Parenting Solutions: Encouragement for Everyday Parenting Book

My big take-aways from this book:

1) Slow down with your baby - go at your newborn's pace, which is way, way slower than you'd expect

2) Respect your baby's personhood - develop an attitude toward your baby like they are a person who is in the room, which they are! Let them know what you're going to do next ("Now we're going to change your diaper... Now it's time to eat... Now it's time to go to sleep...")

3) Give your newborn a tour of the house when you first arrive home from the hospital, or, in case of a home birth, shortly after delivery.

4) Newborns have a very cyclical rhythm to their eating and sleeping patterns - once you discover it and get in tune with it, it becomes much easier to help the baby be comfortable and happy.

Great book. It may seem silly (or obvious) to focus on talking to your baby like they understand you and including them in on stuff, but doing so really helps YOU, the parent, keep ever-present with the fact that you have a whole person on your hands that you're tending to.