You and Your Newborn Baby

Childbirth

Simkin, Penny. The Birth Partner: Everything You Need to Know to Help a Woman through Childbirth. Boston: Harvard Common Press, 1989.

Simkin, Penny, Janet Whalley, and Ann Keppler. Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn: The Complete Guide. New York: Meadowbrook Press, 1991.

Breastfeeding

Huggins, Kathleen. The Nursing Mother's Companion, rev. ed. Boston: Harvard Common Press, 1990.

Infants and Infant Care

Klaus, Marshall H., and Phyllis H. Klaus. The Amazing Newborn: Making the Most of the First Weeks. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1985.

Shelov, Stephen, et al., eds., Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age Five, New York: Bantam Books, 1991.

Parenting and Family Development

Brazelton, T. Berry. On Becoming a Family. New York: Delacorte Press, 1981.

Chess, Stella, and Alexander Thomas. Know Your Child: An Authoritative Guide for Today's Parents. New York: Basic Books, 1989.

For Mothers

Eagan, Andrea Boroff. The Newborn Mother: Stages of Her Growth. New York: Henry Holt, 1985.

Noble, Elizabeth. Essential Exercises for the Childbearing Year: A Guide to Health and Comfort Before and After Your Baby Is Bom. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1988.

Siegel, Paula M. The New Mother's Body: A Complete Guide to the First Year After Birth. New York: Bantam Books, 1988.

For Children

Cole, Joanna. How You Were Born. New York: Mulberry Books, 1984.

Girard, Linda Walvoord. You Were Born on Your Very First Birthday. Morton Grove, 111.: Albert Whitman, 1983.

Hoban, Russell. A Baby Sister for Frances. New York: Harper Trophy, 1964.

Pearse, Patricia, and Edwina Riddell. See How You Grow. New York: Barron's, 1988.

Loss and Grief

Borg, Susan, and Judith Lasker. When Pregnancy Fails: Families Coping with Miscarriage, Stillbirth, and Infant Death, rev. ed. Boston: Beacon Press, 1989.

Disposable diapers may feel dry after a baby urinates, but ammonia in the urine still affects the skin, so change the diaper at least every three hours.

Whether or not you sterilize, these measures are important:

Wash bottles and nipples in hot, soapy water, and rinse them thoroughly before each use. If you rinse the bottles and nipples immediately after using them, they will be easier to clean. You can wash the bottles in a dishwasher, but wash the nipples by hand, forcing soapy water through the nipple openings. Let the nipples air-dry. Discard nipples if they get sticky, dry, or cracked.
Boil water for at least five minutes, then let it cool before mixing it with formula.
Wash your hands before mixing the formula.
If you are using liquid formula, shake the can.
Wash the top of the formula can before opening it. Open it with a clean can opener. Be certain all measuring equipment is thoroughly clean.
Once the formula is prepared, give it to the baby or refrigerate it immediately.
If the formula has been refrigerated, you may prefer to warm it slightly by placing it in a pan of hot water. Test the temperature by letting it drip onto your wrist. Do not heat formula in a microwave oven. The formula would heat unevenly, and so could burn the baby's mouth.

TIPS ON FEEDING STORED BREAST MILK

Thaw frozen milk in the refrigerator for a few hours before the feeding.
Shake the bottle of breast milk before pouring a portion into another bottle or feeding the milk directly to the baby.
Warm the milk by running warm water over the bottle for a few minutes. Be careful not to overheat the milk. Always test the temperature by sprinkling a few drops on your wrist before feeding the baby.
Do not heat breast milk in a microwave oven. Doing so could destroy nutrients and heat the milk unevenly, possibly leading to burns.
After the feeding, dispose of any milk left in the bottle.

Massaging your breast or just having your baby nearby may help stimulate your milk to let down. Massage your breast with gentle patting motions, much as in a breast self-exam, not by squeezing the breast or sliding the fingers down or around the breast, which could cause bruising.

Expressed breast milk can be stored in the refrigerator for twenty-four hours, in the freezer compartment of a refrigerator for two weeks, or in a deep freeze (with a temperature below 0° Fahrenheit) for six months. Label milk with the date it was collected, and use the oldest milk first. Cool freshly expressed breast milk in the refrigerator before adding it to a bottle of frozen stored milk

Wash your hands and any container you will be using.
Position your thumb above the nipple, and your first two fingers below it, 1 to 1 1½ inches from the nipple.
Push against the chest wall.
Roll your thumb and fingers forward at the same time, keeping your fingers behind the nipple.
Repeat this motion a few times, then rotate your hand a bit and repeat the motion a few times more. Continue this way, gradually rotating around the areola. To empty all your milk reservoirs, switch hands and repeat the process.
Repeat these steps on the other breast. Then repeat the whole process for another two to three minutes at each breast.

Hand expression, once learned, is easy, and can be more efficient than using a manual pump

Express a small amount of milk (see [>]) before putting the baby to the breast. This can soften the areola enough that the baby grasps it better.
Start each feeding on the breast with the least sore nipple.
Select a position that gives you good control of the baby's head. The football hold is often ideal for assuring a correct latch.
Be persistent in getting the baby to latch on correctly. Take the baby off immediately if the latch doesn't feel right. Do this as many times as needed to get the baby on the breast right.
Relieve the pain of nursing on the sore nipple by taking acetaminophen thirty minutes before a feeding or by holding ice against the nipple just before nursing.
Nurse for shorter periods of time more often—say, for ten minutes every hour. Massage the breast while nursing so it empties faster.
Before taking the baby off the breast, always release the baby's suction by putting your little finger in the corner of the baby's mouth.
At the end of the feeding rub a few drops of expressed milk over the nipple. The milk may help it heal.
Air-dry your breast between feedings. If you are wearing a nursing bra, leave the flaps down.
Avoid nipple creams or oils, which can cause an allergic reaction characterized by reddening and a burning sensation.

is getting enough milk in the first weeks if—

The baby is nursing at least eight times in every twenty-four hours.
You can hear swallowing sounds throughout the feeding.
The baby wets at least eight diapers a day by the fifth day.
The baby has yellowish stools each day after the fourth or fifth day.
The baby has regained his or her birth weight by two weeks of age, and has gained at least five ounces per week thereafter.

Listen for swallowing while your baby nurses. This tells you the baby is taking milk. If you hear clicking sounds, the baby is probably only on the nipple. Take the baby off the breast and start again.
Encourage the baby to take both breasts at each feeding. Nurse the baby on the first breast until the baby slows down, stops swallowing, or goes to sleep. Burp the baby, or just turn the baby around onto your other arm. The baby will probably wake up and resume nursing.
Try to start each feeding with the breast you ended with last time—especially if the baby did not completely empty that breast.
Wash your hands before handling your breasts, especially in the hospital, where there are more dangerous germs than in your own home.
Wash your breasts with water only. Soap is unnecessary and could dry out the areola