KEEP C.A.L.M

Local “baby whisperer” helps fussy babies — and their parents — find relief

By Vicki Martinka Petersen Photos provided by Northwestern Medicine

s a first-time mother, Cecelia Rhoades wasn’t sure why her newborn daughter, Leighton, cried for long periods of time for no apparent reason. She was fed, changed and not overtired. During a 36-hour crying spell, Rhoades took her daughter to the ER, hoping to find answers. Instead, they were told it was just colic and gastrointestinal issues. Eventually Leighton’s pediatric gastroenterologist referred her to Patti Ideran, a pediatric occupational therapist at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital. Dubbed the “baby whisper,” Ideran literally wrote the book on how to help fussy babies — and their parents. Ideran’s journey began as being the mother of a

Afussy baby herself. “When my now 30-year-old was born, he was really fussy,” says Ideran, who lives in Batavia. “We got the runaround that he’ll grow out of it, but I felt there has to be something we can do to help.” She began doing research to find out why some babies are fussier than others. Through her research, Ideran developed the CALM Method, which stands for Cues, Arousal Levels and Massage. “Fussy babies don’t give clear cues like other babies,” Ideran says. For instance, when a fussy baby puts their hand in their mouth, it doesn’t necessarily mean the baby is hungry — they just might want to be held. Ideran also noticed their arousal levels are higher compared to other babies. She helps

parents work on soothing methods — like infant massage — so the baby isn’t so dependent on the parents. “It’s hard to carry a baby all day if they have other kids or things to do,” Ideran says. Parents, like Rhoades, get a referral from their doctor to see Ideran when remedies like changing formulas don’t work. After the initial evaluation to discuss the baby’s sleeping and eating patterns, Ideran follows up with parents over four to eight sessions about things they can do at home. She also asks parents to fill out a cry diary. “I use the diary to look for patterns like if the baby is fussy after  Tara, Kyle and Hudson Baltzer live in Sugar Grove.

meals, awake too long, or if they have days and nights mixed up,” Ideran explains. For three days, Rhoades logged every 15 minutes, describing what her daughter was doing and her mood. After analyzing the data, Ideran noticed Leighton was awake too long, leading her to become overtired and fussy. “Even us doing the tracking, we saw some trends ourselves where she’d be fussy and sleep patterns,” Rhoades says. “When we saw Patti, we really felt a sense of relief that we finally found someone who could help us.” After being denied grant opportunities to do further research on the topic, Ideran decided to turn her findings into a book, “The CALM Baby Method: Solutions for Fussy Days and Sleepless Nights.” Published last April by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the book features insights from Ideran, co-author Dr. Mark Fishbein and other experts about the causes of a baby’s cry and ways parents can help. “The book isn’t just for parents of a fussy baby but really any first-time parent can benefit from these tips,” she says. As for Rhoades, she found infant massage and different ways to hold Leighton have paid off. “She’s so happy now! She’s a completely different baby,” Rhoades says.  “The CALM Baby Method: Solutions for Fussy Days and Sleepless Nights” is available at Harvey’s Tales and Barnes & Noble, both in Geneva, as well as online at Amazon and the American Academy of Pediatrics website at www.aap.org.

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