Purple Hat Project

My son's fiance told me about the Purple Hat Project through Legacy Hospital.  Knitters make purple hats to be given to families of newborns in the months of November and December.  The purple hats are to remind parents of 'The Period of Purple Crying.' The goal of the campaign is to help parents understand crying, how to deal with frustration and to end shaken baby syndrome.

The letters of PURPLE stand for:

P Peak Pattern Crying peaks around 2 months of age and then decreases

U Unpredictable Crying can come and go unexpectedly with no apparent reason

R Reistant to Soothing Crying continues despite soothing efforts by caregivers

P Pain-like Face Healthy, crying infants can look like they're in pain, though they may not be

L Long Bouts Crying can go on for 3-40 mins. or longer

E Evening Cry Crying occurs more in the afternoon and evening

It sounded like a very worthwhile project, so I promised to knit some hats...

and I got a couple of friends to knit some more...

I like imagining little newborns wearing their purple hats with the little umbilical cord type topknots.

Here's a link for more information about  Shaken Baby Syndrome and the Period of Purple Crying. Although it's probably too late for this year,  here's a link if you'd like to knit or crochet a baby hat for the project or if you just want to see some adorable babies in purple hats:  http://clickforbabies.org/.