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Another great story from Certfied HUG Teacher and doula, Leslie Gallimore, from Charlotte, NC.Lana faithfully attended classes prior to the birth of her son. A single mom and full-time college student, she often said that the classes were both informative and a place of support. During her pregnancy, she shared that she would be traveling quite a bit to see her family and hoped her baby would be a good traveler.
HUG Your Baby was one of the classes shared during the course of her pregnancy. Lana watched the video, heard the PowerPoint information, and embraced the concepts of observing her baby’s signals in order to better know how to meet his needs and to understand him. It is not surprising that she was also quite observant of his behavior prior to his birth. She recognised his actvity inside and anticipated times he'd be on the move out in the world.
HUG Your Baby was one of the classes shared during the course of her pregnancy. Lana watched the video, heard the PowerPoint information, and embraced the concepts of observing her baby’s signals in order to better know how to meet his needs and to understand him. It is not surprising that she was also quite observant of his behavior prior to his birth. She recognised his actvity inside and anticipated times he'd be on the move out in the world.
Lana came back to view The HUG DVD again before her baby arrived in order to be as prepared as possible when her son arrived. She said she was looking forward to the day when she would look into her son’s eyes and hear his voice.
Following the birth of Sean, Lana returned to class to introduce her son to the women with whom she had shared so much during pregnancy. What a joy to hear her share her early experiences as a mom. She told her classmates that she had learned to fully wake him up prior to breastfeeding.
Sean began to skirm in her arms and whimper slightly. What a joy it was to watch as Lana very calmly, smoothly and naturally reached for Sean’s hands and held them to his chest. The baby immediately settled. Lana explained that she had tried swaddling but found this hand-holding calming tool to be really helpful.
Lana was delighted to share that she had already made a three hour trip with her baby. With the aid of a mirror directed where she could observe him those sleep/awake transitions she had learned about on the DVD. At the times that Sean was actually waking, she said she watched to see if he was content and quiet or if he seemed to need calming. When he needed more than she could do while driving, she would find a place to pull over and remove him from his carseat.
I held Sean and asked Lana to softly say his name. He opened his eyes wide, turned to his mom and looked at her face. What fun for the rest of us to see the huge smile on Lana’s face and to sense her love for her son!
I held Sean and asked Lana to softly say his name. He opened his eyes wide, turned to his mom and looked at her face. What fun for the rest of us to see the huge smile on Lana’s face and to sense her love for her son!