There was a news story here in NY about another newborn allegedly choked to death by a father that couldn’t take all the crying. This is a recurring story that has to end. If that family knew how easily The Happiest Baby on the Block techniques could have calmed down their baby, he would still be here, ready to have his first Christmas Day.
Jose Feliciano has been arrested for murder after the baby’s mother took an overdose and told someone in the facility caring for her what had happened. I have sympathy for their entire situation. If you do not have children, or if your newborns were almost silent, you do not know the frustration and pain of constant screaming. THB techniques are capable of more than just giving babies better sleep. They can prevent the slide into exhaustion and depression that parents often do not admit to. Calm babies nurse/bottle feed better and parents feel more competent. Everyone wins. This time in the Bronx, everyone lost.
Most fathers do not commit murder, no matter how frustrated they are. Perhaps we will hear about additional issues that made this dad take the ultimate action. If only the mom had learned THB when she gave birth, or at a prenatal class, or at a well-baby visit.
I made some brief inquiries into teaching The Happiest Baby class to men about to be released from the prison system this fall. Perhaps one of my resolutions for 2016 should be to teach that class for free somewhere in the Bronx, to some group of parents at risk. This is a blog post I don’t ever want to write again.
For more information about The Happiest Baby on the Block, please visit my website: tranquilbabies.com
