Why is my baby crying and what can I do? Since 2002, millions of parents have found answers in Dr. Harvey Karp’s book, The Happiest Baby on the Block.
Now parents can learn some of the same techniques in person. More than 1800 educators worldwide offer classes, but Andrea Meyer, a postpartum doula at a lactation center in the Twin Cities, is so far the only certified instructor in Minnesota.
Meyer has taught more than 100 parents the Happiest Baby techniques since 2004. “I used Dr. Karp’s techniques with my daughter, so it was a natural procession that I would become certified,” she says.
The program includes techniques like the 5 S’s — swaddling, side or stomach, shhh…, swinging and sucking — and The Cuddle Cure. “It is an intervention to Shaken Baby Syndrome, and it also helps parents with postpartum [issues], bonding and successful breastfeeding,” said Sherry Turney, program director for The Happiest Baby on the Block program, an offshoot of the book. “We give parents the tools to calm their child because they don’t receive a manual when they bring their baby home.”
Meyer holds classes both at her clients’ homes and at community centers around the Twin Cities. The classes are two hours long and cost $40. All participants receive a Parent Kit, which includes a Happiest Baby DVD and a calming CD to be used at home.
“When a parent brings a new baby home, they have to do two things: feed and comfort it. So, when they can’t feed or comfort it, they feel like a failure; but when they are able to calm their baby, the whole mood in the house changes,” Meyer said.
For more information go to TheHappiestBaby.org or call Andrea Meyer at 612-803-7585.
