Parenting

My wife and I read a bunch of books before our kid was born, and the ones worth recommending were:

• The Happiest Baby On The Block: the techniques in here didn’t necessarily work 100% of the time to calm our son, but they worked 80% or so, and that’s a lot better than nothing
• The Birthing Partner: I believe this is actually something of a textbook for doulas, but it’s essentially an extremely graphic look at the process of birth in many variations. Useful for not being too surprised day of
• Expecting Better: Emily Oster’s whole deal is breaking down parenting advice with data. I recommend this one not because it tells The Thing Science Says To Do ™️, but because it basically says that there’s not actually enough data to make a decision on numbers alone for many important parenting topics, with a few notable, hopefully obvious, exceptions (eg don’t hit your kid). I found it really helpful in giving perspective to things that seem like the most important decisions we’d ever make, but that many older parents assured me we probably wouldn’t remember after our child was in school.

Other than that, a few random tips:

• Practice things. Swaddling, diaper changes, and car seat fastening can all be practiced on stuffed animals for scale. It’ll feel silly, but trust me that you don’t want to do it the first time when you’re exhausted from the new baby.
• If you’re worried about diapers (like I was), take solace in the fact that baby waste doesn’t actually smell terrible for the first few months. It’s not a pleasant smell by any means, but you don’t start getting the really bad smells until you introduce solids.
• “It takes a village” and “sleep when the baby sleeps” are truisms for a reason. If you have any support systems you’re comfortable with watching your baby for short spells, leverage them.
• If you have any communication difficulties with your partner, now is a really good time to work on them. The first few weeks involve a decent amount of sleep deprivation for most, which puts a lot of people on edge and can lead to more fighting than usual. Having kind, consistent communication with your partner can help alleviate potential fights.