[blparent] Resources to learn hands-on about baby care?

[Sheila Leigland]

hi, I was very fortunate to have a cousin that was pregnant and had her 
baby four months before I had mine and practiced diaper changes on her 
live baby. After our son was born, I went to my mom's and dressed our 
baby as well as bathing him and I already knew how to bottle feed and 
just needed to get the hang of nursing.

On 5/23/2015 10:17 AM, Steve Jacobson via blparent wrote:
> Arielle,
>
> Speaking from my experience which was now some time ago, I think you will find that such things like changing a diaper are not processes that you need to practice a great deal ahead of time.  However, it is
> worth trying a couple of times before you have to deal with it on a real baby.  Therefore, one possibility rather than buying a package of diapers is to wait until one of the babies arrive and borrow a diaper that you
> could use on a doll.  Having someone describe what to do ahead of time will help.  The thing that is so scarey about little babies, at least to me, was the fact that their head is so relatively large and heavy, and
> that they don't have the neck strength at first to hold it well.  One has to be very careful to support the head when holding and carrying a little one.
>
> Some of how you approach this depends upon whether you are hoping to provide care as a babysitter or whether you are thinking more about just helping out from time to time.  If you are thinking in terms of
> caring for a baby when the parents are not around or thinking in terms of evaluating whether you want to raise your own kids, reading books about the care of very small kids will be helpful.  I will tell you, though,
> that certain aspects of reading about raising kids were very frustrating to me.  I found that you could pretty much find supporting books for any position you might hold on such things as how to get babies to sleep
> and other more complex areas of child care.  Given your educational background, I would guess you might find some of what is written to be interesting, but for your current purposes, reading how to carry out
> specific activities is probably going to be more helpful right now.
>
> The games they like to play vary.  Babies respond to different things depending upon their personalities.  The parents of each baby will be able to quickly let you know what entertains their baby.  They all seem to
> get a kick out of faces suddenly appearing, though, as with Peekaboo.  Hiding one's face behind a book or a blanket and suddenly appearing as you say Peekaboo seems to be extremely funny to most babies.
> However, even hiding behine your own hand will sometimes work.  When one of our kids was six or seven months old, she loved to be lifted up into the air and then brought back down.  Obviously, one needs to
> be aware of whether they are holding their head well, but usually they do by then.  She would let loos with a full laugh when she went up and when she came back down.  Of course, being aware that babies
> shouldn't be shaken has to be considered in a game like that.  I don't think you will have any trouble figuring such things out.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Steve Jacobson
>
> On Fri, 22 May 2015 22:38:28 -0700, Arielle Silverman via blparent wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>> As you may know, I'm not a parent, but I've been on this list for a
>> while in order to learn about nonvisual techniques for childcare since
>> that's an area where I am very inexperienced. So recently, a few close
>> friends and relatives of mine have told me they're pregnant and
>> expecting to give birth by the end of the year. I really want to get
>> some practical skills and confidence with baby care before their
>> babies are born. I've never changed a diaper, bathed or dressed a
>> baby, or even carried a baby any distance (I've just held them in my
>> arms or on my lap). I'm also totally clueless about how visual games
>> with young infants, like Peekaboo, work. I didn't grow up around
>> babies and wasn't particularly drawn to childcare so I never learned
>> these skills. But the moms-to-be in my life are women I really care
>> about and I want to be there to help them out when they need it and I
>> want to connect with their babies without constantly worrying I'm
>> going to do something wrong and accidentally hurt them. So, I was just
>> curious what you would suggest so I can get some hands-on practice.
>> Would the Hadley preparation course be helpful for someone who's not
>> actually expecting her own child but just wants to learn these basic
>> skills? I have also considered practicing with a diaper and a doll
>> (though I'm not sure I want to buy a whole pack of diapers!) What else
>> would you suggest? I know the biggest way I can learn and gain
>> confidence is just by jumping in and spending time with babies, but I
>> feel like I need to get a little more basic knowledge first, and I
>> also know that my exhausted friends probably won't have the patience
>> to teach me from the beginning when their babies are born. Thanks for
>> any help!
>> Arielle
>> _______________________________________________
>> blparent mailing list
>> blparent at nfbnet.org
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blparent_nfbnet.org
>> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blparent:
>> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blparent_nfbnet.org/steve.jacobson%40visi.com
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> blparent mailing list
> blparent at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blparent_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for blparent:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blparent_nfbnet.org/sheila.leigland%40gmail.com