Advice For Bringing Up Baby
So we have these two wonderful women in our newsroom who are about to give birth. Their names are Mary Beth and Anne and they are both working right up to their due dates - and beyond.
As a little gift, we asked our Idaho Women’s Committee (made up of Idaho newsroom staffers and community members) to give the mothers-to-be some advice for their first year of motherhood.
In the old days, we’re sure, women had a lot of places to collect first-hand advice. Extended families. Sewing circles. Church groups. Now, we depend (too much, perhaps?) on self-help books. But nothing compares to tips from those who have bravely gone before. Here’s what the women said:
Trust in nature. Place your baby near an aspen tree. She’ll love the sound and movement.
Find a peculiar lady and an outrageous man to be part of your child’s life. Someone crazy in the way you are not. It shows them possibilities of other ways to be in the world.
Relax, you will do fine! Don’t fret, rely on your instincts and enjoy every minute! Use your library card.
Take as many naps as you can! Don’t listen to too much advice. Listen to your heart.
Try to look at babies as little people rather than little responsibilities. Never let the awe cease! Go ahead and just cry when you need to.
Make sure you have a lot of spit-up rags. While feeding don’t wear nice clothes. Just be happy!
Just relax and enjoy your new little one. Sleep when the baby sleeps. Don’t try to get too much done around the house. Love him/her; babies are small for such a short while. Start reading to the baby early.
Nursing is best, plus it gives you lots of time with your baby. You can’t spoil a baby under a year old, but try!
Stay as physically close to your baby as possible. It feels good and holding your baby creates a lifelong bond that love and respect can build upon, and it creates a loyalty to the family for the baby.
If baby cries a lot, is fussy a lot, place the baby in its infant seat and place on dryer. Turn the dryer on. I have heard that slight vibrations and constant noise is soothing to a baby.
Relax and enjoy. When you look back, you will realize all of the things you got so upset about were non-existent.
Children grow up way too fast. Spend as much time as you possibly can with them and don’t sweat the small stuff. Also, practice picking your battles because you’ll need that skill when they are teenagers.
If it’s a boy, dress it in pink all the time so he’s nice to girls when he grows up.
She said: “Making the decision to have a child - it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
Elizabeth Stone in the book “Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul.”
, DataTimes