Baby Care Class

Shawn and I took the Baby Care Class at the hospital last night. I asked quite a few people whether they recommend this class and I got mixed feedbacks. Since neither Shawn or I have much experience with babies, I decided to sign us up. The class was about 3 hours long and I am so glad we took it! I learned so much in the 3 hours and now I feel like I should've signed up for more classes at the hospital like Childbirth and Breastfeeding Classes. Our instructor was really good, and we left there feeling much better about having this baby. The 3 hours went by really fast. Of course some of the stuff we already knew by just talking with other moms and reading books, but it was nice that we had hands-on practice (with a baby doll that looked like a real baby) and we got a tons of great information on basic baby care. I totally recommend this class to any new parent because whether you "think" you already know this stuff, or that you "think" it might come to you naturally after the baby, it's just wonderful to have all the great info and recommendations ahead of time, and all the hands on practice was great. The instructor gave us a lot of great advice. I think we definitely got lucky with a really good instructor, too. I feel so much better after taking this class now and feel even more ready than ever for the arrival.

Some of the things we went over in class were:

*Newborn Appearances/Characteristics
*Different ways to hold the baby (hands-on practice)
*Swaddling the baby (hands-on-practice)
*Sleep Safety (how and when to put the baby to sleep, when to wake them up)
*How to bathe the baby (sponge baths and tub baths) and lots of great information on supplies/toiletries (no baby powder and no baby oils!)
*How to change diapers (hands-on-practice) and information on how many diapers per day, what to do for diaper rash, etc
*Cord Care
*Nail Care
*Feeding Baby - went over a few basics on breastfeeding, how to and how often to feed baby, BPA info/nipple info, formula, pumping, bottles, etc
*What to do for a baby that cries/colic babies
*Health of Baby - pediatrician info, illness (when to call doc), temperature taking, immunizations, medicines
*Dangerous Products - stores carry a lot of items that are not safe for babies. We went over what products/items were dangerous and to avoid buying...(we actually had one of these already at home, thank goodness for this class, we won't be using it)
*Baby and Layette supplies
*Car Seat information
*Recommended Products, Toys, Nursery Checklist
*Tips for Dads