Melody Hilman Photography | Newborn & Maternity Photographer

So almost every person I shot newborn photographs with asks how I am able to “whisper” babies. While you may feel that whispering is slightly magical, I assure you there is a solid scientific technique to this. It was found and researched by a lady from Australia called Percilla Dunstan, who appeared on Oprah a few years ago. After seeing her on Oprah’s show, I was extremely intrigued. One- because I was expecting my first baby, and two- because trained as a Registered Nurse I spent most of my working time on paediatrics. So I bit the bullet and spent the $39.95 (www.dunstanbaby.com) to order her videos.

Every new mom should, buy, borrow or steal (I say that lightly!) these videos. They are a wealth of information that will continually give you the confidence to know what your baby needs.

The most common scenario I see at 98% of new moms houses looks like this. Baby feeds, baby needs a burp and mom/dad try but can quite get this burp out. So to calm a fussy baby they do the only thing the know which is feed her more. So now you have upper gas being forced down into the bowels, this makes me want to cry because 12 hours from then (usually around midnight) that baby is going to be so gassy and irritable with tummy pains.

The other trend I have seen is around soothers. There is a misconception that using a soother will decrease your milk production and/or create nipple confusion. While the misuse of a soother may cause either of these, the proper use of a soother can actually only aid a family with a colicky or fussy baby. See often the baby that has a hard time burping needs something to help them relax enough that they are no longer constricting the upper air way and can actually emit the gas. Here is where that soother is so helpful. Sucking is a baby’s natural way of soothing themselves. It causes them to relax. Very helpful if used only when babies are not hungry. But how do we no when babies are for sure hungry? That’s where Dunstan Baby can help. I have linked a clip from her video below. Even this is enough to get that whole burping/eating issue sorted out. (upper air gas, burping, is “EH”)

Dunstan Baby

Best of luck to you new moms, and don’t worry we all feel slightly lost and overwhelmed, it’s just part of the process!

Melody