Predict Baby Gender

Why did the staff let me leave the hospital with this helpless little creature? Such were my thoughts the day I took my baby home. My newborn seemed so different than those chubby babies I had babysat – and I was totally responsible for her health and well being! I was hit hard by reality – it was me who was the parent now. Yet, giving birth had not flipped some secret “confidence switch” into the ON position. Could I do this? How could I even pretend to be as capable as she was? It was time for a small panic attack.

If you are like me, the first problem is placing that tiny body into a car seat. We had bought the best baby travel system we could find. It had a car seat that detached from its base to become an infant carrier; it also attached onto a stroller base, giving a three-in-one bonus. The previously perfect infant seat seemed to have grown to huge proportions once our new baby was lost in it! Certainly she was safer in my arms than all alone in that car seat! My husband and a little bit of logic managed to convince me to let go. Newborns tend to scrunch down into one corner of their car seats no matter how you initially place them in the seat. Until baby is more able to sit unassisted, she will be sliding to one corrner of your car seat. To help support your baby during this muscle building phase, you can buy some extra padded support for the “amoeba phase”.

Once we were home, I struggled with needing to rest and wanting to be with our baby. And she was always hungry. It was quite challenging to find a place in our home for nursing while we were both learning the process. Most moms find they need to try several positions before finding the one or two which work best. Some people use ring slings, fabric carriers that allow you to carry the baby around with you. This can be a great way to position baby for nursing if you can find the right adjustment for you. I preferred to use my ring sling as a convenient hands-free carrier. Eventually the rocking chair ended up being the best option for nursing my baby.

Of course every time my baby ate—and a few times in between—she needed changing. Newborns have an output capacity that shames the most efficient factory. I had chosen to use Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers. It was a good thing they fit snugly. Some interesting diapering issues arise from a a “liquid only” diet.” Some of the biggest diaper challenges occurred on that first day. It is a good idea to have a few outfits ready for changing clothes you didn’t expect to have to change right away! No matter how good the cloth diapers were, they only worked as well as my attempts to fasten them. And if you do not fasten them in time…they will not work at all!

Although that first day home is daunting, it is the start of an amazing new chapter. You become accustomed to dealing with constant shifts and changes. Every phase your child reaches will test you again. Frequently pretending to be as in control and capable of child care as my mother, I found myself calling on all my resources. Then, one day, I realized she probably had pretended too—and then I knew I truly was a parent.

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