Advice from Ann Douglas
Ann Douglas is an award-winning author and writer. She is the creator of the bestselling The Mother of All® Books series and The Mother of All Solutions series whose titles include The Mother of All Pregnancy Books, The Mother of All Baby Books, The Mother of All Toddler Books, The Mother of All Parenting Books, The Mother of All Pregnancy Organizers, Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler: The Ultimate No-Worry Approach for Each Age and Stage and Mealtime Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler: The Ultimate No-Worry Approach for Each Age and Stage. Ann is also the co-author (with John R. Sussman, M.D.) of two highly respected pregnancy guides: The Unofficial Guide to Having a Baby and Trying Again: A Guide to Pregnancy After Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Loss. Ann and her teenage daughter Julie co-wrote a body image book for preteen girls entitled Body Talk: The Straight Goods on Fitness, Nutrition, and Feeling Great About Yourself.
Known for her lively anecdotes and real-world advice, Ann is a parenting course instructor for WebMD.com, the "Misconceptions" columnist for Conceive Magazine, the “Compendi-mom” columnist for Glow, and a regular contributor to numerous other pregnancy and parenting magazines.
A much sought after speaker who is recognized for her ability to entertain and inspire her audiences and to get to the heart of the issues of greatest concern to parents today, Ann makes frequent appearances at parenting conferences and on radio and television. She regularly hosts online chats and teleconferences, and is frequently quoted on pregnancy and parenting trends in such publications as The National Post, The Toronto Star, Today’s Parent, Canadian Family, Canadian Living, Parenting, Parents, and Fit Pregnancy.
Ann is serving on the National Advisory Board for Invest in Kids -- a non-profit organization that is currently developing a national parenting curriculum for Canadian parents. She lives in Peterborough, Ontario, with her husband and four children, ages 8 through 18.
Baby Body Language: The Basics
Your baby didn’t come packaged with an owner’s manual, but her body language can tell you plenty, including what she wants and needs from you. Some of those early body signals are hard-wired—more instinctual than intentional—but as grows little older she’ll use her body language to communicate a whole lot more. Here’s a quick guide to baby body language.
“One moment my one month old will be almost asleep. Then suddenly, for no reason at all, she’ll fling her arms and legs out and start wailing.”
Your baby is startling in response to a noise or a movement. Try blocking out some of the background noise (a white noise machine works amazingly well) and swaddling your baby in a light-weight blanket so she’ll be less likely to startle herself awake. By the time your baby is five or six months old, your baby will have outgrown this particular reflex and sleeping more soundly. “
“If my newborn’s face rubs against my shoulder while I’m carrying him across the room, he starts bobbing his head up and down.”
Your baby is bound and determined to find a breast. He’s just a little off when it comes to basic geography. And why not? It’s a strategy that’s served babies since the beginning of time. When babies feel something rubbing the corner of their mouths they open up wide and “root” in the direction of the stroking in the hope that a nipple will magically present itself. And often it does!
“Sometimes my baby and I will be playing with a toy—and then she’ll start fussing and look away.”
That’s her way of saying that, “Hey, it’s been fun, but I’ve had enough.” Respect your baby’s need for a break. See if you can get her down for a nap or—at the very least—put away that too-cool educational toy and ease into a quieter, more soothing activity.
“My baby has this strange habit of breathing really rapidly when he’s excited. And then his feet get in on the act, too.”
Don’t you love the way babies use their entire bodies to express enthusiasm? If only we grownups could cut lose like that a little more often—breathing heavily to say how happy we are when someone we love walks through the door and kicking our feet with joy when our favorite veggie finds its way to the dinner table.
“Sometimes my seven-month-old cries because I can’t get the food to her mouth quickly enough. Other times, I can’t even get her to open her mouth. She’ll turn her face away and ignore me completely.”
Your baby’s appetite varies from one feeding to the next and—like all babies—she knows how to make it perfectly clear when dinner is over. Learn to read and respect your baby’s fullness cues. She’s the best judge of how much food she needs.
“Yesterday, my eight-month-old started acting sleepy during lunch. By the time she finished her lunch, she was completely hysterical. Then she wouldn’t take her nap!”
In the world of babies, there’s tired and then there’s overtired. The secret to getting babies to settle down to sleep is to spot the signs of tiredness before your baby enters the no man’s land of overtiredness: quiet calmness rather than fussiness or frantic crying.