What to Expect the First Year Read Free Page A

can navigate that dizzying selection of nursery products vying for your consideration … and your credit card). There’s a whole new developmental timeline to keep track of baby’s milestones, practical new tips for new parents (including stay-at-home dads), and an expanded chapter for parents of preemies (with a glossary of medical terms and acronyms you’ll hear tossed around the NICU). A monthly at-a-glance look at feeding, sleeping, and playing. New strategies for feeding your baby well and getting your baby to sleep, as well as boosting baby’s brain power (without ever cracking a curriculum). And of course, the most up-to-date information available on your baby’s health (from the latest on vaccines and vitamins to the lowdown on baby CAM therapies, probiotics, and homeopathics) and safety (choosing and using the safest products, first aid for every emergency).
    I wrote the first edition of
What to Expect the First Year
with Emma’s first year just barely finished—the experience still so fresh I could easily summon up that sweet new-baby smell (not to mention a whole lot of other new-baby smells, not so sweet). I wrote the third edition during Lennox’s first year—with his sweet smell just five minutes away, inspiring me, refreshing my memories, and providing not only a mountain of new material (from feeding struggles to GERD to an umbilical site infection that landed him in the hospital) but a plethora of new perspectives.
    All that, and a new cover, too, thanks to Lennox, our new cover baby. He’s the baby of the baby who started it all—and one of my proudest joys yet.
    And, I know just how to hold him.

Chapter 1
Get Ready, Get Set
    You’ve watched (the ultrasound screen) and waited for 9 months, counting kicks and punches, playing Name That Bump, and dreaming of your baby-to-be. And now there’s finally a light at the end of the tunnel … maybe even effacement and dilation at the end of the cervix. But with just weeks to go before D-day, have you come to terms with your baby coming to term? Will you be ready when that big moment—and that little bundle—arrives?
    Though being 100 percent prepared for your baby’s arrival probably isn’t possible (there are bound to be surprises, especially if you’re a first-time parent), there are steps you can take and decisions you can make now—before baby makes three (or more)—to help make the transition a smoother one. From selecting the right baby name to selecting the right doctor. Deciding between breast and bottle—or opting to go combo. Choosing to circumcise (or not) or hire a postpartum doula or baby nurse (or not).
    Feeling a little overwhelmed by the flurry of prepping? First, think of it as good training for what you’re prepping for: your hectic new life with a new baby. Second, read on to get ready, get set, and get going.
Choosing Breast or Formula, or Both
    There’s no question you’ll be feeding your baby (a lot), but maybe you’re still questioning how. Will it be all breast, all the time? A breast start to the first year, and a formula finish? Formula from day one? Or a creative combo that lets you give your baby the breast … and yourself some flexibility? Still questioning those questions and more? Not to worry. The best way tobring that fuzzy baby-feeding picture into focus is to explore the facts and factor in your feelings.
    First, the facts:
Breastfeeding
    What’s the best food—and food delivery system—for babies? There’s no question about that: Breast is best by far. Here are just some of the reasons why:
    â€¢ It’s custom-made. Tailored to the needs of human infants, breast milk contains at least 100 ingredients that aren’t found in cow’s milk and that can’t be synthesized in the laboratory. And unlike formula, the composition of breast milk changes constantly to meet a baby’s ever-changing