First Timers, how do you prepare?

crene84 · August 2012

This baby will be our first, and I was the youngest of three. I didn't have many babies around me growing up and I have always felt pretty unprepared. I assume while pregnant I would read a lot, maybe attend some free seminars, and then the hospital would provide some information before releasing me. With adoption, I don't really know how it's all going to play out. I figured it'd be good for me to just start reading some books right now. I just want to be prepared for as much as possible. For example, doing a video chat with my newborn nephew and SIL, I learned that you should not bathe a baby until their umbilical cord has fallen off and healed..just one thing I didn't know, never thought about, etc..

Any good book recommendations?

Dr.Loretta · August 2012

You can still give them sponge baths beforehand

We attended a newborn care class at our local hospital. You may want to see if one is available near you. We learned a few tricks there

We also liked Your Baby's First Year Week By Week. DH called it The Oracle. I liked that it didn't freak out about stuff and was very reassuring that most of what babies do is perfectly normal, and that kids develop at their own pace.

Other than that, just fly by the seat of your pants. Most FTPs have no clue what they're doing half the time...

crene84 · August 2012

Dr.Loretta:
You can still give them sponge baths beforehand

Hehe. I actually did at least know that. Smile
I will check out the book you suggested and I also plan to see if there are any seminars at nearby hospitals.

silliestbunny · August 2012

You sound just like me!!! I was timid when the nurse handed me DD1. I was recently thinking about it... and how much more confidence I had with DD2!

One proactive thing you can do is take a "Baby Basics" class or something like that... just ask your girlfriends where they took the class.. it's often at a hospital We were welcomed into the class and it was a lot of fun. There were a few areas that made me uncomfortable (a real push to breast feed and talking about why one should never use formula as well as some skin to skin discussions) but overall it was fantastic!

As for books... reading the What to Expect series for the first year was helpful. We read it as we grew with DD1 but you could read it ahead of time.

Oh, I know... read Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child by Marc Weissbluth. When you will need it, you'll be too sleep deprived to read it

One other thought... read something fun... a memoir from a mom's first year. If you need some ideas, I'll look them up. You can laugh along w/another mom learnign her way

c&dwaiting4ourmiracle · August 2012

I agree with silliestbunny about taking a baby prep class. We took ours in June and it was great. We had fun and learned a lot. My husband has shown to be a pro at being a dad and he used to be timid with babies before our little one came three weeks ago. You will be fine, but I think it's great you are getting ready.

Wish you the best!

Art Teacher · August 2012

I had experience with babies -- babysitting when younger and working in a daycare/preschool as an adult -- but I read a lot of books before we adopted dd. I wanted to have as much info as possible.

ellekae · August 2012

I agree with PPs about taking a baby basics class.

Also, check out On Becoming Baby Wise. Seriously loved this book. DH got it as an audiobook and listened to it in the car twice. You'll probably want to skip over some parts. There's a chapter on multiples, and a good bit of talk about breastfeeding. But for the most part, it's very bottle-feeding friendly.

For us, it worked like a charm. DD slept through the night at 5 weeks!

sewolff · August 2012

We used the book "Baby 411" a lot. It has good information without being preachy. We've moved on to "Toddler 411" and it's just as helpful.

silliestbunny · August 2012

Another book I like is Dr. Karp's Happiest Baby on the Block. Friends swear by the DVD... usually because they consider it a crash course once baby arrives.
He's the famous "Five S's"... and I'd say they help!! Swaddle, Shush, Suck, Swinging, Side/Stomach. These seem to be super helpful weeks 3-12.

MarionB79 · August 2012

My favorite reads this last summer were "The happiest baby on the block" and "Heading home with your newborn" (great to look stuff up). "Secrets of the baby whisperer" is ok too.

Since we are the last ones of our friends to start a family DH and I have had quite a bit of practice though. ;-)

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