Babies Cry to Communicate Their Needs – But How Do You Know What They are Saying?
by Sonja Preston
Picture this. You’ve just arrived home with your newborn child – she’s beautiful, precious and your heart has grown in a way you didn’t know was possible. You’ve read many books and articles about caring for your newborn and you feel prepared. You know that babies communicate to us by crying.
Your baby starts to cry. ‘Aha she’s hungry’, you think – but she isn’t interested. ‘Oh she must have wind’ but burping her isn’t bringing anything up. n‘Well, it must be a dirty nappy’ – but that’s not the problem either.
So now you’ve attempted feeding, burping and you’ve checked her nappy to no avail because she’s still crying. You’ve done what most of us do in those early days – we attempt to guess what she wants and we go through a series of elimination, hoping to get it right eventually. But…what if she was simply telling you that she was tired. She’s now overtired, will likely be harder to settle and may not sleep as well. You thought you were prepared, but now some doubt has crept in.
Imagine if you could KNOW, not guess, what she needed. If you knew the difference between a tired cry and a hungry cry. Then you’d be able to solve her needs quickly, leading to a content baby and also growing confidence in your capacity as a parent.
The Dunstan Baby Language (DBL) is a proven method which teaches you the five key sounds you need to successfully navigate those early weeks. The sounds occur when a reflex is stimulated in the newborn – sounds to tell you when the baby is hungry, tired, has wind, has lower wind pain, or is uncomfortable. For example when the baby has wind in the upper chest area, and needs to burp, the chest muscles are contracting in an effort to push the trapped air up. When sound is added, you will hear the word ‘eh’, and this will indicate you need to assist your baby to burp. The reflex happens first, followed by the sound or word and then there will be visual cues – in this case you will see the baby squirming, trying to bring up the wind.
When you know what they are saying and what to do about it, the baby begins to understand that they can rely on you to meet their needs. This is the beginning of what we think of as bonding between baby and parents. For professionals, it is known as Secure Attachment.
I’ve been teaching the Dunstan Baby Language (DBL) in Australia for 14 years and I’m Tasmania’s only DBL Educator and the DBL Trainer for Australia. I run classes for parents, grandparents and foster parents and over two sessions you’ll have the confidence to know what the baby needs and how to successfully meet that need.
For more information head to www.theparentingcafe.com.au/dunstan-baby-language/