happiest baby on the block

this was a great read! we have really enjoyed reading dr. karp's book. there are some basic calming techniques that this book explores and a new concept to us.... the first 3 months of our baby's life can be considered the '4th trimester.' dr. karp gives this title to the newborn stage because babies need our extra care during this time. if our baby is fussy during this time (and we can't figure out why) than we can use the techniques to 'cure' her need for comfort by trying to replicate the conditions that nurtured her in the womb. these conditions include: swaddling, side/stomach lying (not for sleeping,) sound (shh-ing), sucking, and swaying (motion that is gentle and not like shaking at all.) these 5 techniques are said to work wonders on the newborns because they sometimes just need that something extra........ it is wild to think that we are only a few months away from trying these ideas out ourselves!

we have received our baby language dvds by dunstan that i brought up in an earlier post after seeing an oprah show episode. the purpose of these particular dvds is to teach parents the 5 basic words/cries that a newborn (0-3month) can make and what they mean. with all of the examples given on the dvds, it has been interesting to be out in public when babies are nearby. i can say that we are no longer 'passive' listeners to a baby's cry. is there such thing as ignoring a baby's cry anyways? well, no, but now it is actually interesting and a way for us to 'test' out the dunstan baby language that we have learned..... something tells me that we will get lots of 'testing' done early on in march!

so why all the fuss about baby dvds and baby books? i recently realized that my baby book collection was all centered around the birth experience. what would happen After the baby is born? there surely would be diapers, crying, sleeping, and breastfeeding questions..... then a light bulb went off in my head and i began to look at the world of parenting, and not just the world of labor 'surges' and breathing techniques. it is still a big step to take in my mind as i sit here another few inches away from my desk and the big brother kitty fights to find lap space pressed up against the desk and the baby.... maybe there is more room in there for another christmas cookie :)