Quarterback Dad
The most important thing I can say about your new baby is this --- You only get one chance to raise a child. Put time, effort, money, and love into doing what is best for them. There are numerous places that you can get hints and tips. You already found at least one. Be careful about what you find on the internet though. The internet is the wild, wild west. No rules, so anything can be written. Talk to your parents, in-laws, friends, and your pediatrician, they will all freely dispense advice. Filter out what is useful and reject the rest. There are also several book on the market that will help. Mine is just one, written from the point of a rookie dad. It was also reviewed by an expert in the field of babies.
More articles, links, and helpful hints will be added all the time. Feel free to bookmark this site. For humorous anecdotes about the day-to-day job of raising a toddler check out my blog on the links page.
With all respect to David Letterman, here is my top ten tips for a newborn.
10. Spend quiet time with her in your arms. You cannot spoil a child with too much love.
9. Take as much of a role in feeding your star as you are allowed. This is a great time to establish trust and togetherness.
8. Keep the little one by yourself, while your partner gets some 'me time'. Going straight to your parents every time you have the baby will earn you no points.
7.Take a little time each week to do something you love without the baby. Keep it limited, but indulge yourself in what makes you smile. A happy parent is a healthy parent, and vice-a-versa.
6. Change diapers. I suggested a scoreboard to keep track of who changes how many. I am competitive and would have tried to win! One person will probably change more because of circumstances, but share the wealth when possible.
5. Keep romance alive with your partner. A little note in their lunchbox, a mushy card, a single flower, a racy cell phone message are all cute ways to romance her. If you are in a relationship, you want it to be healthy.
4. Learn a couple of songs to soothe your savage beast. Music will work wonders to calm your star.
3. Find a comfortable place to walk with your little one. Motion and music are the best ways I found to soothe a fussy baby.
2. Talk to your little one. She will hear you and she will grow to understand what you are saying.
1. Never forget - You only get one chance to raise a child. Promotions, more money and more me time can all come later in life.
Crying Time
Imagine for a minute that you have lost your voice. Most of us take it for granted that we can explain to people what we want. Of course, we don’t always get it, but that is another story. The inability to effectively communicate would be a major hindrance in our everyday life.
Welcome to the world of a baby. They don’t have the ability to talk yet. They do have the ability to communicate though. They do it by crying. They aren’t crying to piss you off, even though it sometimes seems that way. Crying is your little star’s way of saying ‘I’m upset with something, please help me.’ Something is wrong in her world and she expects you to do something about it. The first cries will actually be tearless and kind of cute. Experts say that babies actually need to cry to exercise their lings. Real tears will come when you tell her she can’t have a driver’s license until she can pay her own insurance bill.
Babies cry because they are
It is your job to figure out which it is and help. You will realize your baby has different cries for different meanings. She will come to depend on you to help her out. She will learn to trust you and will eventually develop a little patience (in about 5 years, maybe, if you are lucky). Just do the best you can, that is all she wants. You’ll learn her individual cries. Soothe her, hold her, and sing to her as you take care of her immediate need. Of course, your singing voice sucks, but she doesn’t know that.
The most important thing to remember, she is not crying to piss you off.
Coming soon. Articles decorating a nursery, tv time, and baby car seats
All articles copyrighted by Bobby Mercer, 2007