Trudie Jones, originally from England, now lives and works as a busy Birth Doula in Ft. Laduerdale, Florida. She has recently completed the Certified HUG Teacher program and is eager to share her "HUGS" with others!
Trudie wants to tell us this story...
I had assisted Maria and Alex at the birth of their first baby, and here we are with baby #2--a beautiful, healthy, little boy. The birth was perfect, the atmosphere calm and serene as Marie welcomed her baby into the world.
The following day I went to visit the new family at the hospital; it was lovely to see the big brother kissing and cuddling the baby, to hear everyone talking about how wonderful Maria had done, and to listen to the grandmas exchanging their own birth stories. In fact, the room was very lively with conversations.
Big Brother started to call out that his little brother did not like him. “Look how he keeps looking away from me. Every time I call his name he turns the other way!” the brother exclaims. Maria explained, “He’s been doing that on and off all day; then he starts screaming for no reason.” Within a few minutes the baby had gone from showing SOSs (signs of over stimulation) to rebooting (fussing, crying). He was really letting everyone hear what a great pair of lungs he had!
I asked if I could help calm the baby down. I gently called his name and put his hands to his chest. As I was applying these techniques, I briefly explained how the baby was just letting us know that it was all a little too much. He was over- stimulated and needed a little help in calming himself down. Everyone was amazed at how quickly the baby settled down and went back to sleep. Naturally, more information was requested, so I arranged to attend the home in a few days, to explain "Zones" in more detail and let them see the HUG DVD.
As promised, I arrived on Day 5. Mum, Dad, Grandma, Big Brother and, of course, the baby were all present. Everyone was doing well. Baby had just been fed and was responding to Grandma and Big Brother. The baby actually looked like he could understand all that was being said to him. Grandma was saying how smart he was as he showed us he was able to follow Grandma's voice. In the middle of talking to baby, the baby started to look like he was staring into space and simply stopped paying attention to "Gran." Then he began to get a little fussy. He made a grunting sound, and then started to move his arms and legs in a jerky way. Mum observed this and stated, “Oh, he must still be hungry, although I only fed him a half hour ago.” I explained that this was another SOS. I swaddled the baby, gently swayed him, and again he settled down.
While the baby slept, we talked about the different "Zones" in detail, how to recognize SOSs, and how to calm baby down. We also talked about the different sleep states. We watched for the "Ready Zone," when it might be the best time for Big Brother to have play time with baby. Finally we watched the HUG DVD.
The family was surprised at how much information they had gained. Marie stated, “If only I had know this with my first baby, life could have been so much easier!” Gran responded, “Don’t feel bad. I had five children and knew none of this. I just thought all new babies cried all the time. If they slept for more than 30 minutes I was doing really well.” And what about Dad? He’s just happy and proud of his smart children and wonderful wife.
© HUG Your Baby 2010