Passionate Parenting

It's often more difficult to get used to caring for a new baby when you're far away from friends and family. When I became a mum here for the first time, I had absolutely no idea that this little baby needed regular naps. Every afternoon around 16:00 my son would scream and cry and I just had no idea what was wrong with him. I called my grandma who immediately asked if he was sleeping ok during the day. Problem pinpointed already. Nobody told me I needed to put him to bed during the day, so how should I have known !

Since then when my friends have become mums for the first time, it's no surprise to me when they tell me their new baby keeps them awake half the night or they fall asleep during their feeds. This is normally when I give them my copy of the following book, which was an absolute God send to me. It's the manual that you should get with every new baby ! The Contented Little Baby Book focuses much more on getting your baby onto a strict routine, at which stage you will usually find that you have a happy baby because she/he is never over-tired or too hungry. Most people are put off by the strict schedules, but you don't have to adhere to it 100%. I found it a brilliant guide which helped me enormously, and I didn't stick to all the advice given

If you've got time to read a book like this during your pregnancy, instead of at the critical stage when baby is already here and not sleeping/feeding properly, then you may like to read The Baby Whisperer too. The author's approach is much more flexible and teaches you how to understand what your baby is trying to tell you. It also gives advice about routines but it lacks the detailed schedules which The Contented Little Baby Book has (which really help if you have no clue). It also has a more flexible approach to coping with bedtime crying. Personally I couldn't leave my babies to cry (the controlled crying method), so Tracy Hogg's approach was better for me. . The link below will take you to the UK site, as it's faster delivery from there.