listen to music and forget their discomfort.

(6) After doing this for awhile, stop your leg to see if just the vertical position will help her burp.

(7) After waiting, bend down and hug her with your burp rag arm, your neck, and your body. Use your hand at her back to firmly and methodically pat her (not too fast), just like you would if she was over your shoulder.

(8) Then go back to the "horsey ride."

(9) If she is still crying or isn't burping, try the infant or stomach methods above.


Persevere! You have to teach your baby how to burp, and once you do, it will get a lot easier. I'm adding this to the sleeping categories because a burping baby is an eating baby who is a sleeping baby.




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Daddy Magic: Sway - How to Gently Bounce your Baby to Sleep

The Second S of the 5 S's (Swaddle, Sway, Shh, Side, Suck) is Sway.

(The 5 S's are from The Happiest Baby on the Block. But these specifics are pure Daddy Magic...)

The act of "Sway" is gently bouncing your child to calm him down and lull him to sleep (or to just calm him down).

You can do this if he is in a baby carrier by rocking the carrier with your foot, by lifting the carrier up and lowering it back down (up and down), or by gently swinging the carrier back and forth.

You can do this in a shopping cart or stroller by pushing the cart, stroller, or baby carriage away from you and then pulling it back toward you (back and forth). This will help when walking or shopping.

And, when you are lulling your baby to sleep, you'll want to walk around (or stand) and bounce the baby on several levels of your body.

(1) You'll be bouncing off your heels. You'll roll upward to your toes. This creates a bouncing motion.

(2) Bend your legs to get more of a soft bounce as you move your body up and down.

(3) Lift your arms up and down as well. Let them act as a shock absorber to your body bouncing.


The end result is that your body movements will feel like a bungie cord (without the bungie drop). Your movements are fluid and relaxing. This will remind your infant of being in the womb where he was in fluid and body tissues that softened your harsh movements.

After doing this for awhile, if your baby is still not asleep, he will probably be calm enough where you can sit down. You can sit down in a rocker and use the rocker movements and your arm movements to lull your baby to sleep. Or you can sit on a bed or couch, lightly bounce your body on your seat, and bounce your arms. Eventually he will fall asleep.

Not only is this a great exercise for getting your baby to nap and go to sleep at night, but this is also good for calming your baby down from tantrums where you are only trying to get him to stop screaming. This can also be used to calm toddlers who are having tantrums.

If your toddler is having a tantrum, pick her up and console her! Don't let her cry in public! You are telling her that behavior is okay, and you're being rude to those around you! I had to do this the other day with an eating baby in my other arm (so the bottle was wedged under my neck). And I still picked up my toddler, bounced her, and calmed her down. So do it!!! Thanks. =^)



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Daddy Magic: Keep your Baby Asleep for that 12 Hours

Try to keep your baby sleeping during the time you want her to be asleep. So, if you want your baby to sleep from 7:30 PM to 8:30 AM (currently what our toddler sleeps), then you'll want to feed your baby when you have to and push your night time feedings out. Then, when you still feed your baby, you simply feed her and put her back to bed. She doesn't get up until the 12 hour block is over.

For example, our infant wakes up at 5 AM for a feeding. I feed her and put her back to sleep. She doesn't get to be awake until 8 AM or so. That way she's used to being asleep for that 12 hour chunk. You keep moving her night time feedings apart until she's used to sleeping in that time period without eating.

Why do this? For yourself, your husband, your other children, and, most importantly, for your baby.

The happiest baby in the room is the healthiest baby in the room. The healthiest baby in the room is the one who gets the most sleep. Don't worry about over-sleeping. Consider that when they get closer to middle school. =^)

For now, just make sure they are as healthy and happy as possible -- that means lots of sleep.


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Daddy Magic: Keep your Baby Awake if You want to Sleep!

If you want your baby to sleep for 8-12 hours at night, you'll need to keep your baby awake during the day!!!

After that 12 hours (like from 8 PM to 8 AM), wake up your baby! Keep your baby awake. You'll want to do a short nap (10 AM to 11 AM) and a longer nap (1 PM, after lunch, for at least one hour, up at 4 PM for another feeding).

So keep your baby awake when she is not scheduled to be napping! Otherwise, the schedule isn't going to work.


How to keep your baby awake:

(1) Take him out of the swaddle.

(2) Hold him upright or Lay him on a blanket on the ground (it's harder than a bed or your arms)

(3) Talk to him

(4) Play with him - touch him, move him around, dance with him, etc.



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Daddy Magic: How to Swaddle Your Baby

Swaddle - This is the most important one of the 5 S's.

You lay two blankets on the ground, on top of each other. Usually the larger blanket is under the smaller one. Both have to be bigger than the baby, but not too big.

Place your baby on the top blanket, so her head is at one of the points. Wrap one side of the top blanket over her, with that arm against her side. You wrap the blanket around her and under her on the other side.

Then you grab the bottom point of the blanket and pull that upward and on her other side. That will keep her feet in.

Next you pull the last side over her, trapping her other arm against her side. The flap goes over the other side, keeping that fold tighter. You wrap the flap under her. Basically, you just made a baby burrito. =^)

Do the same thing with the other blanket, still under her. Her arms will already be trapped under the first blanket. She will now be warm and secure.

Basically, you are recreating the environment of her mom's tummy (minus the sticky goo). She'll be reminded of that, comfortable, warm, and much more likely to fall asleep.

This will also help calm down your baby if he or she is throwing a tantrum.

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The 5 S's - How to get a baby to sleep and be happy

I don't know if you've seen the Happiest Baby on the Block material (we watched the DVD), but it includes the 5 S's:

1. Swaddle
2. Sway (Bounce)
3. Shh
4. Side
5. Suck

Using these five techniques, you'll be able to get your baby to be happy and to fall asleep. What are the techniques? I'll write about each technique individually.

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