30 Day Mission, DAY 2- The Period of Purple Crying

Yesterday morning, as I shared some cuddles with my Pumpkin-Pie, I couldn't help but smell her hair. It's just something you do when you are cuddled up with your baby. Except mine isn't quite a baby anymore. She didn’t smell like baby anymore, at all. Her hair smelled like yogurt, and Glossette raisins. I mean don't get me wrong, it smelled delicious, but it wasn't that same cherished baby smell anymore.

I have even refused to change her shampoo from Dove Baby Wash to something with life-like dancing fruit on the bottle, that is supposedly more suitable for a toddler. When you're a toddler, you're a toddler I guess. Even baby shampoo can't bring you back to being a baby. *Sigh*

While we were sitting there I did what I normally do. I let myself drift back to the day she was born. After her first bath, the smell of that beautiful little head will stay with me forever. This, of course, led to me thinking about having another baby. It always does...

Which led me to think about my last pregnancy.

Then baby preparations.

Then my baby showers.

Then those cute little onesies with the little matching hat.

Then how cute those little tiny knitted hats are that they give you at the hospital.

Then to the decision to make a bunch of hats and donate them to our local hospital for those beautiful little heads!

I got to knitting right away and completed one hat in about an hour! I ran out of yarn so I am going to continue to work on them over the weekend and hopefully make a trip to the hospital on Monday with at least half a dozen of them.

While searching for patterns for my little hats, I stumbled on a campaign that I have never heard about, but that has been happening in our region since 2012. I have been out of the baby loop I guess. The campaign is called The Period of Purple Crying. Here is a little excerpt from The Period of Purple Crying website:

The Period of PURPLE Crying is a new way to help parents understand this time in their baby's life, which is a normal part of every infant's development. It is confusing and concerning to be told your baby "has colic" because it sounds like it is an illness or a condition that is abnormal. When the baby is given medication to treat symptoms of colic, it reinforces the idea that there is something wrong with the baby, when in fact, the baby is going through a very normal developmental phase. That is why we prefer to refer to this time as the Period of PURPLE Crying. This is not because the baby turns purple while crying. The acronym is a meaningful and memorable way to describe what parents and their babies are going through.
 
The Period of PURPLE Crying begins at about 2 weeks of age and continues until about 3-4 months of age. There are other common characteristics of this phase, or period, which are better described by the acronym PURPLE. All babies go through this period. It is during this time that some babies can cry a lot and some far less, but they all go through it.

 

 

 

This video is a very detailed explanation and an awesome resource for any new parents. It can also be found on The The Period of Purple Crying website. Please share the links with any new parents that you may know. Awareness is the key!

 

 

I am really looking forward to the opportunity to be able to help out with this wonderful campaign. I have been waiting for some motivation to pick up my knitting needles again, and this is the perfect project for me! I love knitting, I love babies, and I love little baby heads!

 

But I especially love helping to create awareness about why babies cry and to also help protect against The Shaken Baby Syndrome. Babies can't speak for themselves, so we must stand up for their needs and protect them as much as we can with education for all parents.

 

I encourage you to check out The Period of Purple Crying website and see if this program is running at a children's hospital in your area. Even if you aren't a knitter, I am sure there are other ways to donate and help out!

 

Thanks for checking in today! I appreciate your support of my mission!

 

 

Love,

 

Kate