7 Tips for Your Newborn

Tips for Nursing
Babies eat and eat and eat. Although nature has done a pretty good job of providing you and your baby with the right equipment, in the beginning it is almost guaranteed to be harder than you expected. From sore nipples to tough clink-ons, nursing can seem overwhelming.

Sleep
If your kid doesn't eat, he's probably asleep. Newborns sleep as much as 16 hours a day, but only in short bursts. The result: You constantly feel alert and more exhausted than you ever thought possible. Even the best of us can come to blame for the severe sleep deprivation.

Restful
It is often difficult to decipher exactly what Baby wants in the first dark weeks. You learn, of course, by trial and error.

" Swaddling, shushing, and swinging, as well as allowing babies to suck and keep them on their sides, can lead to a calming reflex," says Harvey Karp, MD, maker of His Happiest Baby on the Block books, videos, and DVDs.

Involving partners
If you're raising your baby in a two-parent household, it's important to share the mental burden and give both partners a chance to learn what needs to be done to make your baby thrive.

Let them be. Many first time fathers are reluctant to get involved for fear of doing something wrong and incurring mommy's wrath. "Mothers should allow their husbands to make mistakes without criticizing them," says Armin Brott, author of The New Father: A Dad's Guide to the First Year (Abbeville Press).

Staying Healthy

No matter how excited you are to be a parent, the constant care a child requires can suck you dry. Finding new ways to take care of oneself by reducing one's hopes and taking short breaks.

First, ignore unwanted or confusing advice. "In the end, you're the parents, so you decide what's best," says Julie Balis, a mother in Frankfurt, Illinois.

Out and about with Baby
Reserve reinforcements. Make your first trip to a large, public place with an experienced parent. "Having my sister with me for support kept me confused the first time I went shopping with my newborn," says Suzanne Zook, a mother in Denver.