A couple weeks ago, Nate and I finished up our Birth and Parenting Classes. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the first three sessions focused on the labor/delivery process and included a hospital tour. These last two sessions talked about what happens after the baby is born and comes home. Some highlights:
1. We were each asked express our biggest worry about bringing a baby home for the first time. One dad asked, "If you don’t support the baby's head properly, are the neck bones fragile enough where it could actually break off and fall on the floor?" I didn’t laugh at this question, because if he was brave enough to actually say it out loud in front of 20 people, he must have been really worried about it. The nurse assured him that the head will NOT fall off, but supporting baby's head is still very important.
2. The pediatrician who came in to answer questions is the kind of doctor you would like if you have the right sense of humor and are not one for beating around the bush. She told us that if you have your baby boy circumcised, you shouldn’t be alarmed if he "looks like raw ground beef down there for a week or so." GAH!!!
3. The nurse wrote this quote on the whiteboard: "There is no way to become the perfect parent. But there are a million ways to become a GREAT parent." I like this. She talked a lot about trusting your own instincts and keeping in mind that there is no one right way to do things when you take care of a baby. Babies all have different personalities and preferences, and moms and dads have different parenting styles. You just have to mesh the two together in a way that works best for your family.
4. We were given a home safety checklist. We already knew about most of the recommendations, but one was really surprising. One of the top choking hazards for babies under 9 months is Cheerios. Cheerios?? But the way she explained it makes sense…rather than chewing food, younger babies tend to play with it and try to swallow it whole (in part, due to a lack of teeth). For softer foods or foods that dissolve more quickly, this isn’t a problem, but Cheerios can actually expand in their mouths before they try to swallow. Combine this with the round shape, and you have to be careful. So if you want to feed your baby Cheerios, you need to break each piece of cereal in half. That sounds like a lot of work. I think I'll stick with the millions of other cereals for babies that aren’t choking hazards. Still good to know, though.
5. The nurse also talked about un-wanted parenting advice and had the following suggestion: Nod. Smile. Be gracious. Then tune it out and do exactly what YOU, as the baby's parents, know is best. Despite what others might think, they can’t do a better job raising your child than you can.
We signed up for one more class the first week of January, Infant and Child CPR. Here's hoping we NEVER need it, but we want to be prepared for anything. My doctor said one surefire way to guarantee you won’t need the class is to just go ahead and take it. Makes sense to me!
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