Baby coming soon?
First off, congratulations! Doubtless you have many people giving you advice, ideas and horror stories. Relax, give that baby the coddling it deserves and you will be a great parent. Every baby is different, so ignore the horror stories. Listen to the ideas and advice, but ultimately, when he or she arrives, their personality will be nothing like you'd expected.
It is a big responsibility to raise a precious little one. We have everything you need to get you going. Newborn diapers are small, so they come with larger quantities per pack. Believe it or not, you will need as many as you can get. Maybe you can ask for a pack in lieu of a greeting card! On second thought, for all the work you do as a parent, ask for both–you deserve it.
Before baby starts teething, come visit our baby aisle to get your favorite teething toys, sippy cups and baby food. You will noticed that we are well-stocked and ready for your newfound needs. Have a question? Ask our knowledgable staff. Once you get into that kind of conversation with us in the aisle, our bet is that a neighboring guest will jump in and offer their own advice! It's a great endeavor you are embarking upon, let us help you do a stellar job.
Baby is crying, now what?
Forgive us, we are not professional baby psychologists over here. We are speaking from experience. It is important to seek professional help with any side-order of friend advice. Still, when baby is unconsolable, it is very easy to experience highened anxiety. We know what you are thinking: "that's an understatement!" You need to begin your attempts at consoling your little one as the adult in the relationship. Calmly check baby from head to foot.
Head to Foot
You may think that checking from head to foot might be silly. Fevers can be recognized my feeling the forehead, if baby is energetically sucking on their hand or a pacifier, they may be hungry. Check their limbs next. Are they too cold? Too hot? Generally, babies need one extra layer of clothes more than you are wearing yourself. Check the diaper. Baby will fill that diaper more often than you'd think! This is why we suggest giving newborn families a package of diapers as a gift! Check their toes next. Babies like to be confined. Your baby might like socks on.
Burping
Patience is probably the last word you want to hear at this point, but you need a healthy spoonful of it. Baby needs to burp after every feeding. They don't know how to do this any better than you know how to help them. Gently but firmly pat their back with their head leaning against yours. Some babies prefer to be held face down while they are being burped. Find out what works for your baby.
Diet
If mommy is breastfeeding, she may need to watch what she is eating. We know it isn't fair because mommy already had to watch what she was taking in during pregnancy! What mommy eats tends to be passed to baby. If mommy likes jalapeños, baby's tummy might not agree with that for dinner.
Sickness
It is common with newborns to get sick occasionally. If breastfeeding, these sicknesses tend to lessen in frequency, but baby will get sick. It doesn't make you less of a parent to seek the advice of a pediatrician. Call them. See what options they have for you. You may need to bring baby into see them. Don't listen to the "rising health cost" news briefs–baby is more important.
Take a break
So baby is not sick, doesn't have gas, is well-fed and burped. What else could be wrong? You've held and coddled baby and they still want to cry. BEFORE you get to the end of your rope, give yourself permission to take a break. If nothing you can do will stop baby from crying, then realize what that sentence just said. Nothing you can do will help. Put baby down gently in their bed and close their door for a few minutes.
Yes, they will cry. More importantly, you need to take five minutes to calm down. It is stressful to try to sooth baby, especially when your efforts end up being fruitless. Take your five minutes to calm down. Close your door. Hide in the locked bathroom. TAKE A BREAK. You may find out that baby slowly learns how to self-sooth. Think logically in an illogical situation, "do you see adults walking around the streets screaming like baby is right now?" Not likely; they grew out of it. This too will pass–it may seem like an eternity– but baby will stop crying. |
