Firefighters from Portland Fire Station 13 (Lloyd Center) were on hand at the Randall Children's Hospital at Emanual on Thursday, July 26th to suppport the “Click for Babies: Period of Purple Crying” campaign by donating purple yarn for baby caps that will be knit between now and October and then given to parents of newborns.

The effort is to educate parents about the difficult stage that every baby goes through called “purple crying”. Doctors refer to purple crying as the time when a baby is unable to be soothed, and almost constantly cries. This stage—which usually happens from the time a baby is a few weeks old up until they are three months old—is when parents are most apt to have a momentary loss of control due to their frustration and possibly put their child at harm.

All community members who enjoy knitting are being called on to knit purple baby hats between now and October. Legacy Emanuel hopes that these hats will serve as a constant reminder to parents that infant crying is normal, it is important to ask for help from a loved one, friend, etc. when you are frustrated by your baby's constant crying, and it is never okay to shake or harm a child. 

If you are a knitter or know someone who is and would like to participate please follow these guidelines:

• Caps should be made using clean and new yarn
• Other colors can be incorporated, but cap should be more than 50% purple
• Yarn and threads labeled “Baby Friendly” should be used
• Infant heads come in a variety of sizes: caps should fit a circumference of between 11-13.5” and a height of 3.5-6”
• Very securely attach any flowers, stems, leaves to the caps
• Refrain from including “pom-poms” or any type of strap, they are a potential choking hazard
• For patterns and more information please go to www.CLICKforBabies.org

 Send your PURPLE newborn baby caps no later than October 1, 2012 to:

Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel

c/o Thonna Vela, Mgr Volunteer Services Suite LL-B856

2801 N Grantenbein Avenue

Portland,OR 97227