Baby Care

Despite all the parenting done during pregnancy, despite weeks of feeling movement within and fantasizing about your baby, despite months of having strange dreams, worrisome thoughts, and musings about what kind of parent you will be, the first time you hold your baby in your arms and call yourself mother or father, mama or papa, mommy or daddy, an awareness floods over you that life will never be the same again. Another human being is now dependent upon you for survival. More than anything else, you want to be the best parent possible.

As parents, you want the best for your child, but caring for your new baby is not always easy. From soothing your newborn to common health concerns, here’s where you can get information on a wide range of baby care topics.

Becoming a good parent means much more than knowing a lot about babies. Ask pediatric doctors or nurses what it was like for them to be new parents. They will tell you that all their knowledge about babies was not enough to keep them from being over whelmed by their own babies. All new parents feel the same way. All new parents work at knowing, understanding, and loving their babies. Your baby will work just as hard at learning to know, understand, and love you. This is the process of attachment-the work that parents and babies do together to form a deep and lasting love. It is what becoming a family is all about.

As a child grows, parents are forever faced with new issues and concerns. Check out our older baby care section for parenting tips during the later months following the birth of your baby.

Whether you’re a new parent or a baby veteran, knowing the health benefits of proper baby and child nutrition is one of the best ways to ensure a healthy start for your children. Good eating habits can be formed as soon as your child begins to eat solids, but knowing just when that time has come may not be so clear. Check out for information on your child’s diet.

Your child’s first meal is one of many milestones on the journey through baby development. Learn more about developmental steps such as potty training and toddler development so that you can help support your child throughout these various stages.