Question about baby care classes

Dochas · April 2010

Good morning! I'm planning to schedule us for one of these at the hospital. They give them frequently but once in a while they also do one based on Happiest Baby on the Block. I know some of you are familiar with it. The class includes the dvd. Is this an alternative to a basic baby care class or do you think it would be something to do in addition to a regular class. Also - when did you take your classes. I'm trying to figure out the best timing. I'm planning on the hospital tour, breastfeeding and an intro-to-baby class. Not doing the childbirth one. If you couls share your experience I would appreciate it. Thanks!

TakYelgif · April 2010

My hospital does not offer the Happiest Baby on the Block class so I can't speak to that.

I did take the Hospital Tour, it is much more imformative than you would think and is very helpful for the husbands/SO. Make sure to bring your SO along.

Breastfeeding class meh I didn't really glean much information however it could be due to the fact that the instructor was not all that great.

Intro to baby is basically an infant/baby care class the information at my hospital was pretty basic, but reinforced what I already knew about caring for a newborn.

RoxBride · April 2010

I missed most classes because I ended up hospitalized on bedrest.

We took a general baby care class, and it was a lot of help, especially for DH. It focused on what to deal with in the first month of life, what to expect with the newborn baby, etc. I don't think it was a necessity, but it did help.

DH did Daddy Boot Camp, which focused on how to be an effective father in all stages of growing up, and was more focused on emotional development, etc. It was great for him.

We didn't take any classes on sleep training, and did just fine, same with BF. If the Happiest Baby focuses a lot on sleeping, then I would say it isn't an alternative to baby care.

Timing wise, I vote eariler the better, as we ended up learning a lot about baby gear at our class and if changed some of the things we bought in preparation. Plus, in my case, I was hospitalized at 29 weeks and unable to attend anything from that point on.

krissyh21 · April 2010

I did not take any classes because I was back and forth from the hospital on a bi-weekly bases in between bedrest for monitoring in my third tri. So if you are really interested in taking these, I say the earlier the better - just incase. You never know what the 3rd tri will bring and even if you have a easy pregnancy, your energy level will be dwindling at that point anyway.

madhatter2003 · April 2010

I also vote for taking the classes earlier too. The happiest baby on the block would be really useful in addition to the other classes IMO.

vandelay · April 2010

We took the hospital tour, childbirth, breastfeeding, infant CPR, and childcare. I found them all useful. Even though I'd read a lot of the information the classes covered, I learned at least something new in every class. As a pp said, a lot of the classes were useful for DH to take, as he has not read as much about this stuff.

Our childcare class covered "Happiest Baby;" however, she basically just played the DVD, which I can do at home.

I would particularly recommend an infant CPR class, if that is not already covered in another of your classes.

Dochas · April 2010

Thanks everyone - very helpful as usual! I think I'll sit with DH tonight and pick the dates. I was afraid of taking them too early but I certainly don't want to wait too long. He wants to be at all of them. It might make more sense to just buy the DVD of Happiest Baby. It sounds like it would be helpful but maybe we can skip the class. Or maybe I'll take that one alone. I definitely want us to take the CPR class - I think they give it free if you give birth there so I'll see if I can take it in advance.

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