1. Give baby something to hold
Either a hand towel or blankie will do. Keeps baby feeling secure. Especially useful for babies who don’t like being swaddled (ahem).
2. Hand towels are perfect for nursing
Keep them around baby’s neck like a bib and under your boob (so your nursing bra doesn’t get milk on it). You can use it to wipe milk from baby’s mouth as well.
3. Stay away from folks of the previous generation
They will almost invariably make some comment about your parenting style that will annoy you, from the way you carry baby to how you feed him or her.
4. Remind yourself baby is not crying to upset you
Baby is crying because he needs you to help him. He can’t communicate by any other way but crying so learn to read his cues.
5. Learn to read baby’s cues
He is usually one of 5 things: hungry (mouth roots for breast), sleepy (yawns, rubs eyes), needs a burp, needs a diaper change, too hot (feel forehead) or too cold. Go down the list. One of them should be the culprit.
6. Nurse baby often
It helps you two bond, especially when you look lovingly into his eyes when you do so (no matter how tired you are), and it helps your uterus shrink (read: tummy flat). Plus, nursing calms baby down (unless he needs a burp).
(Author’s note: This post was written when Jack was a month old and I had just gotten back home. I thought it was significant to include it because these were tips helpful for me then. I’ve added a few more relevant to that time period.)
Mephala is a strange and rather interesting human fascinated by 
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