Posted by

Understanding Normal Infant Crying- Preventing Shaken Baby Abuse


This is a kind of different post than I usually share.  I get a lot of people asking me to promote their cause or their business and I usually don't feel comfortable sharing.  But this one struck a cord with me.  I had a friend when I was younger who was  a doctor and it was horrible how often they saw children/babies that had been shaken and either killed or permanently damaged.  

When I had my first baby I remember somebody telling me during the pregnancy that when you have kids you understand why people shake them.  I was HORRIFIED that somebody would admit that.   Then my son, starting around 6 weeks of age started what could have been textbook "colic" and it just suddenly turned off at about 12 weeks.  It was INCREDIBLY frustrating as a tired mom. As a result, I feel this is an important issue.  If you have thoughts on other healthy ways to calm a fussy baby- PLEASE leave them in the comments.  And if you feel inclined to help out this cause- thank you! ~
CLICK FOR BABIES: You Can Prevent Infant Abuse
Calling all knitters! Calling all crocheters! Calling all those who are against child abuse! Here’s a fantastic volunteer opportunity for you.
The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (NCSBS) will be collecting crocheted and knitted PURPLE infant hats through October for its 2013 CLICK for Babies public education campaign in an effort to raise awareness of normal infant crying and the dangers of shaking a baby in response to that crying. These PURPLE caps will be distributed to newborns in hospitals throughout North America this November and December as a means to educate parents about the Period of PURPLE Crying, a normal but frustrating period of increased crying that all infants experience in the first few weeks and months after birth.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
  • KNIT or CROCHET infant caps using any newborn baby cap pattern. Caps should be made using any shade of soft, baby friendly PURPLE yarn, be at least 50% PURPLE in color, and free of straps, strings or other potential choking and strangling hazards. For links to some free patterns see here.
  • Organize and host a “KNIT IN” or “CROCHET PARTY” …which really is just a fancy way of saying get a group together and make some hats.
  • POST FLYERS around your neighborhood and community: hospitals, schools, grocery stores, coffee shops, anywhere. Contact the NCSBS for a flyer.
  • Know someone? Anyone? EDUCATE them on the Period of PURPLE Crying. CLICK for Babies not only involves making hats, but also educating others… and not just parents. The neighbor next door that pounds on the wall and shouts “Shut that baby up!” needs to be educated just as much as a new parent! Everyone—Grandma, Grandpa, babysitter, teacher, friend, neighbor, enemy—everyone needs to know.
  • Know someone who knits or crochets? Give them a CALL or send them an EMAIL.
  • Help us spread the word through SOCIAL MEDIA. PIN IT! SHARE IT! TWEET IT! Post this information, photos of hat making, and/or put our contact/button on your BLOG or WEBSITE! (See here for ideas/options.)
  • Have another idea? Fantastic! Please share it.
It doesn’t matter who or where you are: everyone needs to know about the Period of PURPLE Crying! Everyone needs to know that infant crying increases at about 2 weeks and peaks around 2 months; crying is normal. CLICK for Babies is not just about hats; it’s about life saving knowledge!

Please drop off or send hat donations either to the NCSBS—attn: Rachel Price, 1433 North 1075 West Suite 110, Farmington, Utah, 84025—or see here for your closest donation site.
To reach the NCSBS, please call (801)-447-9360 or email click@clickforbabies.org.
THANK YOU!

Comments

Unknown said…
I am so pleased to hear about this - I have 2 little girls and I felt the same way as you - I really didn't understand how someone could shake a baby until I had babies! when I had a baby I used to say out-loud to myself sometimes, "never shake a baby" to kind of bring myself back to reality and remind myself of what I didn't want to do. Sometimes I would put a crying baby in her cot, walk out, shut the door, and just breath outside her door for a few minutes - knowing she was safe, and so was I. I would tag my husband in, when I had had enough - or he would tag himself in. And for my second baby, I had done a lot of horse work, and I learned about Birth Energy (via Tami Lynn Kent). The horse work taught me, that you can never calm another animal/human if you yourself aren't calm - and trying to calm someone doesn't work either - all you can do is calm yourself and allow for them to sync up with your energy, because all things in nature want to be in harmony. So knowing that, I learned about Birth energy which is when you remember being pregnant, maybe a special moment, or just sitting with your baby in your belly and how that felt. Then you remember a moment when you were falling in love with your baby, maybe the first time you held them or feed them. (if this isn't possible - it could be helpful to think of a time that you did feel really good - a day at the beach, a time when you achieved something, finding out about the pregnancy etc) and relive that moment, that feeling in as much depth and detail as possible - sometimes I would hold my baby in my arms and kind of drift into my own little beautiful world. Using this powerful energy releases feel good hormones, and allows the baby to mirror your feeling. Most of the time if works for me. Thank you so much for spreading the word on this cause - it's such a biggie - and I hope my comment can help another mama - we're all in this together.
September 20, 2013 at 5:56 AM
Unknown said…
I have mixed feelings about this campaign. My Provence gives all new parents a DVD, written and verbal information about the period of purple crying. For one thing, I hate the name as it infers that babies turn purple when they cry, which they don't! As a maternity nurse and lactation consultant I have been responsible for teaching prevention and giving out the DVD. Giving all parents the tools for dealing with feeling overwhelmed by prolonged crying is very important and can be life saving. This I agree with. But not ALL babies follow this increased crying. Few parents have the time or inclination to watch DVD's in the postpartum period. I feel there is a possible negative message - that it is acceptable to ignore a crying baby. To me that should be an absolute last resort. My experience leads me to believe that resounding quickly and attachment parenting , cue led Breastfeeding and baby wearing can greatly reduce newborn crying. Also, putting $ into supports for new parents and decreasing the isolation that often occurs may get better results than DVD's that are rarely viewed.
By the way, I LOVE your blog!
September 20, 2013 at 8:56 PM
Sara said…
There is a lot of evidence out there that many incidences of shaken baby syndrome are actually related to vaccination reactions. I would love to see more awareness about this issue.
February 3, 2014 at 7:58 AM
Post a Comment