Parenting Excerpts

Tap Baby’s Troubles Away by Dianne Peck

It caught me by surprise at first, the realization that babies, too, have energy systems. I was in the ideal mindset for this, though, because I had just joined the parent/grandparent team of caregivers for my brand new identical twin grandsons. They were three days old when I suddenly saw a whole new ocean of possibility for giving them the ease, comfort and healing they were in need of.

I am an EFT practitioner. EFT stands for Emotional Freedom Technique. It is an energy technique that is very much like acupuncture without needles. Instead of using needles to balance the body's energy, as acupuncture does, EFT uses the fingers to tap on the body's energy points.

We have always known the power of touch: to connect, to play, to comfort, to help, to greet, to caress, to support, to heal, to bond, to protect, to care for, to nourish, to investigate, to experience, to delight, to sample. EFT simply organizes that phenomenon and directs its outcome. For more than five thousand years we have known about the system of energy circuits called meridians that run throughout the body. By simply tapping with our fingers on the end points of our energy meridians we can experience profound changes in our emotional and physical health.

Although the twins were not sick or distressed, and their births by Caesarian Section had gone well, I know there is birth trauma for every baby and my natural response was to bathe them in the comforting effects of tapping. We began by talking to them, assuring them they were safe, very welcome, very loved, very treasured and cherished.

At first I tapped on myself for them, as if I was the one with the symptoms (this is possible and is called “surrogate tapping”). But gradually I began tapping on their tiny faces and on whatever torso points I could reach (most often their arms were covering their chests, so I’ve now settled for just the face points). I used the tip of my ring finger, which, we have been told, has the weakest muscles, because I felt that would produce the gentlest pressure. Often I would just tap, even without any setup or reminder phrase, just quietly holding the intention for their emotional and physical comfort. The rhythm of the tapping seemed in itself to be effective.

At six weeks they were diagnosed with colic. The doctor said, ”We don’t know why it happens and there is nothing you can do for it. They just have to outgrow it. You should start seeing some improvement in about another six weeks.” I knew what our next step was - tapping. Before the diagnosis we had become tense with concern so the first step was for us to tap on our own anxiety, and then we tapped with the babies. Within forty-eight hours the colic symptoms were 90% gone and stayed away.

Now, eighteen months later, my grandsons love to be tapped. It still boggles my mind a bit to watch their response.They relax, tilt their head back, get a look of bliss on their face, close their eyes, and let us tap for several minutes at a time.
It is a joy to have friends exclaim, “What happy babies!” And I have to confess that some of my most treasured grandmother moments have been when their dad or mom would come to me with a baby and say, ”He won’t settle. Will you tap on him for awhile?” I sure ‘nuff would!

How do you begin a tapping procedure?
You begin the tapping process by choosing a set-up statement. That means deciding on what you are tapping for, such as a headache, and then setting it up in this format: “Even though I have this headache, I deeply love and accept myself”. This statement is a simple way to address the issue directly, and at the same time to address any unconscious rejection or resistance to letting it go.  (Yes, we can unconsciously need to keep the headache!) Then we simply tap on specified points on the body, while saying a reminder phrase, “this headache”, at each tapping point.

How do you know what to tap for?
Be a “Baby Whisperer.” You can know your baby’s heart in the same way you know your own. What would your heart be feeling in your baby’s circumstances?  Your baby is feeling the same things. Respond out of your loving instincts.

Whisper words to quiet fears. What do you think your baby may be afraid of or find overwhelming - digestion, breathing on his own, the physical changes his body is experiencing in order to grow? Your baby may feel that the adjustment to “life on the outside” is difficult and that he is overwhelmed. Whisper words to dispel false notions.

Whisper words of encouragement. Whisper words to make sure your baby knows how welcome she is. Whisper words of comfort and reassurance. Whisper words of great soothing and assurance that you are here and she is safe. Whisper words of love. No one can hear or feel too much love. Whisper endless love to your baby’s heart.

How Do You Know What to Say?
One of my favorite authors is John O’Donahue. This is what he says about human infancy: “You are a child of the invisible…each of us comes from somewhere more ancient than any family…you bring a sense of belonging to the invisible that you can never lose.” For me this means that our babies are immediately at home with some of the most important things about us that are invisible, such as emotions, feelings, and beliefs. The immeasurable value of EFT is that it gently enters that invisible realm to restore, reorder, and reshape it to what we need it to be.

So use your instinct, your gut.  Ask, “What are the emotions my baby could be feeling, what are the beliefs she could be forming about the experience of coming into the physical world?” For example, here are some of the setup statements we used to address the twins’ colic: Even though I don’t’ know why I have colic, I deeply love and accept myself and my new life. Even though I just want to cry all the time, I deeply love and accept myself. Even though I can’t easily digest my food, I deeply love and accept myself

For birth trauma you can say for your baby, (and for yourself, we have all experienced birth trauma!) statements such as: Even though I am in this very strange place, I deeply love and accept myself. Even though I no longer feel wrapped in the safe boundaries of my mother’s body, I deeply love and accept myself. Even though I still feel the fear of leaving the dark, safe world I knew, and I am still trying to adjust to so many new experiences, and sometimes it all feels just too much, I deeply love and accept myself.

If you are familiar with Chakra energy, you can address any blocks your baby may have in his Root Chakra (the energy that grounds us in the physical world) with statements such as: Even though I am hesitating to arrive fully on earth, I choose to be fully grounded in my root charka so I can live my full potential. Even though I am distressed, I choose to allow blockages in my root charka to be dissolved. Even though my hands and feet are cold I choose to open the charkas of my hands and feet and for my circulation to be stimulated.

EFT is the leading technique in the field of “Energy Psychology”. The purpose of this technique is to balance the energy system. When the energy system of the body is balanced, the body can do what it knows to do best, which is to heal. The basis for all energy work is based on this premise: All distress is caused by an interruption in the body’s energy system. Our bodies are literally programmed to heal. EFT itself does not heal anything. Instead it sets the stage for the body and mind to release their own powerful healing abilities.

EFT simply uses the natural way we have of using our hands to comfort ourselves and others, especially our baby. Using our hands to soothe and heal is a strong basic instinct. We instinctively know that babies are consoled by the rhythm of patting and tapping. In fact, it is such an automatic response that our hands seem to do it without a conscious directive from us. Who can hold a baby without automatically patting and caressing her?

EFT is a wonderful tool for kids of all ages, including the grown up ones. It is a self-help tool that you can have at your finger tips for resolving just about any physical or emotional issue that bothers you. It is also a key for unlocking and releasing issues that we may have been carrying around for years.

For more information on this breakthrough system of tapping with your baby and everyone else, or to order the Happy Baby Secrets ebook click here.

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