I am in love with podcasts. If that sounds like a bit of hyperbole,
let me explain that I have a 45 minute commute to work and, as my co-worker
Shelly says' "That song you like gets old pretty quick". I listen to
things about breastfeeding, maternal health, science, and more. There is so
much to choose from but here are a few of my favorites: Born to be Breastfed , Breastfeeding
Medicine, Hidden Brain, Only Human and Terrible, Thanks for Asking (all on NPR). Yesterday, I was listening
to Marie Biancuzzo's podcast about infant crying (from 4/24 - listen here).
Marie feels that infants cry for two reasons: to meet an immediate need and to
relieve stress. I tend to think that every infant need is immediate, in
that newborns are not trying to manipulate you into feeding them sooner, or
changing them on a whim. The needs and the wants are the same! However, the
thought that a baby may be crying to just blow off steam is very intriguing..and
much like our experience as adults. Remember how cathartic it can feel to have
a good cry? Not when you are in physical or emotional pain, but when you've had
a bad day, or the stress of life is just getting to you. Do infants feel this
way? Is it frustrating to be out in the world after spending 9 months inside
mom (a snug, carefully controlled, dim environment filled with white noise)?
What Marie proposes is to let babies have
these moments, but hold them
at the same time. We can't always meet our babies' needs, but we can hold them
through it. Think of coming home at the end of a long, somewhat frustrating day
at work. Maybe you were stuck in some traffic, and maybe the dog woke you in
the early morning (yeah..I get that one!). You arrive home, have trouble
finding your key, and start to cry. Your partner comes to you and, without
trying to make you stop crying or distract you, he/she just holds you. Can you
imagine how nice that might feel? How much better you'd feel afterward?
