You can also listen to this episode on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
So says Dr. Harvey Karp, author of The Happiest Baby on the Block which has Bible-like status in the world of parenting. As a beloved Los Angeles pediatrician, Harvey punctured the mainstream with the 5 S’s—swaddling, shushing, swinging, sucking, and holding the baby on its side—all simple interventions that helped parents help their newborns sleep. This was revolutionary—and certainly changed my trajectory as a new parent, as getting five straight hours instead of three can have a huge impact on your mental health. Harvey then codified his findings into “The Snoo,” a bassinet that functions as an extra set of hands: It swaddles, swings, shushes, and keeps the baby safely on its back while it sleeps. In today’s conversation we talk about what it would look like to institutionalize support of new parents, what Harvey’s trying to do about this, why it can be so awful, isolating, and hard to have kids, along with the advice most parents frequently seek. I’m lucky to call Harvey a friend and to be able to turn to him over the years—in fact, Sam slept in a prototype Snoo—so I’m thrilled to share some of his wisdom with all of you.
MORE FROM HARVEY KARP, M.D.:
Follow Happiest Baby on Instagram
EPISODES IN THE “GROWING UP” SERIES:
Niobe Way, “The Critical Need for Deep Connection”
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:
(Edited slightly for clarity.)
ELISE LOEHNEN: Was one of the impetuses, well, I know that there are many impetuses to why the Snoo, and we're going to obviously talk about the Snoo, but as you were watching these babies and children evolve and move on at a certain point, were you like, I need to follow them. I need to move into the next incarnation of Harvey Karp.