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September 10 , 2008
And excellent resource for questions you may have about special topics is www.zerotothree.org. You can check out special topics like language learning or how to handle biting.
INFANT CPR and FIRST AID CLASSES
Skagit County Medic One has classes. Please call 360-428-3230 or check out their website: www.skagitems.com
SLEEP is IMPORTANT!
For information about your baby's sleep, you might want to look at this website: www.sleepsense.org. Many parents have found this information very helpful.
Remember, the more sleep that you, your baby and family get in the first weeks and months of your child's life will do you all more good than anything else. Trying to keep baby awake until daddy - or mama - gets home from work can be problematic. Late in the evening, everyone, including you, can be overtired, fussy and irritable. Couples often wonder what happened to their happy marriage. Sleep really is the best medicine: for mothers, fathers and children of all ages.
Often new parents worry about their baby's crying. You may find yourself comforting and rocking your baby to keep him or her from crying. Or, you may keep feeding your baby again and again hoping he'll settle down. Sometimes, babies just need to have a good cry. It helps them get "organized" and actually sleep better afterwards.
INFANT CRYING (and Parent crying, too)
[Scroll down for Toddler Crying/Temper Tantrums; Useful links; and books of interest]
One of the interesting things about infants is that newborns, in general, don't cry much in the first few days of life. Often they are calm and when awake seem remarkably observant and curious. But take them home from the hospital and in a few days, you'll hear some real crying. One of the most difficult things in life is not being able to comfort or console a tiny baby.
What is going on? Babies who are born at full term almost universally have certain fussy -crying spells part of every day. The crying seems to increase by the day, reaching a peak of fussiness at around 6-8 weeks of age, with spells of prolonged fussiness usually between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. -- just when you want to sit down for dinner and relax.
You will check your baby's diaper and make sure he's fed and burped. If your baby continues to be fussy, it's helpful to remind yourself that your baby still thinks you are perfect!
Your baby is doing his part to "get organized" into his body and part of how babies do this is to fuss and cry. It's natural to think you need to stop the crying, but that isn't the case, for no matter what you do, a baby that is crying needs to cry.
You will comfort your baby, talk to her and hold her, swaddle her if that's what she likes. Giving your baby permission to cry has a way of relieving your stress. Babies cry, it is what they do. Crying helps babies release their stress, just as as crying helps you release yours.
It is lot of work to care for a new baby especially if this is your first baby or if your baby has health or developmental issues. Just because we cry - parents and babies -doesn't mean we are falling apart; it might feel that way at the time, but actually crying is a good way to get it together and feel calmer - afterwards, of course.
Sometimes your baby will look all purple and scream like he's in terrible pain, in most cases he's not, but do call your doctor if you are concerned.
Another thing to remember is that babies born prematurely will delay the onset of fussy crying periods until after they reach their expected due date. Often it seems like you're finally getting things together and then your baby starts crying and it can feel overwhelming; but what it most likely means is that your baby now has the energy and stamina to use crying and fussiness to help him get organized, and that's a cause for celebration!
A book you might find helpful is Your Fussy Baby, by Marc Weissbluth, M. D.
TODDLER CRYING AND TEMPER TANTRUMS
Temper tantrums and crying fits in older babies and toddlers are similar to patterns of crying in infants. What this means is that your baby is trying to get her emotions organized.
By the time we are adults we've had a lot of experience being frustrated, disappointed, confused and ignored. We've had things taken away from us for no apparent reason; we've been let down by people who love us; we've been frustrated when we haven't had our own way.
As adults, we don't throw ourselves on the floor, turn red, and kick our legs all over the place. We might feel like it, but we learned when we were very little that behaviors such as those didn't get us what we wanted.
Your baby is trying to figure out what to do when she doesn't get her way. Having a crying fit is the best she can do.
What we can do as parents is be sympathetic and gentle and patient. We can say, "Oh, honey, I'm sorry you feel that way, but I can't let you eat that piece of paper. I know you want to, but it's not a good idea."
When we remain calm and patient and matter-of-fact during a toddler's temper tantrum and let the child work out her emotions by crying - while we sit by her and are supportive of her feelings, we help her learn healthy behaviors that can last a life time.
This is the hard work of good parenting, learning to practice "healthy detachment" from our child's struggle to get control of her emotions.
You are always welcome to telephone our WELCOME BABY! line with questions 360-419-3324.
Meredith Baker
December 21, 2006
Free parent education is available to all parents of children birth to age three in Skagit County.
Please email or telephone to make an appointment or for information about classes
and programs in the community.
The following links have information that
might be useful for you:
AGS
Publishing
AGS Publishing produces assessments, textbooks,
and instructional materials for people with
a wide range of needs. Since 1957, we have
been committed to supporting our customers
and those they serve through our high-quality,
reliable products.
Our company is a recognized leader in publishing
individually administered tests to measure
cognitive ability, achievement, behavior, speech
and language skills, and personal and social
adjustment. Our group-administered tests for
reading and math provide detailed information
about individual ability in an efficient, easy-to-use
format.
Talaris
Research Institute
Talaris Research Institute is dedicated to
discovering how children think, feel and learn.
From birth to age five, a child observes, experiments,
and begins to understand the world — a
learning experience unmatched by any other.
Welcome
Baby
Welcome Baby, Durham County, North Carolina.
A great resource and has a wonderful series
of developmental newsletters in both English
and Spanish, available on-line.
Please visit our Useful
Links page for additional resources
Here's
a list of books you might enjoy and find
helpful:
Baby Minds: Brain-Building Games Your Baby
Will Love
Linda Acredolo, Ph.D., and Susan Goodwin, Ph.D.
Bantam Books, New York, 2000
Becoming Parents
Pamela L. Jordan, Scott M. Stanley and Howard
J. Markham
Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, 1999
Breastfeeding Your Baby
Sheila Kitzinger
Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1991
Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child
Marc Weissbluth, M.D.
Ballantine Books, 1999
How Babies Talk, The Magic & Mystery of Language in the First Three
Years
Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, Ph.D., and Kathy
Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D.
Dutton, New York, 1999
Parenting Young Children
Don Dinkmeyer, Sr., Gary D. McKay
American Guidance Service, Inc. 1997
1.800.328.2560
The Read-Aloud Handbook
Jim Trelease
Penguin Books, New York, 1995
The Scientist in the Crib: Minds, Brains, and How Children Learn
Alison Gopnik, Ph.D., Andrew N. Melzoff, Ph.D.,
and Patricia K. Kuhl, Ph.D.
William Morrow & Co. Inc., New York, 1999
Sign With Your Baby: "How to Communicate with Infants Before They
Can Speak"
Joseph Garcia
Stratton-Kehl Publications, Inc., 2000
Sleeping Through the Night: "How Infants, Toddlers and Their Parents
Can
Get a Good Night's Sleep"
Jodi A. Mindell, Ph.D.
Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 1997
Your Amazing Newborn
Marshall H. Klaus, M.D., and Phyllis H. Klaus,
C.S.W., M.F.C.C.
Perseus Books, Cambridge Massachusetts, 1998
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