Baby · A short read
Baby · a short read · 20 pages
Before You Spiral
What to do, and who to call, when you’re worried about your baby at 2 a.m.
Don’t ask what it is. Ask which door.
For the 2 a.m. worry about your baby: not what it is, but which door it goes through, and the words for the call.
What it’s costing you
One hand held just above the crib, the phone in the other, the search bar already open. You know how this goes: a worst case you can’t unread, and you, more frightened and no wiser. The worry isn’t the problem. It’s that it has nowhere to go.
The one move
Stop asking what it is and start asking where it goes.
- Door One is an emergency, now.
- Door Two is a call, now: the after-hours line or the nurse line.
- Door Three is a question for daylight. You only choose it when you aren’t worried.
- Between two doors, take the higher one. A door too high costs you a phone call and a little pride.
Use it tonight
“You don’t need to know what it is. You only need to know which door.”
“My baby is [age]. I noticed [what] at about [when], and I’m worried. Can you help me work out what to do?”
from Before You Spiral
Where it helps you begin
A short read for the night something about your baby makes your stomach drop.
It doesn’t tell you what’s wrong, and it never tells you your baby is fine. It gives you a question you can answer tired, three doors for the worry to go through, and the words for the call.
What you’ll have
The three doors, clear enough to choose half asleep.
The words for the call, the questions to ask before you hang up, and a sentence for the person asleep beside you.
What to leave out tonight, from apologizing on the phone to going back to the forum.
How to get back to sleep after a scare, with the safe-sleep guidance that doesn’t bend for a frightening night.
The Night Page: print it, fill it in while it’s still light out, and keep it by the bed.
What’s inside
If You’re Not Okay Right Now
“Is this normal?”
“Do I call now, or can it wait?”
“What do I even say?”
“Am I overreacting?”
“How do I get back to sleep after a scare?”
The Night Page
Who it’s for
For the first year and beyond, and for the night the worry won’t keep.
It isn’t medical advice. It never tells you something can wait, and it opens with who to call, before anything else.
Reading this in daylight? That’s the best time: fill in the Night Page now.
Before You Spiral
- A short read, as a digital PDF, [page count confirmed at the sweep] pages
- Read it in one sitting
- Sent to your email straight away
- A gift from Dear Momma World
“You’ll still be worried. You just won’t be alone with it.”