Adding A Baby To Your Family
The addition of a baby to your family can be exciting and yet overwhelming. The joy you experience once baby arrives and you hold her in your arms for the first time will far outweigh the stress you feel, but until then, you must plan for the arrival. Use the guide below to plan for your baby and remove some of the stress from the situation.
Making the decision about how you are going to feed your newborn can be difficult for some mothers. Trying to decide if breastfeeding is right for your situation can be a challenge. Doctors will tell you that breastfeeding is the best for your baby, but that might not be an option for you or you might not be comfortable with it. Take your time to do as much research as you can to learn if this is an option for you or not.
First time parents may get very nervous about holding a newborn baby. They look so frail and delicate and knowing that there is a proper way to hold the baby makes it all that more stressful. There are videos you can watch and you can get help from the nurses at the hospital. You could even purchase one of the new swaddle blankets that come with a built in head support to reduce the anxiety you feel until you are more comfortable.
When people think about bringing a newborn baby into the family, one of their first thoughts are about sleepless nights. You will have to wake a few times each night to feed the baby during the first few weeks. It can be challenging to get through this time, but just remember that it does not last forever. Many babies will begin sleeping through most of the night by the time they are six or eight weeks old.
The first few days that you bring your baby home are going to be downright exhausting. Baby will want and need to eat every two to three hours. You will have to wake baby even when she is sleeping to ensure that she is getting enough breast milk or formula to help her gain weight. Babies will lose weight the first days of their life and it is crucial that you help them gain weight above their birth weight before their second week ends.
Join some kind of support group for new parents. These groups are available online or in your neighborhood. You will be able to share your experiences and learn from the experiences of other parents. You could quickly develop close relationships with the members of this group that could continue on for years. Your children could even become close as they grow together.
Bringing a child into your family is a huge responsibility and requires quite a bit of learning and preparing. Use what you have learned here as a starting point to preparing for the arrival of your new baby. By the time baby arrives, you will be ready to enjoy every minute.
