Learning How to Care for a Newborn
My first baby was a kick in the pants. She cried all the time and wanted to suck even more – talk about cracked and bleeding nipples! My husband and I struggled and stressed about what to do. It wasn’t until she nursed for 8 hours straight one day that I said something has got to change!
I remembered that a friend of mine had given me the book The Happiest Baby On the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp and swore by it. So I dusted it off and took a crash course in caring for infants. To put it mildly, it was a lifesaver! My daughter was a completely different baby from that day forth. I had no idea about an infant’s nervous systems and how to sooth her into this foreign world.
The book also completely enlightened me as to what my baby was experiencing that first three months of life. My sister-in-law read the book and watched the DVD. She loved them both. She said the DVD was excellent in seeing first hand what Dr. Karp was describing. If you only have time for one, she recommends reading the book. But either one (we think) is a must to read/watch.
If The Happiest Baby On the Block was my survival guide for taking care of a newborn then Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth would be my survival guide for the rest of my kids’ childhood. A good friend of mine in New York offered to care for my first baby when she was 4th months old.
Having had the great improvement of living after reading the first book I didn’t think much about her general fussiness and difficulty sleeping until I came to pick her up that day. My friend looked a little wearied after having had to care for my infant plus two children of her own (although I had a sinking suspicion that it was my baby who wore her out).
She asked me, “Do you always have to hold and rock her the entire time she sleeps?”
Feeling guilty and not realizing there was any other way I said hesitantly, “Yes.”
She grabbed this book off her shelf and told me that she puts her infant down in her crib awake and lets her fall asleep all by herself and then once she fell asleep she would sleep for hours at a time! Having experienced what I had with my baby I honestly didn’t think it was possible. But it really was true.
Dr. Weissbluth is amazing in his knowledge of sleep patterns and reading his book and following his advice is, hands down, the best piece of advice I could give any new mother. My children are happier, easier to take care of, healthier, and smarter than they would be because of Dr. Weissbuth’s book. No doubt in my mind.
Having read both of these books after my first baby was born I learned that it was never too late to change your baby’s sleep habits. But having had this knowledge for raising all my other children I know how much better it is to start off a baby’s life prepared to care for them. There is so much else to adjust to mentally, physically, and emotionally once the baby comes, let the soothing and sleeping be easy. Read these books before you deliver.
Note: If you don’t get a chance to read Healthy Sleep Habits before you deliver, keep in mind that newborns (until they establish regular sleeping habits around 4+ months of age) require a lot of sleep. They should not be awake for more than 2 hours at a time and often will need to go back down after only 45 minutes of wake time.
Other books to consider in the future:
Happiest Toddler On the Block by Dr. Harvey Karp – it offers great perspective on being a toddler and gives some great tips on how to parent with love. Talking “cave talk” to my toddler is so ingrained in my parenting I don’t even notice I do it until another adult points it out (often through laughing at me). It’s also available in DVD.
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and How to Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish– my favorite parenting book. It’s also just really good for any relationship in general. A little old school but has some great advice. My husband and I read it together and think it’s essential.