The Power of SHHHHHhhhhhh.....

I have twins

Go back and read those three words and listen to yourself...

I purposely left off punctuation so your brain would read it based on your own preconceived notions about having twins.

Was there an underlying sense of excitement in your brain's voice? Or was there a calm acceptance amidst a somewhat serious tone? Or did a dreadful threat seem to loom as though a disease was being diagnosed?

I've experienced all three feelings over the course of the 8ish years that I've had twins. We found out on Valentine's Day, about 14 weeks before they actually arrived. Through the whirlwind of preparation, there wasn't really time to think about what it would be like... and that was a good thing, I think. It was better for the reality of it to be the teacher.

One of the realities was the colic. For some unknown reason, these babies would scream for three hours every night for about six weeks. I tried changing my diet since they were exclusively breastfed. I tried running the vacuum cleaner. I tried carrying them just-so, rocking them so fast, and massaging their bellies...

As I figured out that nothing really made a difference, I approached the three-hour time frame from a different angle: rather than try something new for their benefit, I had to plan for myself and how I would survive.

First: never be alone. Always have a second pair of adult hands. Many people are thrilled to be asked to help with newborns -- especially twins.

Second: try to distract myself -- play some calming music; maybe watch a movie with the subtitles since their screaming might keep me from hearing dialogue;

Third: do something different. Bathe (yes, with the babies! In this case, I had my hubby or my mom be my second adult). Dance. Go on a walk.

Well, one night as I went on a walk with the screaming yet still adorable twins in their stroller, the neighbor heard their cries and came out to visit with me. She told me that just that day she had seen the Baby Whisperer on Oprah and asked if she could try out the special techniques on my little ones.

"Sure."

She crouched the baby's knees up into her belly, held her firmly against her chest in a straight-up position, and SHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhh'd in her ear.

Long SSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhh. Deep breath. Another long, long SSSSSHHHHHHHhhhhhh.

It was working! Karina was calming down!

Esther, the baby still in the stroller, was also stopping the sobbing. Maybe she was wondering what was making her sister stop... maybe she could hear the SHHHHHHhhhhhhh too.

Well, I've had two more newborns since that time, and while neither of them has been colicky, they have both certainly had times when they need to calm down.

SSSSSHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh does it. Over and over.

The funny thing is, I feel like it calms me down, too, as I "administer" the secret weapon...

SSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

Do you feel it?