If nothing else, no one can say we didn’t TRY to do this baby thing right ;)
- Childbirth Class, check.
- Infant Care Class, check.
- Infant CPR Class, coming soon.
- On Wednesday night we attended an “Infant Care” class at Cedars-Sinai Hospital, where we’ll be delivering Zoe, if all goes as planned. And yes, it was another interesting experience. There were 25 or so couples in this class, in varying stages of pregnancy, and all with some quite interesting views on caring for an infant.
The liveliest topic was sleep – not IF newborns will sleep, but HOW they should sleep, and in what, to keep them safe. Did you know that swaddling in a blanket is “no longer recommended”? Apparently babies move around a lot and are likely to get out of it, leaving them with a loose (and dangerous) blankie in the crib. They now recommend swaddle blankets with velcro or sleep sacks that babies can’t get out of, and no more sleep wedges (those foam baby positioners) either.
Sounds like a contradiction to me since 1) the first danger is that they MOVE in the night to dislodge the blanket and 2) without a positioner, they can really move and are likely to end up on their stomachs where they can’t breathe. Good news = they do NOT expect parents to stay awake watching their babies sleep (this was an actual, serious question by a concerned mother – she had “heard” that this was recommended).
Anyway, any real world advice on baby sleep you have would be much appreciated :)
We also learned that diaper wipes are bad?! They have antibacterial stuff on them which is not great for babies, supposedly. The instructor literally recommended a spray bottle filled with water and PAPER TOWELS. Um, no thanks.
So maybe we won’t be the “perfect parents” when it comes to care, but we did a pretty good job diapering our “baby” and could actually get its shirt both on AND off. As long as Zoe remains perfectly still and allows us to work our newly-acquired parental magic, we should ROCK those tasks ;)
Emphasis on Joy 
Wow! How things change in 3 years! We practiced swaddling like crazy in our infant care class :) We also had a couple of sleep sacks, and I actually really like those. I think when a baby wants their arms free from a swaddle, no velcro is gonna stop them.
We also had sleep positioners in her crib – just the ones on her side. I don’t think they caused any harm. If having them makes YOU stay more sane and comfortable about her sleep, use them.
Wipes, please! I am envisioning the mess of watery paper towel bits everywhere.
You guys will be great. Sleep is just hard thing for the first few months.
Crazy, right? Goes to show it’s likely no one really knows for sure what’s best ;)
And if Zoe ends up as great as Ginna, we’ll be AOK!
It’s so great—all this learning, etc. Then she comes—and you improvise… All informed, but on your feet in the awesome baby trenches. You’ll be great.
I like your attitude, mister :) And I hope you’re right!
Hi – Yes, sleeping sacks are one of the best inventions ever. We used them every day. Make sure you have varying weights (cotton, light fleece, heavy fleece) so that baby is always comfortable as the temperature will vary. As for wipes – even if you will use them eventually, you should not in the first several weeks because their skin really is too sensitive. So yes, paper towels and water in the very beginning.
Jana
seriously? paper towels? they’re like sandpaper… :( must be something better than that? or do you have a brand that’s great for booties? ;)
Sleepsacks are great. They can flail all they want and nothing gets out of place or falls on their face. We never swaddled the boys after they left the hospital. Ever. Not awake, not asleep, never. Don’t know why. I think we just forgot, and the boys didn’t fuss much, so it never came up. So, in short: sleepsack and plop the baby down in a crip or co-sleeper. It will be months before you have to worry about her rolling over, and by then she will be strong enough to avoid danger. And use a mattress pad so you don’t have to change the sheets every night.
Thanks, Bardo! And luckily we already have several thanks to you & Mary (and your cutie pie boys)! Do you have a mattress pad brand/style that you liked? We have a mini-cosleeper for the first few months – or did you mean for the crib?
Mattress pad for both is good. But a co-sleeper is really easy to change the sheets. A crib has a heavier mattress, and by that time accidents are LARGER, so more critical then. Anyway, we have pads of all sizes that we like. I will find them online and email you product links.
Gotcha – please do let me know what you guys used – with 2 they must be TWICE as good ;)