I once heard a story about the amazing baby calming chops of a father from Boise, Idaho. At a neighborhood softball game, his wife sat in the bleachers, their baby on her lap. When the little girl began to wail, the dad immediately called a timeout, sprinted from third base, 5 S’ed his little baby into serenity and ran back to his position…all in under 2 minutes. The crowd went wild!

To be sure, men are terrible at breastfeeding, but we’re quite good at swaddling, jiggling and shushing. To us, wrapping babies is like an engineering task and we’re pretty willing to put some oomph in our calming. While moms tend to prefer soft singing and gentle swaying, dads crank up the volume on their shush and add some bounce to their jiggle, quickly reaching needed “takeoff velocity” to flip on the calming reflex.

Remember, the 5 S’s only work if done just right. Time and again, dads prove they’ve got serious game!

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Disclaimer: The information on our site is NOT medical advice for any specific person or condition. It is only meant as general information. If you have any medical questions and concerns about your child or yourself, please contact your health provider. Breastmilk is the best source of nutrition for babies. It is important that, in preparation for and during breastfeeding, mothers eat a healthy, balanced diet. Combined breast- and bottle-feeding in the first weeks of life may reduce the supply of a mother's breastmilk and reversing the decision not to breastfeed is difficult. If you do decide to use infant formula, you should follow instructions carefully.