The Happiest Baby on the Block; Fully Revised and Updated Second Edition: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer

by Harvey Karp

The Happiest Baby on the Block; Fully Revised and Updated Second The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Audiobook

300 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2022

About the author

Dr. Harvey Karp is a nationally renowned pediatrician and child development specialist. He is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the UCLA School of Medicine. Over the past 30 years, he has taught thousands of parents, from working moms to superstars like Madonna, Michelle Pfeiffer and Pierce Brosnan his secrets for making children happy.

Dr. Karp has committed his full-time efforts to writing, lecturing and education. He now travels extensively across America and around the world lecturing the medical community and the public about how to use his innovative discoveries to help parents successfully meet the needs of their young children.

Reviews

[Nicole Kofmehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-5 stars! It just felt right starting 2025 off with this book. Practical tips that I’m hoping will be helpful for us in the future. Since I was a colicky baby, one can bet I’ll be met with my own soon.

[Jessica Armatage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good info, very repetitive

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

While true that the information could fit on a pamphlet, it is a very quick and easy read. And if you just want the basics, throughout the book you get guided to which parts you only need to read to understand the techniques used.

I liked having a bit more background, in-depth how-to and the addition of the part about sleep.

For whether it works, no clue yet. God help me in the coming months!

[Brianna Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel more knowledgeable and confident about how to implement the 5 S's. I plan to use this book as a reference and tabbed many pages to go back to once baby arrives!

[Kaitlyn Shrestha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meant to read this while pregnant- but pregnancy fatigue was no joke. Picked it up because my little one hates going down for a day time nap and has difficulty going to bed at night, and found it gave a lot of useful tips for how to calm him down! Wish I read it earlier. The only thing we don’t do is swaddling, we have found he’s too big for any blanket to swaddle in. Have a few books to read after this one about closer milestones such as starting solids and baby sign language, but plan to read happiest toddler on the block BEFORE he turns eight months so I have tools in my tool belt ready to be activated!

Side note: I hated how many times using a smart sleeper was mentioned. I don’t have one, stop telling me to use it.

[Kaleigh Gibbons · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am SO glad I read this before baby arrives. I haven't been stressing much about post-baby life, but the sleep aspect has been worrying me. Now I feel like I have insight into the "fourth trimester" and some really easy tools to implement.

[Cass Carpenter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful, but also could have been an email

[Annabel Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be quite helpful! It is repetitive but I feel like I have retained the information better because of the repetition. I’m looking forward to putting the info into practice.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Karp provides a simple method to calming your baby and how to troubleshoot problems when they arise. Each baby is different, but this is a good book to have in your toolkit should you need it!

[Charlotte Rackemann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super easy read but invaluable information!

[Megan Kave · Rating 5 out of 5]

It gets repetitive but the methods work!

[Luis Ferrao · Rating 5 out of 5]

5.0 estrelas (e-book)

Leitura fácil e que explica bem os 5 S. A teoria está. Resta ver a prática :)

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super helpful with a newborn- the tips absolutely do work. I wish he had spent less time plugging smart sleeper bassinets- I know he has one on the market but I felt like he reminded us of it 5 times per chapter.

10/10 will recommend this book to new parents - or at least the tips to help calm their newborn!

[Kaitlin Sparkman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I CANNOT STRESS HOW IMPORTANT THIS BOOK IS FOR NEW PARENTS. However, it is only applicable for newborns. So, note to Karp: please change the cover image to that of a newborn rather than a baby who is at least 6-7 months old (based on the fact that they are sitting up unassisted), so that people know this book is meant to be read in the first 3-4 months of life.

If you don't know the premise, it is that Karp has a theory for what exactly "colic" is as well as how to treat it. I refused to believe that Colic is just something that happens to babies, so I was happy to find out that someone else agreed, presented their own theory, and backed it up with plenty of research and personal experience.

I feel like a baby whisperer now that I know the 5 S's. I will provide the disclaimer that our newborn was a relatively easy baby who definitely did not have colic. But, we still used these tools to help calm her down after getting a shot, helping her get to sleep, or dealing with her when she was going through a very fussy growth spurt.

It does get repetitive at times, but for the most part the repetition is helpful in cementing the 5 S's and why they work.

[Ashby]

Good information, but the book equivalent of “this meeting could’ve been an email.” DNF.

[Shaan Shaikh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The five S's: swaddle, shush, swing, suck, stomach/side (in rank order of utility for my baby Summer) are very effective.

[Agnese · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book introduces the concept of the 5 S’s, which, from one perspective, are not entirely new. As the author mentions, these techniques have historical roots and have been used for a long time. However, the book clearly explains their importance and why they are effective.

Of course, simply reading about the techniques without seeing examples can be challenging. Some concepts, such as swaddling, are illustrated, which was very helpful and made the explanations easier to understand.

The book also briefly touches on additional topics such as baby schedules and postpartum depression. Throughout the book, the author includes examples from other families. In many cases, these examples are useful and illustrative, but if you are looking only for concise, factual information, they may feel excessive at times.

The book does not only describe the 5 S’s individually, but also explains how to combine them effectively. One of the main drawbacks is repetition: the 5 S’s are revisited across multiple chapters. However, this repetition also reinforces their importance.

The main focus of the book is on the fourth trimester and colic. It strongly emphasizes the importance of the fourth trimester and highlights the role of partners in caring for the baby.

Overall, the book is well structured, easy to read, and fast-paced. The information is most useful for parents of babies up to 4–5 months old. If your baby is older than that, the book may feel less relevant.

[Rachel Nesman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book taught the 5 S’s of soothing babies and the techniques on how to do them, as well as the author’s reasoning behind why such techniques are effective in calming babies. This book was just meh. The techniques that were taught (swaddling, side/stomach, sound, sucking, and swinging/motion) are simply not revolutionary. I already knew do those things. It was very repetitive - multiple chapters and paragraphs within those chapters said the exact same thing. Lots of fluff and repetition that could have been avoided. It was also very unsubstantiated - for example, statements like “there is lots of depression in parents due to the crying of their infants. if these parents had used my techniques, their babies would not cry and they would not have been depressed.” simply can’t be proven. If we were in court, I would say “objection - speculative!”. The first part of the book also focused on why from an evolutionary standpoint babies like these methods, and it was a bit far-fetched for me (as I also don’t believe in macro evolution to begin with). But telling me my newborn has a gripping reflex in their toes because monkeys had to cling to their moms as babies? Nah - doesn’t sit well. 😂 I got the sense that the author thought he was the next best thing since sliced bread. I gave it two stars as it did give me some things to think about or try here and there.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many reviews of this book say the methods work but the book is too long. But I was gifted the book, so I figured I’d read it anyways—and I’m actually glad I did.

So yes: the 5 S’s method offers great tools, but the book also goes into detail about situations and specifics of how to utilize them that can really add to their effectiveness.

The book is a quick, easy read. There are some silly examples and unnecessary anecdotes, but formatted in a way that you can easily skip them. The author’s tone comes across as conversational and good-natured, albeit a tad arrogant in how sure he is in his methodology.

Surprisingly, a helpful and perhaps overlooked part is the appendix. Here, he talks about reasons why babies might cry and what patterns doctors will typically look for. Helpful to know what to look for at home.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

*audiobook

I wish I read this weeks ago. This was the book for which I was looking. I often suspect that you have all of these resources and you’re constantly trying new stuff and then BAM something works but really it’s just happenstance but now you swear by it. Everything that worked for me was in this book. He just pushed me to be a little more persistent, forceful, and confident in my techniques and so far it’s been fantastic. It’s only been a few days. And he said my tools would be worthless in a few months. But for now I’m at least optimistic about the next calming session. That’s a nice feeling.

Also put your baby down and wake them up? Sure. Just tried that. Took 3 tries to get her to stay asleep and the last try I just didn’t wake her up. Hilarious prank. He got me.

[Madeline Kop · Rating 2 out of 5]

The chapter on the 5 Ss was helpful. Other parts were interesting, but the book was SO repetitive, had logical fallacies that the author didn't address (e.g. says the 5 Ss trigger the calming reflex and reflexes are automatic, yet doing the 5 Ss might take time for your baby to get used to and calm with), and a very apparent shill for the Snoo. "You can try all these things or you can just use a smart sense bassinet." Overall it was fine and I'll use some tips from it, but it easily could have been a 100 page booklet without losing anything of importance.

[Perri · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars. Some good advice in here, for sure, but I can't give this book a higher review in good conscience given that it felt soooooooooooooo self-promotional and smarmy (even the foreword thanks Madonna for being a client) and it didn't really seem to be based in much science, or even if it was, was all just written as if it's the author's opinion or the highway.

[Libby King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book to any expecting parent!! I learned so much about how to follow simple steps to get your baby to sleep well. I also learned about how colic is rarely a real condition, and how to implement the 5 sleep steps to prevent this ‘condition’ in the 4th trimester!
We will be reaching for this book again later for sure.

[Helen Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned a lot and will put the info to good use. Probably reads better in print than audio, especially as a book that you pick up to reference instead of reading cover to cover. Basically each chapter reiterates the five S’s after doing a deep dive on one. Time will tell how much utility it will have.

[Pragya Bhatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the way this book is written and I found it helpful. I'd suggest to new parents because a lot of the tips given in the book actually work. Also, he doesn't try to push the SNOO on to unsuspecting readers, so I really appreciated that too!

[Shannel Merical · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars rounded down.

I found this information very helpful as a new parent, however, I did find it to start getting very redundant toward the end. Would still highly recommend to anyone having trouble soothing a fussy baby!

[Jasmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book and i think it can help but I didn’t like that it
Keeps repeating the same things throughout
Saying that it’s ok to keep swaddling after baby can roll over, just to “swaddle right” and it will be fine!
And the history parts are unnecessary

[Jonny]

Dr Karp is very good with babies and a very shrewd business man. The happiest baby company preys on the vulnerability of new parents to milk them for every dollar. This is a great book but the author is a greedy capitalist leach on society.

[Sandra Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great information for expectant and new parents, grandparents and caregivers. Learn the five "S" method to simulate womb experiences (sound, motion, etc.). When all else fails (fed, clean diaper, etc.) Karp's method works! One-star removed for the last third of the book being repetitive.

[Sarah Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple, concise, repetitive- but in a good way, really driving home the key points. As a professional (nurse, lactation consultant) I agree with these philosophies, and as a soon-to-be-mama I really hope they work! 😅