How to achieve the perfect balance of a happy baby and a happy Mom
Want to know How to achieve the perfect balance of a happy baby and a happy Mom? As you know we recently announced our partnership with Perrigo Nutritional’s, a leading global healthcare supplier and manufacturer of infant formula and nutritional products. Perrigo Nutritional’s is the largest supplier of Store Brand Infant Formula and nutrition products in the world.
I had the opportunity to interview Tammy Gold, who is a parenting expert and author of the new book, Secrets of the Nanny Whisperer. I am excited to share what I learned with you. If you are expecting a baby or know someone who is, this information will be useful.
A new baby is one of the greatest joys for new parents but adjusting to life with your new baby can be stressful, especially for the 75% of American moms who return to work after their pregnancies. Tammy shares with us tips on how to achieve the perfect balance of a happy baby and a happy mom.
How to achieve the perfect balance of a happy baby and a happy mom
Q: What are the biggest stressors that new moms face?
A: Being a new mom is the biggest responsibility that you have. It is easy to keep your new babies’ diapers changed and to keep your new baby warm but feeding is difficult.
Q: Why is feeding your new baby such a huge stress, and what tips do you have to cope and help alleviate that stress?
A: Failure to thrive, stomach pain, or a reaction to something that the mother eats can be a huge challenge for babies. With infant formula, people get hung up on the formula brand or what brand they are given at the hospital. All baby formula brands meet the same FDA requirements. If new moms are breastfeeding, stress can cause problems with latching.
Q: What is the difference between advertised name brand and store brand formulas? Why don’t they give store brand formulas to new moms in the hospital?
A: When you do the research, you will find that the infant formulas are nutritionally comparable. The doctors recognize the quality of store brand infant formulas; they just don’t receive free formula samples in hospitals or in their practices. Only advertised name brands have free formula, hospital sampling programs. The makers of store brand infant formulas don’t participate in formula sampling programs because they do not want to influence a mom’s decision-making in the hospital soon their baby is born. From an economic perspective, the reality of store brand formula, which is less expensive, passes the savings along to retailers and their customers.
Q: Sometimes when a baby cries, you just have no idea what the cause is. How do you crack the code of why a baby is crying?
A: Parents should log when their baby eats daily. As a parent, keeping a log will help you figure out what the problem is. If your baby seems to be crying at the same time daily after being fed, or experiencing added spit up after feedings, or if you are noticing a distended stomach, logging will help you recognize the pattern. As a new parent, your days merge from one day to the next, but if you keep a log, you will have more information to share with your pediatrician.
Q: When you have a new baby, it seems like every second of your life now belongs to that baby. Why is making time for yourself so important?
A: New moms need time for themselves. Sleep deprivation and stress will make an infant’s cortisol rise. It is important for new moms to take time to shower daily. It is also important to take a walk around the block or get fresh air. When you are tired you may accidentally feed your baby the wrong amount of formula. Ask for help a friend. Don’t worry about a clean house. Nap when they nap. Don’t stress out with the formula. A way to help is to purchase the store brand so you are not as stressed out about what you are spending on formula.
Q: Where can new parents go for more information?
Parents can go to www.storebrandformula.com to learn more. They will learn all infant formulas sold in the United States meet the same FDA requirements. They can also use innovative tools, like baby formula and savings calculators, as well as free baby formula coupons at participating retailers. You can also learn about different types of formulas. Always speak with your child’s pediatrician when making infant feeding decisions.
Melissa’s Opinion:
One of the best pieces of advice that I was given as a new mom was from my mother. She told me to sleep when Peyton slept. I thought that was strange at first, but I did it. When Peyton took a nap, I took a nap. By doing this it really helped me to have the energy to care for Peyton on the occasions when he was up multiple times in the night. I learned it doesn’t matter if you have a clean house or if everything is perfect and in order, but what does matter is that new moms need to get their rest even when their babies aren’t on a “regular schedule.” Never be afraid to ask for help. Another tip is to prepare freezer meals before your birth. This way you don’t have to stress out about what is for dinner after the birth of your baby.
We hope these tips along with Tammy Gold’s insight will help you to achieve the perfect balance of a happy baby and a happy mom.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Perrigo; however all opinions are 100% our own.
Melissa is a football and soccer mom who has been married to her best friend for 24 years. She loves sharing recipes, travel reviews and tips that focus on helping busy families make memories.
Thanks for the tips! I am expecting my first baby soon!
What great tips to try and maintain a balance between a baby’s and mom’s life throughout the day!
I did not know one could call somewhere to learn more about baby’s formulas!
At the end of the day, a baby picks up on the mom’s happy feelings and tries to mimic in in some way back too!
Your mom was right. When my first child was born, I slept when I could with her and I think it made me a happier person and a happier mom. So what if things needed to be done? Nothing was going to get done unless I felt up to it. My sister-in-law just had a baby. I will have to share this book with her.
These are wonderful tips and very helpful for new moms and expectant moms. I got the same advice from my mom and grandmother; get sleep while the baby is asleep. I found it difficult at first because I wanted to watch my baby sleep, but later on, sleep came easy because infants are really demanding and you easily get tired as the days passed.
I followed the advice to nap when the baby naps, and it is so helpful! Luckily my older kids still nap during the day as well, so we all took naps. Best time ever! We used the store brand formula too for the times when I wasn’t home to nurse or pump. Even though those newborn days are a little stressful, they are fun! And babies grow so fast!
These are amazing tips! Mom are under so much pressure when baby is born all while they are dealing with so many changes to their life and taking care of a little one! This is a great resource for any expecting mom.
i was torn with the sleep when they sleep thing. One part of me wanted to sleep so badly but the other prt of me wanted to use their naptime as my time to get things done. The side that wanted to sleep eventually won the battle and it really did help with being able to keep up with life.
This post reminds me of when I was visiting a friend who had a colicky baby. It was my first time ever experiencing something where a baby was very hard to soothe. They had the most success putting the baby in a swing after he was fed.
I totally agree that it is important for moms to take time to themselves this is something I never did. It’s 10 years later and I still have a hard time doing that. I was so tired the first few months, never slept and I know I could have a used a nap if someone offered me the time to take one.
Finding a balance in the beginning is something that is so hard. I didn’t get a very long maternity leave so I really missed out on that bonding time initially and had a very stressful first year! It got better though once we got into a rhythm. It was something that took time to figure out.
As a mom especially when I was a first time mom it was so important for me to really learn my baby and what different cries meant. I’m glad that we sort of got over that hurdle early and i knew when she wanted a diaper change or to be fed.