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WIC Baby Behavior
On this page: History of Baby Behaviors | Baby Behavior Tools | Baby Behavior Clips Spotlight #1 | Prenatal Conversations Spotlight #2 | Teachable Moments Spotlight #3 | Infant Sleep Spotlight #4 | Crying Spotlight #5 | Baby Cues Spotlight #6 | Baby Interruptions Spotlight #7 | Realistic Expectations Spotlight #8 | Conversations Starters Spotlight #9 |
History of Baby Behaviors
WIC staff were trained in Baby Behaviors education both in person and online. Pamphlets, handouts, and a DVD were developed to assist WIC staff in integrating Baby Behavior concepts into WIC appointments to help families better understand feeding cues.
Training evolved to being offered fully online and additional tools were created to support staff learning and development with using Baby Behaviors. You can find some the tools created along with staff exercises starting on this page. Look ahead to the Baby Behavior spotlights for more ways to incorporate Baby Behaviors in your WIC appointments.
Staff Training
Baby Behavior Training for New WIC Employees (PDF)
Baby Behavior Clinic Observation Activity (PDF)
Prenatal Baby Behavior Role Play Activity - Scenario A (PDF)
Prenatal Baby Behavior Role-Play Activity - Scenario B (PDF)
Using "Baby Behavior" to Support Informed Early Infant Feeding Decisions
Recorded webinar presentation by Dr. Jane Heinig
Staff Tools
MN WIC Baby Behavior Education (YouTube link - there are 27 total videos)
Prenatal Circle Chart - What to Expect from My Newborn Baby (PDF)
Baby Behavior Key Messages for Infant Enrollment - Outline (PDF)
Conversation Starters and Affirmations (PDF)
Baby Behavior Tools
Baby Behavior material should be included in prenatal, postpartum, and new infant education visits. This material helps parents set realistic expectations and to recognize infant cues more readily. Now is a great time to review the Baby Behavior tools and to refresh or enhance your education discussion with new parents or care givers.
Baby Behavior Brochures
Baby Behavior Brochures (Getting to Know Your Baby) are a valuable education tool to help parent with understanding their baby’s sleep, hunger, and crying cues. The brochure may be used during a certification or nutrition education contact. The brochures are available in English, Spanish, and Somali.
Where to find the Baby Behavior Brochures:
The Baby Behavior Brochures are available in English, Spanish, and Somali.
- Getting to Know Your Baby - English brochure (PDF)
- Conozca Mejor a Su Bebé - Spanish brochure (PDF)
- SI AAD U BARATO NUUNNAHA- Somali brochure (PDF)
The brochures can also be found on the MY MN WIC App. The app links to the MDH website WIC Nutrition and Your Family to view any of the above brochures.
- On the App, click on Health and Nutrition tab then scroll down to Baby Behaviors.
- The App will direct a participant to the education materials appropriate to the language selected on the app (English, Spanish, or Somali).
- On the website, families can access the various resources in English, Spanish, or Somali.
- Nutrition Information - English
- La Nutrición (Spanish)
- Af Soomaali (Somali)
Baby Behaviors Clips
Considering that many of the human brain’s receptors are geared towards visual processing, the MN WIC Baby Behavior Education (YouTube) (Baby Behavior video clips) are a powerful learning tool for new parents! These clips can help caregivers learn to recognize and understand their baby’s cues and strengthen their bond with new baby. To learn about some ways to use the clips explore Baby Behavior Clips Spotlight #1.
The Baby Behavior video clips were created using the snippets from the full DVD. The clips can be used as a visual tool to aid in any prenatal, postpartum, or infant contact. Use the video clips to enhance verbal information given to families, either in person, by video or on the phone
The Baby Behavior clips are stored on the MDH YouTube page. They are available to access easily from the locations below.
On the MDH YouTube Page:
On the MDH WIC website:
- The WIC Nutrition and Your Family page
- Families can access clips from this page.
On the My MN WIC App
Did you know…The My MN WIC App is free to download, and you don’t have to register your phone to view the clips and other nutrition materials.
Exploring the My MN WIC app is a great way for WIC staff to assist participants with their WIC shopping and also to build on the nutrition education messages they receive at WIC. If you haven’t done so, now it the time to check out and become familiar with the variety of tips & tools available to participants on the App.
We continue to offer the Baby Behavior DVDs to participants in other languages. Orders can be completed with the WIC Agency Materials Order Form.
If you have found an interesting way to share the Baby Behavior clips from My MN WIC app, email the tips to your WIC State Nutrition Consultant.
Baby Behaviors on wichealth.org
On wichealth.org, Baby Behaviors has been incorporated into an online education lesson. The lesson, Understanding Your Newborn: Sleep, Crying, and Cues, includes some of the original Baby Behavior clips along with a few new and informative videos.
The topics include:
- "I want to be near you" cues
- "I need something different" cues
- All about crying
- Hungry? Full? Understanding baby cues
The lesson can be located under the wichealth.org topic header Pregnancy and Baby’s First 6 Months.
Staff Tips for using wichealth.org
For low-risk participants, wichealth.org provides the opportunity for self-guided education that is easy to access anytime and anywhere. The information can be used to expand on the nutrition education provided at the WIC certification and to meet Additional Nutrition Education requirements. See MOM Section 6.7 Additional Nutrition Education for guidance.
High risk participants are welcome to visit wichealth.org and view lessons as an adjunct to the high risk follow up provided. Please see the High Risk policy and procedures in MOM Section 6.6 High Risk Individual Nutrition Care Plans for more information.
As a reminder, to view an education lesson online, the participant must log onto wichealth.org and create an account, then simply search through the list of available lessons. After viewing a lesson, a certificate of completion is available. WIC staff can use this certificate to help guide the follow up contact where the participant will have an opportunity to discuss the lesson.
Baby Behavior Clips Spotlight #1
#1 Using Baby Behavior Education Clips
Baby Behavior education is very visual, and the video clips created to use when education participants can be a powerful teaching tool. Figuring out how to smoothly incorporate the video clips into an appointment takes practice and commitment for you to become comfortable with using them. Below are some tips to support you as you begin to include the clips while educating participants.
Tips
- Make clips easily accessible. Create a shortcut on your desktop to the MN WIC Baby Behavior Education (YouTube link - there are 27 total videos).
- Practice in a safe environment. Review the various staff tools from WIC Baby Behavior training page for ideas on how to incorporate the videos into a conversation. Practice with a staff person (or your dog at home—pets are always good listeners).
- Start simply. Try showing either the light/deep sleep video clips or the hunger/crying without hunger video clips to start. Consider challenging yourself to use 1-2 video clips with the next five late pregnancy participants you see.
- Share successes with others. Learning what works for you and then sharing this with others will help encourage you and your coworkers.
Below are some quotes from WIC staff in Minnesota that have had success using the video clips with participants.
Participant’s reaction
- "I showed the light/deep sleep video clips to a mom who was pregnant with her second baby. She was so excited to learn to wait until deep sleep before laying her baby down (this was a BIG problem with her first baby.) She also was glad to learn that babies were dreaming when they were in REM sleep, because she had always thought REM was “freaky looking”. The videos made these concepts “real” for this mom and it was faster than me trying to describe light and deep sleep.""
- “I share the “hunger and crying without hunger” clips all the time. Moms really get it. If I don’t show the clips, I visually show this concept with my hands like we practiced in the training, but I think the videos are easier to understand and it feels a little more comfortable for me.”
- “I had a grandma that was in with her daughter. She just sat there and kept nodding in agreement as we discussed baby behavior. I think she had had these conversations before with her daughter, but the videos really helped them get on the same page.”
Tips for showing videos
- “We hooked up second monitors so that we can show the clips to participants more easily.” (Another agency reported they plan to attach the second monitor to the wall because of space issues)
- “I just take my laptop and sit next to the mom, and we watch the videos and have the discussion together, then I go back and do all the WIC Information System stuff.”
- “I’m so excited about the tablet project—it’s going to make showing the video clips so much easier” (Agencies participating in the tablet project included Sherburne, Le Sueur, Quinn, Olmsted)
Prenatal Conversations Spotlight #2
The prenatal period is a critical time for Baby Behavior education. It might seem logical, or easier, to wait until after the baby has arrived, but if parents may misinterpret from the beginning their baby’s normal waking and crying as hunger, it may lead them to supplement with formula even before the baby’s first WIC appointment.
Helping parents know what to expect from their newborn baby’s behavior can prepare them and increase their confidence when their baby arrives. Follow are some ideas staff have used to start the baby behavior conversation prenatally.
- “I start by showing the pamphlet to the participant and saying that this is information that I just learned about and wished I would have known it when my own kids were babies. Then I ask if there are any areas, they are interested in talking about. Usually before we are done with the appointment, we’ve hit on all areas, and I’ve shown most of the prenatal video clips.” Getting to Know Your Baby - English brochure (PDF)
- “With 2nd & 3rd time moms, I ask what they remember about those first few days after their last baby was born, which usually leads into a discussion of sleep or crying.”
- “I use the circle chart, and my own version of the opening statement written on the circle chart tool. It takes some time to explain the circles, but I’m getting better at it, and it is becoming smoother.” Prenatal Circle Chart - What to Expect from My Newborn Baby (PDF)
- “I especially like it when Dad attends the appointment, because we can give dad specific things to look for—giving him a real feeling of involvement.”
- “I ask, ‘What questions or concerns do you have about what to expect the first few weeks with your baby?’ Then I show the handout if they don’t have questions, saying that these are some things that other moms sometimes have questions about and then I ask permission to discuss sleep and crying.”
If you would like to share additional ideas for using the clips or reactions you have received to them, please share those with your State Consultant.
Teachable Moments Spotlight #3
Baby Behaviors Staff Development Activity
Training Time
20-40 minutes (Time will varies depending on number of scenarios discussed)
Supplies Needed
- Flipchart
- Markers
- Timer
Room Set-up
Cluster arrangement of 4-8 staff (staff could work in pairs for smaller groups)
Introduction
- The goal of this activity is to build staff confidence in recognizing and responding to opportunities “teachable moments” to talk about baby behavior with participants.
- Staff will create scenarios where they have used or could have used baby behavior education in an appointment with participant or family.
Facilitation Introduction:
Introduce the activity and invite staff to share any scenarios that they have observed or experienced in the last few weeks that:
- Led to a discussion about baby behavior
- Was a situation where the baby’s behavior was misinterpreted
- Could have been an opportunity to use baby behavior in a discussion
Write on a flip chart a scenario that was shared or use one from the scenario examples list below. (Alternately, staff scenarios examples can be collected ahead of the training.)
Have staff work in small groups to complete the exercise.
- A person in each group will read a scenario out loud. The small group will then discuss how they might respond to the situation using information about baby behavior.
Remind staff to utilize PCS skills such as open-ended questions, affirmations, reflections, asking permission, empathy, etc. in their responses.
After the group discussion, have each group member write down, in their own words, notes as to what they would say in response to each scenario. (Alternately, staff could practice responding orally in pairs.)
After a designated amount of time, bring the group back together.
- Invite group members to share their thought processes or personal experiences with any of the scenarios.
- Discuss in the larger group any of the scenarios that may have been difficult or confusing.
Invite staff to look for opportunities throughout the week to share baby behavior information with parents.
- Encourage staff to share with each other their successes with “teachable moments” and baby behavior.
- Follow up on their experiences at a subsequent staff meeting or gathering.
Scenario Examples
- Parent has 3 children (all under the age of 5). As they wait for the appointment, the 2-month-old begins to kick and fuss a little. The parent keeps arguing with the 4-year-old about a toy taken from the 2-year-old.
- Participant is a first-time parent with a 5-week-old baby. Waiting at the counter, the baby starts to root and make sucking noises. The participant tells you that maybe the baby is hungry and starts to bounce the baby vigorously.
- While waiting for their partner to finish the appointment, the co-parent talks about baby’s interest in solid foods. They have been giving baby “tastes” of table food because they can tell by the way the baby looks at food that baby wants to eat more than just breast milk.
- The participant has a toddler and a large 3-month-old baby and speaks with you about the toddler’s diet and low weight gain. The participant is worried about the toddler’s lack of interest in food and tells you that the baby is also a “very picky eater” who never finishes bottles.
Infant Sleep Spotlight #4
New parents hear many messages about sleep. It is probably one of the most common things discussed amongst new parents, and well-meaning friends and family. Many times, “advice” about sleep focuses on how to “fix” the baby to get them to sleep longer and sets up unrealistic expectations for baby’s sleep.
WIC can help new parents understand their newborn baby’s behavior including how babies sleep and what are normal sleep patterns. This can help parents be confident that it’s normal and healthy for newborns to wake often and that there is nothing wrong. One common concern when baby wakes often is that baby is not getting enough breastmilk or formula.
Talking about sleep during the prenatal period will help prepare parents for what to expect, but this is usually only the beginning of the sleep discussion. Moms often have questions about their baby’s sleep at the infant certification appointment. These “questions” may come across as comments or frustrations about sleeping or waking. This is a great opportunity to share with new mothers, what you know about normal baby behavior, even if sleep had been discussed prenatally.
Sharing with parents that babies sleep for longer stretches of time as they get older, and that babies’ longest stretch of sleep will occur around 6 weeks can be very reassuring. It can also be very helpful to simply acknowledge that waking up every 2-3 hours with a baby is hard but assure them that it won’t last forever!
Staff Activity
1. View the Getting to Know Your Baby (YouTube) Sleep Chat with Dr. Jane (California WIC). Listen to how Dr. Heinig answers common questions about sleep.
- Practice answering the same questions in your own words.
- Think about other questions or comments that you hear from participants about sleep.
- How might you answer these questions?
2. Review the sleep section of the Getting to Know Your Baby (PDF) WIC Baby Behavior Brochure.
- What sections might you use to discuss common questions or concerns about sleep?
- How might you utilize the section “Tips for Sleepy Parents”? Which tips do you think will resonate most with parents prenatally? How about after the baby is born?
3. Review the Baby Behavior video clips “Light Sleep” and “Deep Sleep” on the MDH YouTube, MN WIC Baby Behavior Education (YouTube)with participants.
- Challenge yourself to experiment with using these two video clips to illustrate the difference between light and deep sleep with pregnant participants.
- After experimenting with the videos, what changes, if any, do you need to make to your workstation to make viewing the videos with participants easier? What else might you do to make using the videos easier?
Crying Spotlight #5
This is just one of many powerful messages that we can share with WIC participants about crying. Crying is stressful. Pregnant moms may either be thinking and worrying about whether they will know what to do with a crying baby, or alternately, may not have thought about a crying baby—after all, most of us picture babies as sweet, calm, and sleeping. And then reality hits.
Prenatal baby behavior education helps prepare parents for their baby’s arrival by:
- Helping them know what to expect with their baby’s behavior.
- Building parents’ confidence that they can recognize their baby’s cues.
- Providing tools so they know how to respond to their baby’s cues, including crying.
How do hunger cues and crying messages fit into this prenatal preparation?
Knowing What to Expect
If a parent is struggling with their newborn, and believes they have an especially sensitive or fussy baby, acknowledge that it is hard and stressful to hear baby cry. You can give a message of hope, “As your baby gets older, she will get better at letting you know what she needs, and she will cry less.” These are quick easy messages we can share with parents that will help them know what to expect.
- “Crying is normal.”
- “Babies cry for many reasons, not just because they are hungry.”
- “Crying can be very stressful for new parents, but it’s an important way that babies communicate their needs.”
Building Confidence
Most new parents will recognize hunger cues. Reviewing these cues with a pregnant participant is important because we want to build confidence that they will recognize when baby is hungry. If possible, the other parent or caregivers too. But just as important, we want to build their confidence in knowing that if their baby is crying, but not showing hunger cues, are NOT hungry. They are trying to communicate that something else needs to be different.
Providing Tools
When parents recognize their baby is crying for reasons other than hunger, they need to know what to do next, otherwise, parents will resort to feeding to get a baby to stop crying, because it works.
“Steps to Calm a Crying Baby” (on the Baby Behavior Brochure) can help parents know what to do and build their confidence in knowing that they can calm their baby and know what their baby needs. This is useful information for parents before the baby is born but may also be helpful after the baby has arrived and they are in the thick of things.
If a parent is struggling with their newborn, and believes they have an especially sensitive or fussy baby, acknowledge that it is hard and stressful to hear baby cry. You can give a message of hope, “As your baby gets older, she will get better at letting you know what she needs, and she will cry less.”
Conversations about “I want to be near you” cues and “I need something to be different” cues are most effectively discussed after the baby has arrived. A mom who states that her baby cries a lot may want to explore cues further.
WIC Staff Quote
Arlin Penner from Nicollet County had this comment about her experience with discussing baby behavior with moms:
- “I find talking with moms about the difference between hunger cues and crying-without- hunger to be very powerful. Helping them understand that babies cry for lots of reasons, just makes sense, and is something that I don’t think a lot of new moms have even taken time to think about.”
Staff Activity
1. View the Getting to Know Your Baby (YouTube) Sleep Chat with Dr. Jane (California WIC). Listen to how Dr. Heinig answers common questions about crying.
- Practice answering the same questions in your own words
- Think about other questions/comments you hear from participants about crying. How might you answer these questions?
2. View the baby vignette portion of the Crying Section of the Getting to Know Your Baby DVD (We continue to offer the Baby Behavior DVDs to participants in English and other languages. Orders can be completed with the WIC Agency Materials Order Form).
- Listen for key messages about crying.
3. Review the Hunger Cues and the Crying section of the Getting to Know Your Baby (PDF) WIC Baby Behavior Brochure.
- What sections might you use to build confidence in prenatal moms that they recognize hunger cues vs crying-without-hunger?
- How might you utilize the section “Calming a Crying Baby”?
- How might you tailor this information for a participant in their second pregnancy?
4. Review the Baby Behavior video clips “Hunger Cues”, “Crying Without Hunger”, “Overstimulated Baby”, and “Calming a Crying Baby” on the MDH YouTube, MN WIC Baby Behavior Education.
- Practice talking about crying with prenatal participants, tailoring the conversation to their individual knowledge and interest.
- What information might you share with a participant who’s struggling with a fussy baby?
Baby Cues Spotlight #6
This is just one example of how one might open a discussion about baby cues with a new parent. Even when we introduce cues prenatally, nothing can replace a parent’s own experience with their baby to understand how babies communicate.
Look for Opportunities
Look for opportunities to weave baby behavior into the infant certification appointment.
- Is the baby sleeping? How can you talk about light sleep/deep sleep/sleep patterns?
- Did the baby start crying while being weighed? How can you talk about baby being bothered by what’s going on outside his body, like bright lights, noises, change in temperature?
- Is the baby wiggling his face and squirming, and then passing gas? How might this be an opportunity to talk about babies being bothered by things going on inside their bodies?
- Do you see mom feeding the baby a bottle, yet the baby is giving fullness cues? How might you use this as an opportunity to talk about how subtle fullness cues can be, and maybe even utilize the fullness clip as a visual?
The best visual aid is mom’s own baby! If the baby is sleeping, then back-up tools such as the baby behavior brochure or the video clips can be utilized.
Tailoring Education
Education should be individualized based on each participant’s specific need.
- Have a conversation and listen to what the participant is saying.
- Observe mom and baby interactions.
These things will help you assess the parents understanding of their baby’s behavior. If they state that they “doesn’t have enough breastmilk”, evaluate their understanding of baby’s behavior and what is normal first, then move on to more clinical evaluation questions.
And finally, don’t forget that exhausted new parents need to hear that message of hope:
“As you recognize and respond to your baby’s cues, you both will get better and better at communicating with each other and things will get easier”
Staff Exercise
1. View the Getting to Know Your Baby Sleep Chat with Dr. Jane (California WIC). Listen to how Dr. Heinig answers common questions about crying.
- Practice answering the same questions in your own words.
- Think about other questions/comments you hear from participants about crying. How might you answer these questions?
2. View the baby vignette portion of the Crying Section of the Getting to Know Your Baby DVD (We continue to offer the Baby Behavior DVDs to participants in English and other languages. Orders can be completed with the WIC Agency Materials Order Form).
- Listen for key messages about crying.
3. Watch the video clip “Fullness Cues” found on the MDH YouTube, MN WIC Baby Behavior Education (Baby Behavior video clips).
- Role play with a coworker, utilizing the Role Play Scenario (last page)
- Practice using the ‘’Fullness Cues” video with a different scenario, using your own words.
Baby Interruptions Spotlight #7
-Meghan Johnson, St Paul- Ramsey County WIC
Interruptions are a normal part of life. For a new parent, a “baby interruptions” may happen more frequently and when you least expect it. Babies are growing so quickly, and their needs are constantly changing. Helping parents to recognize what baby needs (cues) will ease the frustration of these interruptions throughout the day for both the parent and the infant.
Common Reasons for “Baby Interruption”
- Dirty Diaper
- Hunger
- Overwhelmed
- Tired
- Uncomfortable
- Too hot/cold
- Want to be near you
- Need something different
Meghan (Ramsey County WIC) shared with us a fun activity replicating “baby interruptions” that she developed for a staff meeting to review baby behaviors with her team.
Meghan writes:
“I’m passing along an idea for a Baby Behavior training that I created for our staff meeting. I used pictures and video clips to interrupt our meeting randomly throughout the day’s agenda as a baby might interrupt a WIC appointment in a way that creates a perfect opportunity to discuss Baby Behavior. After the ‘interruption’ I would respond to the picture or the video as if I were a CPA in clinic talking to a caregiver. It was a fun way to help our staff identify moments to bring Baby Behavior into their conversations and to model some language that might work for them. Staff gave positive feedback that this was a nice way to show how Baby Behavior can fit in at any time during a WIC visit, between other topics, and naturally in conversation. Another benefit was that it grabbed everyone’s attention each time a BB interruption occurred. I had a lot of fun putting this together and it has huge opportunities for unending variation!”
Staff Activity
At a staff meeting, choose random moments to share an image or video clip of a baby that may be sending cues to a parent that they need their attention.
Discuss how these “baby interruption” may make a parent feel, what is happening with this baby, and how could the parent respond to address the baby’s need.
Below the image or video is an example of what a CPA might share with a parent who is experiencing a ‘baby interruption.”
Video: Baby Behavior - Hunger Cues (MDH WIC)
CPA: “Look at that. He’s really going for his hands. Look at how he’s wiggling his little body and searching around for a nipple. I think he is telling you that he’s hungry! Newborns can fuss for lots of different reasons like being overstimulated with bright lights or loud noises, but when he’s doing all these things together – you can feel confident that he is ready to be fed. The good thing about feeding him now, before he starts to cry, he won’t have to get really upset. And when you continue to respond to his cues, he learns that his needs will be met, and he’ll cry less! Isn’t that so amazing?”
Image: Baby being weighed (Wikipedia.org)
CPA: "Oh I know little one! All this stuff going on outside your body is really upsetting…. Bright lights, cold air and this hard scale is not fun at all! "
“Ok, we are all done. Now mama can pick you up and snuggle you up close in your blanket, and rock you gently back and forth and let you know that everything is ok…all that stuff was just a little overwhelming.” “Everything is a new experience to a newborn, so it’s no wonder all these things can be upsetting.”
Image: Photo of Father Holding Baby (WebMD.com)
CPA:
“Look at how zonked out she is! It looks like she’s in deep sleep. Notice how she is really still, and her limbs are almost floppy. Newborn babies fall into deep sleep, usually about 20 minutes after they fall asleep. This is the type of sleep you want to look for before you lay her down into her crib to sleep.”
“You’ll know she is in light sleep when her eyes are fluttering, or she’s smiling and has face twitches, or her limbs might move around. If you lay her down in light sleep, she may be more likely to wake right back up.”
Realistic Expectations Spotlight #8
Expectant parents receive information from lots of different sources about what it’s like to have a new baby and how to respond to baby’s needs. One very influential source is people they know well, such as parents, other family members, father of baby, or close friends.
The WIC Baby Behavior Training, developed by Arizona WIC with Dr. Jane Heinig, includes a series of video vignettes to illustrate how experiences, opinions, and advice about babies from others may shape the view of a new parent about their baby’s behaviors. The videos also highlight how understanding what baby is training to tell you, baby’s cues, will help parents to support baby’s needs.
In the videos, you will meet Marianna and Brian, and Marianna’s mother. You will also hear the WIC counselor, Rachel, talk to family about Baby Behavior. After viewing the video vignettes, think about:
- What messages are new parents hearing about newborns behaviors from those close to them? From other sources such as social media or TV?
- How do you think talking with parents about what to expect from their newborn baby’s behavior can help them have realistic expectations?
- How can you involve the parent’s support system and family members in this discussion?
Accessing Baby Behaviors Training
The WIC Baby Behavior Training is located on the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Learning Center.
- Create an account or log in if you already have an account.
- Use the search tool to search “WIC Baby Behavior Training”.
- Enroll in the training and get started!
Baby Behaviors Training-Video Highlights
Module 5: Support for Caregivers
- Prenatal Visit, Part 1
- Mariana has questions about newborn waking and crying at her first WIC visit.
- Prenatal Visit, Part 2
- Rachel responds to Mariana’s questions about newborn waking and crying.
- WIC Office Meeting, Part 1
- Mariana and Brian come for their newborn’s first WIC visit. Rachel checks in to see how things are going with the new baby.
- WIC Office Meeting, Part 2
- Rachel asks Mariana and Brian questions about recognizing baby’s cues and discusses what they could mean.
Module 6: Caregiver-Infant Interactions
- Caregiver-Infant Interactions Video, Part 1
- Rachel asks Mariana and Brian about baby’s communication and promotes positive interactions.
- Caregiver-Infant Interactions Video, Part 2
- Rachel uses baby’s movements to teach Mariana and Brian about baby’s cues.
Share your feedback from the training and other ideas for using baby behaviors in the clinic setting with Carole.Kelnhofer@state.mn.us.
Conversation Starters Spotlight #9
A first-time pregnant participant may express wanting what’s best for the new baby and share the desire to be a good parent. But often new parents feel overwhelmed when thinking about their expanding responsibilities, and many lack confidences in their abilities. Some participants may even have close family members reminding them of past “failures”, further undermining their self-confidence.
Talking about baby behavior prenatally, can set realistic expectations, and help build confidence. It’s helpful to start conversations with something familiar to the participant, something they probably have noticed in other babies. This acknowledges personal experiences and fosters a collaborative conversation. What might this sound like? Read the examples below for some tips to starting prenatal conversations.
First-Time Parents Conversation Starters
"Have you ever seen a sleeping baby whose eyes are rolling all around or twitching?”
- Explain how to recognize the difference between light & deep sleep.
- Newborns fall asleep in light sleep; wait until deep sleep to lay them down.
- It’s normal, and healthy, for newborns to wake often.
- Expect your sleep to be in short, 2-hour stretches.
- As babies get older, they sleep for longer stretches.
“How do you react when you hear a baby crying really loudly? How does it make you feel?”
- Hearing a baby cry is stressful.
- Babies cry for many reasons, not just because they are hungry.
- Offer suggestions for calming a crying baby.
“Have you ever seen a baby who’s hungry? What did you notice the baby doing?”
(If the participant is not familiar, offer to show the “hungry baby video”, or demonstrate hunger cues with your hands.)
- Responding early to hunger cues, helps prevent some crying.
- Explain the difference between hunger cues & crying without hunger.
- Offer suggestions for calming a crying baby.
“What have you heard about newborn babies and sleep?”
- It’s normal and healthy for newborns to wake often.
- Expect to get sleep in short stretches yourself. (Offer tips for sleepy parents.)
- As babies get older, they sleep for longer stretches. (Refer to BB pamphlet.)
Second-Time Parents Conversation Starters
With second-time parents, simply asking what they remember about those first few weeks after the first delivery, including breastfeeding experience. This will usually open up opportunities to share baby behavior messages, or to affirm their experiences.
- If this doesn’t lead to a discussion, asking questions similar to those above, about the last baby, will likely get the conversation going.
- Give it a try. See how it works for you.