Birth is a big event! It's a big process for your body! It's also a big event for your baby's body, and can go some way to explain struggles you may be having with your newborn in feeding, sleep and just general temperament.

One example I've been considering lately with a client is how a long labour ending in emergency c-section may have had on baby:

I looked at this 5-week old baby across the whole day while helping mum and came away sure that @calming_colic_by_christian would call him an Espresso baby!

• Very alert and hard to settle for sleep, even in arms/in the sling (my go-to method with babies of any age for day sleep)

• Very sensitive to change in surroundings

• Very froggy legs when held (as if picked up straight from the womb and still not having taken the opportunity to stretch out fully)

• Reflux after most feeds, sometimes quite delayed

It makes sense, in my head, that experiencing labour and getting into some difficulty before being removed via c-section will have been a bit of a surprise...not just for mum, but for baby. Stressful for both and an understanding trigger for a sensitive nervous system!

I talked with mum about possibly seeing an Osteopath to help calm his nervous system and hopefully to remove some tension - a possible contributor to the reflux! 

Mum also suggested she'd look into introducing some baby massage techniques 

Sometimes, just having someone to be there, to bat ideas around with and signpost to other helpful professionals and resources, is the starting point you and your unsettled baby need.

I'll be with mum and baby 2 days a week until at least mid-December, and hopefully, together, we'll find what helps baby (and parents) to find calm and be less unsettled.