Study: The Five S's Are Calming for Baby Shots

Any parent of a colicky or cranky baby knows that the five S's—swaddling, side/stomach positioning, shushing, swinging and sucking—are the gold-standard baby soothers. A new study, done by a team at the Children's Hospital of King's Daughters in Norfolk, VA, published in the latest issue of Pediatrics found that the five S's are also good for calming babies in another stressful situation: getting shots.

Plus: 15 Clever Crying Soothers

The study's major conclusion was that babies stopped crying within 45 seconds of getting a shot if their caregiver did four of the five S's. This offers an alternative to breastfeeding (which not all mothers can or want to do in a pediatrician's office) or giving babies sugar before getting shots, which is another common remedy. In the study, the babies tested who were only given a small dose of sugar water as comfort didn't stop crying until 2 minutes after the shot.

Plus: Watch Videos on How to Swaddle a Baby Correctly

How do you calm your baby after getting shots? Have you tried using any of the five S's?