The Happiest Baby on the Block

Yep, I jinxed us.

For the past three nights, Baba G has screamed his head off every hour on the hour (OK, sometimes he goes two hours). What happened to the peaceful little baby who was sleeping through the night a mere few weeks into his life? What happened to the Buddha-like being we bragged to all our friends about? What happened to the tiny angel who would awaken all smiley and squealy and playful?

BRING HIM BACK!

There are several factors that could be to blame for why BG is suddenly sounding like he's been thrown in the Pit of Despair when it's time for bed, but since my goal is to have this be a product review site, I'll spare you my theories and instead sing the praises of The Happiest Baby on the Block. Because I give it all the credit for the past five months of peaceful nights.

The aforementioned book by Dr. Harvey Karp, Expecting 411 and a small part of Baby 411 are the only books I read while I was pregnant. EVERYONE told me about The Happiest Baby, so I figured there had to be something to it. I actually watched the Happiest Baby DVD as well, which is worth checking out for pure entertainment reasons alone. Or maybe I'm the only one who finds it hilarious to watch a bunch of crying babies turn into blissed-out zombies in a matter of seconds after Dr. Karp works his magic on them.

Catchin' flies on Grammy

Anyway, you know a "how-to" baby book is good when you read it cover to cover and it actually makes sense. My general attitude about parenting books is that—much like diet and exercise books—they're based on of-the-moment trends or fads and are therefore not worth my time. But once again, too many people had told me about The Happiest Baby to ignore.

In it, Dr. Karp explains a multi-step method that is something of a "miracle cure" for babies who refuse to sleep. And the reasons behind his recommended methods (which involve swadding, shushing, and a bunch of other s-words, for real) make total sense. He pulls in evidence from different cultures all around the globe as to why these methods work, in addition to providing the medical/scientific reasoning behind why human babies probably used to stay in the womb up to four months longer than they do in the present day. You'll find yourself nodding your head when you read it, trust me.

So in my desperation over these past few nights, I've turned to The Happiest Baby yet again. Unfortunately, the book is really only meant for newborns up to three or four months. It couldn't help me with BG's current issues.

But then, LO AND BEHOLD, what do I receive in my Inbox but an email entitled "See baby expert Dr. Karp LIVE at a movie theater near you!" I kid you not. It was pretty freaky, actually. Like this guy has ways of knowing when parents are ready to shell him out some more dough. Just like he has ways of calming babies.

So what's going on? It seems that the good doctor is hosting some sort of live webcasted event that will be shown this Thursday all around the country at various movie theaters. I didn't pay much attention because I already know I can't go so I didn't want to make myself more bitter than I already am.

BUT the other thing this email mentioned was that Dr. Karp has a new sleep book. (See, he'll get your hard-earned money one way or the other!)

So I freakin' break my wrists typing in "Amazon.com" to get this thing in my hands, and damn it all to hell—it's not out on Kindle until TOMORROW.

THAT IS NOT GOING TO HELP ME TONIGHT!

Tonight, when I'm alone with BG while my husband's traveling. GRR.

Guess who is hoping that "June 19" equates to "Available for download at the stroke of midnight tonight?"

Seriously, if tonight is even remotely like the last three nights, I WILL be up and checking Amazon at 12:01. And in the meantime, if I get a spare second I'm going to see if the "Browse this book" feature lets me skim through the first few chapters and learn any tidbits I can put to use in the coming hours.

I am very much aware that my husband and I have lucked out on the sleep front overall, though. Sure, the past few evenings have been rough, but we've enjoyed a spectacular run for nearly five months. The sunken-eyed, pale-faced stage of parenting totally bypassed us, and if we have to pay our dues and suffer a little bit now while Baba's trying to figure this sleep thing out more thoroughly, so be it.

The bottom line: If you are pregnant or have a newborn, read The Happiest Baby on the Block. If you're going to be a grandparent, you should read this book, too. If your friend is pregnant, you should buy her (or the dad-to-be) this book. I think you get my point. If you were here I'd loan you mine!

Here's hoping Dr. Karp's new book helps us get THIS face back on Baba G in the middle of the night... and soon: