Have you read Aletha Solter's The Aware Baby?

And did you resonate with it?

Or perhaps you've read articles on my website about Aware Parenting and it fits for you?

But do you have questions?

Are you wanting to ask things about Aware Parenting with your baby?

Over the last 13 years, as an Aware Parenting Instructor, I have spoken to many many parents, in consultations, by email, in workshops, and in online groups, and have seen that similar questions often arise.

I had a brainwave one day.

How about if I made audios of answers of the most common questions I've been asked over the past 10 years!?

And so I did!

I've made 10 hours of audios for you.

My Needs and Feelings

What can I do to care for my own needs?

What can I do about my own feelings?

Listening to my own feelings with Aware Parenting.

I feel really upset when my baby cries. What is going on and what can I do?

I feel upset when my baby cries in the arms of someone else.

How do I help myself be calm when she is crying?

What if I feel angry or resentful or frustrated?

 

'Getting it Right' / Aware Parenting with Ourselves

I'm always trying to get it right. What can I do?

How can I be compassionate and empathic with myself like I am with my baby?

How do I learn to listen to my instincts and my inner wisdom?

I want to get Aware Parenting perfectly. What can I do?

I'm worried that I've already helped her repress her feelings. How can I think about this more helpfully?

 

Bigger Picture

What is the goal of Aware Parenting?

How can I be sure if this is helpful?

 

Crying

How can I tell if she needs to cry?

Is there any kind of crying I need to be concerned about?

What can I say to her when she is crying?

How can I hold her when she is crying?

Is it okay if I'm lying next to her when she's crying?

How long might she cry for?

Why does she arch her back when she's crying?

Why doesn't she look at me when she's crying?

How often do babies need to cry?

Sometimes when she's crying I think she might be hungry. What do I do?

My baby cried quite a bit when I first started listening to her crying and now she isn't crying and is waking up a lot. What is going on?

If I start listening to her crying, do I need to listen to it all?

 

Out and About

She cries in the car. What do I do?

Do I listen to crying when we are out?

She cries at my Mothers' Group but I want to talk with my friends. What could I do?

How can I deal with others wanting attention when my baby needs me?

 

Family and Culture

What can I say to my family about Aware Parenting?

What can I say to others when she is crying?

I get upset when others seem to be judging my parenting. What can I do?

My friends think I am spoiling my baby. What can I say to them?

What can I say to friends and family who will be looking after my baby?

 

Closeness

How much do babies need to be held?

I feel guilty if I'm not holding my baby. What can I do?

My back hurt and I didn't carry my baby. What can I do?

My baby was separated from me after birth. What can I do to help her?

 

Sleep

I'm not sure about co-sleeping. What choices do I have?

My baby seems to fight sleep. Why is that and what can I do?

Do I really need to listen to crying before sleep?

Can I feed her to sleep?

Will babies always fall asleep after crying?

She seems really tired when she's crying. What can I do?

She's waking every two hours at night. What can I do?

I worry a lot about her sleep. Do I need to?

She is very restless at night. What is going on?

Is there an ideal age to stop feeding babies at night?

 

Confidence and Reassurance

How can I really know that this is helping her?

How can I be confident about this with others?

 

Community

I'm longing to connect with more Aware Parenting folk. What can I do?

 

Reading the Cues

How can I tell the difference between immediate needs and a need to release?

How can I tell that my baby is relatively free from pent-up feelings?

How can I tell whether my baby has some feelings that she's holding in?

What's the difference between peace after a cry and dissociation?

 

Control Patterns

What is a control pattern anyway?

Why do control patterns happen?

Do I need to be concerned about control patterns?

How can I tell if her finger sucking is a control pattern or her just exploring?

She has a thumb sucking control pattern. How did she get it?

She has a thumb sucking control pattern. How can I help her get rid of it?

 

My Partner and Aware Parenting

My partner doesn't agree with Aware Parenting. What can I do?

My partner is sleeping in a different bed and I am in the same bed as my baby. What choices do we have?

She always clings on to me and cries when she's with her dad. What's going on?

I find it really hard to listen to my partner holding her when she's crying. What's going on?

 

Physical Health

Her crying sounds high pitched and screechy. What shall I do?

She might be teething. Do I listen to her crying?

She has a mucousy cough. What shall I do about her crying?

 

Getting Older

What happens when she starts to crawl? How does crying change?

 

Relaxation Audios

For before you listen to your baby crying in your arms

Caring for your own needs and listening to your own feelings

I've been learning about mothers, babies and children for 30 years now, and am still passionate about it!

I spent the whole of my twenties training both as a developmental psychologist and a psychotherapist.

I did my Ph.D. at Cambridge University, where I researched the effect of postnatal depression on the relationship between mothers and babies. I followed that with a Post-Doctoral Fellowship studying babies' cognitive abilities. And then I was a tutor to M.A. students on the Therapeutic Relationship.

Alongside that, I spent 6 years training and working as a Psychosynthesis Psychotherapist.

In my thirties, I focussed on birth and parenting. I trained and worked as a HypnoBirthing practitioner and calm birth instructor, and used these consecutively in the births of my own children.

I came across Aware Parenting when I was pregnant with my daughter 15 years ago, and have been passionate about it ever since. I became an Aware Parenting Instructor 10 years ago and am now a Level Two Aware Parenting Instructor.

And alongside all that, of course, I've been a mother, and that has been my greatest learning journey. I have learnt most about Aware Parenting by practicing it with my own children, who are now 16 and 12.

Here's me with my daughter and my son when they were babies

The information in the audios is not intended to be used as a substitute for medical advice or treatment. In the audios, you are consistently given responsibility to listen to your own intuition and wisdom regarding your baby's health and wellbeing. If you have concerns about your baby's behaviour, or amount or type of crying, please listen to your intuition and seek help.