As part of my work at Fussy Baby Network Colorado, we offer presentations to private or community agencies that explain our services. At the very beginning of the presentation, we play a recording of a baby crying. We ask the participants to close their eyes and just listen. When the crying stops, we ask the listeners to tell us the duration of the crying they just heard. Most participants guess 2 or even 3 minutes. The actual length of the recording is just under 30 seconds. All babies cry, some more than others. (Straight from the Fussy Baby brochure!) It simply isn't always possible to know why your baby is crying. Some babies are incredibly vocal, some babies go from calm to hysterical in a matter of seconds, and some babies start screaming and then have trouble stopping.
I was once in a department store while a baby was screaming in his stroller. Grandpa was sweating and pushing the stroller faster and faster to get the baby to stop crying. (It wasn't working!) I started sweating myself and had to leave the store. I talk to parents every day about their crying baby, and I absolutely understand how hard it is to hear. Even 30 seconds can seem like an eternity. Remember; all babies cry, some more than others, and reach out for positive support. You are not alone.

12 years ago I let my two best girlfriends talk me in to participating in a triathlon. While I happened to marry an athlete and then give birth to athletes, I have no gifts in that area whatsoever. Through sheer stubbornness, stupidity and support from my girlfriends, I completed a total of three sprint distance triathlons. It wasn’t pretty and it certainly wasn’t fast, but I did it!

Every week I talk with parents of infants who are questioning their ability to parent effectively. Even experienced parents can be totally befuddled by baby #2. There are many reasons for this. Too much information, too little information, inappropriate information, know-it-all relatives information, perfect friend information or being just plain tired can really mess with the parenting part of your brain.

Listen up, parents. Watch your baby, not the computer monitor. Your baby is human and so are you. Trust your instincts. Seek positive support. Try things more than once. Work as a team. Simply and totally love your screaming, spitting, not sleeping, pooping, hitting baby. You can do it!

Happy Parenting!
Susan

This headline appeared in the Denver Post earlier this year.  There seems to be no doubt that home visitation by caring professionals helps to reduce the incidence of child abuse.  As a home visitor, I can’t even begin to explain how powerful and effective my work can be while sitting in someone’s living room.  Families
share their fears, doubts and insecurities more readily in the privacy of their homes.  I get to see and “feel” what life is like in their home, including barking dogs, noisy neighbors, random people walking around, and cultural uniqueness. Interesting smells, a thermostat set to 85 degrees, having to move dirty laundry to find a place to sit and occasionally scary situations can make my job difficult at times.  When I focus on the parents, baby and the needs of the family, I have learned to block out outside stimuli and support the parent-child relationship on that day, in that hour and in that minute.  I may not have an opportunity tomorrow to help this family. And unfortunately, tomorrow can be a scary place for some families.  Let’s go home and help make life with baby an enjoyable experience.

Happy Parenting!
Susan