Flourishing With Your Newborn
Motherhood is as core to humanity as breathing, and mothers have been learning how best to raise children for thousands of years. There is endless knowledge out there, and you are not the first woman to bring a bundle of joy into the world. It’s ludicrous to avoid learning from those who have gone before you.
Even so, many mothers are so fiercely protective in the natural love they feel that they may eschew good advice unnecessarily. Granted, you’ve got to be wise. Not all advice is good advice. There has been a trend since the middle of the 20th century that preaches the merits of formula feeding exclusively. Science says this is misguided.
The best way to feed your child is through breastfeeding, and experts say that up to two years of this sort of nourishment is optimal for your baby. Modernity makes that hard on moms, because women work today, and careers seldom allow two years’ maternity leave. While you can bring the baby to the office, that’s also not ideal.
There seems to be new “light” on the horizon, though, in the form of remote work infrastructure. Decentralization of work spaces was already on the way prior 2020, that year’s tragedies forced the issue, and now 1 in 4 employees work from home. For the new mom, this is ideal. One mothering best practice is being constantly present. We’ll explore others here.
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1. Sync to Your Baby’s Needs For About Six Months
For the first six months or so, your baby’s sleep and hunger patterns will vary, and there’s little you can do to get them on a “schedule”. Accordingly, lean into it. Get used to sleeping sporadically, and just expect the first half a year or so will be difficult. As your baby develops, you can train the child to a particular sleep schedule.
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2. Try New Holds in Breastfeeding for Latch Issues
There’s the traditional cradle hold, there’s the “football” hold, which is especially useful for twins, then there’s the side-feeding method where you lie down next to your newborn. If such holds don’t help your baby get the right latch, check out this breastfeeding latch trick from Nest Collaborative, certified lactation specialists.
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3. Acquire Professional Healthcare Support for Diverse Needs
Pediatricians, audiologists, optometrists, orthopedic professionals, otolaryngologists and podiatrists specialists will all be professionals you likely need to work with over the course of your child’s development. Find practitioners you trust in advance to avoid the unnecessary expense of being referred by another doctor.
Giving Your Baby the Best Start in Life
When you let the baby determine your schedule until they’ve matured a bit, try different breastfeeding holds until one makes latching easiest, and acquire outside professional healthcare support for situations demanding it, you’ll do much to give your baby a good head start in the world. Also, this will ease the weight of motherhood responsibility to a degree.
