Your first child

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Looking after a child was so much easier than I thought it would be. I thought I would be horrible. But I actually got compliments on how good a mother I was. A pleasant surprise for once in my life instead of an unpleasant one.

Hi Bella, I hope you are feeling well, are you still pregnant or is baby here? If baby is here already I hope the birth went well and you are both doing okay.

The best thing I did was to read a book called "Baby Talk" by Dr Sally Ward. It tells you how to talk to your baby and play with them from birth to four years. There are lists of toys and books for each age, and what games to play and so on. But basically the advice was play with your baby alone in a quiet room with plenty of toys for thirty minutes every day, watching closely to see what they are interested in and talking about that, and copying the sounds they make. It's pure magic!

Next best thing I did was hold my baby over a bucket or the toilet every time I changed her nappy, and whisper "wee-wee" or "poo-poo" depending what she did. She got the idea straight away, and life was so much easier as a result - very few poopy nappies ever, and potty trained at 19 months. Google "elimination communication".

Third best thing was to join a web forum of mothers whose babies were born the same month as my daughter. I learned so much from them. Any time I have a question, I ask them, it's much easier to compare notes than with the mothers I know in the real world for some reason.

HTH

I think you will be surprised how naturally everything comes. I had the book "What to Expect the First Year" and it was a great book!! Very helpful! There are tons of sites that are helpful too. One favorite of mine is www.kellymom.com. Another is www.askdrsears.com . If you have sleep troubles The Happiest Baby on the Block is a great book.

Good luck! You'll do great!

Thanks again everyone. I still have 5 weeks to go until the due date. *smiles* It goes so quickly.