--- title: This Doctor Knows The Secret To Calming A Baby description: Shake, shake, shake canonical: https://time.com/4132826/calming-baby-doctor/ author: Melissa Locker article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-02T20:36:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:47.458Z og:title: This Doctor Knows The Secret To Calming A Baby og:description: Shake, shake, shake og:url: https://time.com/4132826/calming-baby-doctor/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Doctor Knows The Secret To Calming A Baby twitter:description: Shake, shake, shake twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This Doctor Knows The Secret To Calming A Baby > Sponsored content. 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Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=4d33f9a2-58a8-4b17-915d-1a4ec36928fd&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Dec 2, 2015 8:36 PM UTC by [Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/) ## Melissa Locker Dec 2, 2015 8:36 PM UTC Over the 30 years of his pediatric practice, Dr. Robert Hamilton has developed a sure-fire trick to calm a crying baby—and it’s straight out of [K.C. and the Sunshine Band](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1YXcD0njts). The Santa Monica, California-based doctor has been using a trick to soothe babies in his practice and, much to the relief of exhausted parents everywhere, he recently shared his technique online. Hamilton calls the move “The Hold,” but fans of K.C. and the Sunshine Band—and even Taylor Swift—may find it’s shake, shake, shake, familiar. To help ease the woes of an upset newborn, Hamilton suggests folding the baby’s arms across their front (like one of the steps of the Macarena) and gently holding them down with one of your hands. With your other hand, hold the child by the bottom at an angle and carefully, tenderly rock the child up and down while gently shaking the child’s booty back-and-forth, just like K.C. and the Sunshine Band suggested. It will all make more sense once you watch the video and, don’t worry, parents, it will get easier with practice—even with a crying baby soundtrack. ### See the Funniest and Weirdest Baby Photos  Shot for TIME, 2015 Evan Kafka for TIME  Shot for TIME, 2015 Photo-illustration by Evan Kafka for TIME  Shot for TIME, 2015 Photo-illustration by Evan Kafka for TIME  Shot for TIME, 2015 Photo-illustration by Evan Kafka for TIME  Personal work, 2009 Evan Kafka—Getty Images  Shot for Huggies, 2011 Evan Kafka  Personal work, 2009 Evan Kafka  Personal work, 2009 Evan Kafka—Getty Images  Personal work, 2009 Photo-illustration by Evan Kafka—Getty Images  Personal work, 2011 Evan Kafka—Getty Images  Personal work, 2009 Evan Kafka—Getty Images  Personal work, 2009 Evan Kafka—Getty Images  \[H/T [Mashable](http://mashable.com/2015/12/01/how-to-calm-a-crying-baby/?utm%5Fcid=mash-com-fb-main-link#1FWqL99PePqO)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4132826/calming-baby-doctor/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4132826/calming-baby-doctor/"},"headline":"This Doctor Knows The Secret To Calming A Baby","datePublished":"2015-12-02T20:36:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:46:47.458Z","description":"Shake, shake, shake","url":"https://time.com/4132826/calming-baby-doctor/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Children","Babies","Family"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Locker","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4132826/calming-baby-doctor/","name":"This Doctor Knows The Secret To Calming A Baby"}}]}] ```