Ask Others for Help

Having a baby is exciting and joyous. There’s so much to do and learn. Your whole family is excited. But having a new baby brings lots of new feelings and changes in your life.

You may be worried about whether you are a good parent. You may wonder whether you can meet your baby’s needs. keeping your baby fed, bathed and diapered is a big job. He also wants to bond with you emotionally.

Your baby likes to be held. He likes to be talked to. He likes to talk back to you and likes to have you answer his smiles, coos, giggles and other baby sounds. He likes to be rocked and comforted.

How do you take care of yourself when your baby needs so much comforting and care? You need to know that it is common to feel run down. If you feel run down, ask others for help.

When you need to rest, let your baby’s father take over. Or ask other family members to help. Your baby needs to bond with his father and other members of the family. He needs to be close to his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Be sure your friends and relatives know how to take care of and be with your baby.

Don’t be surprised if you feel kind of sad the first few weeks after having your baby. It is common for a new mom to feel this way. It doesn’t mean you are a bad parent. You need time to get your body back to normal. And you need to adjust to the changes your baby brings to your life.

Sometimes this feeling of sadness can be strong. If this happens, you may be having postpartum depression. “Postpartum” means “after birth.” Some new mothers have this kind of depression. Your doctor will know ways to help you.

Don’t try to hide these feelings from your family or your doctor. It is important to talk about what is happening. Get help if you need it.

This content has been provided freely by CMC. Click Healthy Start, Grow Smart—Your Three-Month-Old for your free download. Click GreatDad Free Ebook to download the entire Health Start, Grow Smart series.

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