Secret for Crying Babies: Dunstan Baby Language

Do you know that a baby can spend 2 - 3 hours every day crying? Not knowing what to do under those circumstances all too often leads to Shaken Baby Syndrome. Parents, grandparents, childcare workers, friends, and relatives can all succumb to the stress of raising a child and shake a baby into serious damage without thinking.

Most new parents quickly learn how to distinguish between the first four causes of crying, but what about the other eight? These items are just lumped into the baby's "I'm uncomfortable" category, and parents frequently become frustrated when they think that trial and error is the only way to figure out what is wrong.



To solve this problem, Priscilla Dunstan created a system to learn infantile speech patterns, recognize the vocalizations and sound reflexes in your own baby, and then provide the correct response to your baby's language. While the Dunstan Baby Language system has not been fully scientifically tested, it has proved successfully with thousands of mothers and fathers.

The Dunstan Baby Language DVD set comes with two discs that provide in-depth details on:
- the five universal words of baby language
- methods to recognize the vocalizations and sounds
- numerous examples of baby cries from around the world to "tune your ear"
- live demonstrations of newborn mothers experimenting with Dunstan baby language


After years of research, the Dunstan Baby Language program is available in several countries across the world. While the original series was developed in English for the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, baby language secrets can be learned in:

AustraliaHong KongMexicoSouth Africa
AustriaIndonesiaNetherlandsSpain
BelgiumIrelandNew ZealandSweden
CanadaIsraelNorwaySwitzerland
CypressItalyPhilippinesThailand
Czech RepublicJapanPolandTurkey
DenmarkLuxembourgPortugalUAE
FinlandMalaysiaRomaniaUK
GermanyMaltaSingaporeUSA



The quality of sleep and feeding during the infant's first years has a significant impact on physical and emotional development--not to mention the parents' sleep!



Raising a child takes an immense toll on the mother and father. One crucial tactic for sanity is to use whatever tools are available to enhance bonding and reduce stress. The Dunstan Baby Language DVD set teaches methods to promote bonding earlier and facilitate the parent-child understanding that normally does not occur until the child is able to speak.

It is the middle of the night, 1 hour after his last feeding, and he has been crying for 10 minutes for no apparent reason. Mom is exhausted and may lose it. You have to go to work early.

It is time to earn your spurs, Dad. Think troubleshooter's guide. A practical, proactive approach is in order. Proven at Boot Camp, this guide employs the same approach used in fixing cars, computers, or other mechanical items.

What do you do?

• To deduce the cause of his crying, develop a mental list of why your baby cries. Being hungry will be at the top of the list, followed by tired. All lists will be as different as babies are, but think gas, wet diaper, rash, constipation, hot, cold, just wants to be held, or burped-and add new issues as they develop.


• Keep trying solutions like you do when troubleshooting a car that will not start. Check the gas, battery, starter, spark plugs, and so on. As long as you are proactively testing solutions, you will minimize anxiety and frustration, which tend to upset babies.


• When you finish your baby's regular list, keep checking. The new nipple on his bottle may not have a hole or a sharp edge of the tape on his diaper may be poking him.


• When you have tried everything and nothing worked, go back to the second item on the list-tired. After 30 minutes of crying, your baby is going to be overtired, and putting her to sleep will be challenging.

Of course, if at any point you suspect your baby may need medical attention, call a doctor. This advice comes from pediatricians, who say you should be on the safe side. Check your resources for indications.

Here are some tips for calming crying babies from veteran dads:

• Do not take the crying personally.


• Go for a walk. Babies often love the motion of a stroller or riding in a backpack, pouch, or sling.


• A taut tummy or kicking legs may indicate gas pain. Bicycle her legs, gently rub her tummy, or lay him across your lap with one leg under his tummy and pat his back.


• Try tag team parenting with mom. Taking turns is much better than both of you up all night together.


• Give mom a break and do not have her pop the baby on her breast every time he whimpers. Develop alternate techniques.


• Invest in a baby swing.


• Once you get her to sleep, use a heating pad to warm her bedding (remove before putting baby in crib) so the shock of cold sheets does not wake her up.


• Rhythmic motion and background noise also help lull babies to sleep. Try the vacuum, car rides, music at a low volume, or the washer or dryer.

There may be times when walking your crying baby for hours is the only alternative. Babies can be tough, some much more than others. Even the worst cases of colic will pass, and, while the memories of the tough times may never be fond, a dad will always know that he was there when he was needed. This feeling is the basis for a very strong relationship as one's child grows. Hang in there.

 

Reprinted with permission. Courtesy of Child Welfare Information Gateway.