How did he get so big? I was there when he was born. The nurses put him on a table for a few minutes while ministering to my sister, and he was looked so alone. I walked over and put out my pinkie for him to grab, which he did. Another nurse said, “That’s nice, you feel better now that you’ve got Auntie.” Sniff…

Those are his little feet in the photo.

Shushing was probably the biggest revelation to me, and the one that has worked the best. Babies in utero hear the sound of blood rushing through their mother’s circulatory system. They calm down when you “Shh” them–but not in a librarian sort of way. It has to be a really loud “SHHHH”.

One of my favorite bloggers, Merlin Mann of 43Folders, just became a dad. He mentioned in a Twitter post that running the vacuum cleaner was the “nuclear option” in his battle with the baby crying. I think the vacuum cleaner replicates the “Shh” factor that Dr. Karp recommends.

I suggested a more economical and environmentally-friendly approach: a vacuum cleaner CD. Yes, such a thing exists at Pure White Noise. For $13.45 (including shipping), you can get “Baby’s Vacuum Cleaner CD” with a full-hour of vacuuming.

(This doubles as a Noisy Neighbor Hack: I bought “Calming Electric Fan” for myself when a new neighbor with a loud stereo moved in–it works great!)

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