Catherine Kerrigan was born in Dublin, Ireland and is the mother of six children (ages 30 down to twelve with one set of Irish twins in there, eleven months apart). Her background is in Montessori and child development working in this field for twenty years. She is now serving young families as a postpartum doula, sleep consultant and lactation educator specializing in multiplies.
I decided over two years ago for a slight change in career , I trained as a postpartum doula. I was surprised how often the issue of sleep training came up. So in order to better help families around this issue I trained as a sleep consultant so i could give them the correct support they needed.
I was really intrigued when I happened upon HUG Your Baby classes years ago during one of my child development classes. I recently completed the course and I’m so happy I did .
"Broadcasting" is the one element I am using again and again.I find it never fails! It works because parents and caregivers see what I see. I recently worked with a dad who told me he was terrified of his new baby. I was able to help him through "Broadcasting" to calm his baby down, swaddle the baby and help the baby sleep. The next night when i arrived baby was swaddled and sleeping , lights were low and the TV was turned off.
Another way I have found "Broadcasting" handy is when baby is falling asleep and waking up. As you know a baby waking up and falling asleep can look similar. The baby has two sleep cycles-- REM and Non REM -- and spends most of their time in REM or light sleep. I have parents watch for signs of hunger (sucking her hands with gusto) verses falling asleep cues (mouthing hands or looking off to the corner of the room ["Spacing Off"]). Parents learn that when baby goes into the crib if he might move around and mouth hands as they settle down. The baby may even wake a couple of times during sleep. I encourage parents to wait and see without picking up the baby. Give the baby an opportunity to fall back asleep.
In addition to "Broadcasting" I find using the terms SOS and Ready Zone are extremely helpful. I notice that parents are using these terms themselves when I check in with them. The HUG Your Baby video is fantastic and has helped the parents I serve understand and respond effectively to their baby's body language.