Category: newborns

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Some Parents Are Annoyed by a Hospital Poster Shaming Them for Looking at Their Cell Phones

We all have to answer questions in this day and age about how much, how often, when and where we choose to pick up our phones. Sometimes we’re reading emails from work, or answering texts from friends or family or looking up a recipe for dinner, and other times we might be scrolling through Facebook or keeping up with the latest snark on the news on Twitter.

The truth is that your kids have no idea what the difference is – they see you staring at your phone and they know you’re not paying attention to them, full stop.

It’s complicated, and we all have to decide for ourselves what we want technology in our homes to look like.

The personal nature of those choices is probably why new parents want to snarl at a hospital poster suggesting they’re going to screw up their brand-new bundle by picking up their phones instead of staring lovingly into their sleeping (or screaming) faces.

Even worse – this was posted in a U.K. version of a NICU, meaning that the parents there spend long, stressful hours waiting for the day they can take their child home.

And, if they’re anything like me (who had a healthy, if pissy, newborn), most of the things they’re staring at on their device are answers to panicked questions about all things baby and motherhood.

The sign reads “Mummy and Daddy, Please look at ME when I am feeding. I am much more interesting than your phone!!”

Surely, the person who wrote it intended it as a reminder of the importance of bonding, but it definitely comes across as shaming in a place where added stress is the very last thing anyone needs.

During those long, late hours spent feeding, worrying, and just disconnected from the real world in general, our devices can be like a lifeline to other people – something not to be discounted, even if moderation is obviously key.

The Yeovil District Hospital responded to the outcry with a statement:

“These posters were created by our Special Care Baby Unit nurses following UNICEF baby-friendly accreditation training and have been in place for a few months. They are intended to be used only within the context of the unit, where we support mums of premature or very poorly babies in building a healthy connection.”

Twitter clapbacked at that as well…

Which is fine, but someone should definitely work on their wording. A simple statement about the importance of bonding with premature infants would have sufficed.

Postpartum is a hard enough time, and we’re already questioning literally everything we’re doing – the last thing new parents need is the hospital staff pouring on more of the same.

What do you think? Good reminder or should the hospital just mind their own business?

Let us know in the comments!

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Cocooning Is Something New Parents Are Doing, but It Might Not Be a Great Idea

Forever, new parents have been catered to, helped out, and propped up by the rest of their tribe, family, community, and/or neighbors, and you’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase “it takes a village.”

But while in many Eastern cultures the norm is still to invite willing family members for an extended postpartum stay in order to ease the pressure of the transition on new parents, Western parents are trending the opposite direction. 

Image Credit: Pixabay

It’s being dubbed “cocooning,” and basically means that new parents live in isolation with their newborn for weeks (or even months). Their home turns into a place the world cannot penetrate – not even family members and friends who would offer help during what is an extremely lonely, anxious time.

The thought behind the movement is that the practice keeps baby safe from pathogens, gives new parents the chance to bond, and keeps a calm environment for a newborn just figuring out that they’re no longer safe and comfortable 100% of the time.

That said, listen…as someone who has birthed two babies, I’m here to tell you that grandparents and other people who would change some diapers, put baby to sleep so you could shower, cook dinner, bring groceries, or fold a load of laundry aren’t hurting anyone.

Image Credit: Pixabay

If my own mother had not been around multiple days a week, my child would have been rolling around on a floor that was ankle deep in dog hair and dust, for example.

Not to mention that bonding with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other extended family members is also important – the more people that love and support your child, the better. Multiple studies exist on the importance of active grandparents in children’s lives, and all show that kids who are close to Grandma and Grandpa have greater chances at early success in life.

Cocooning also seems to be a strange doubling-down on the trend toward insulation we’re already seeing in society. Parents of young kids are already lonely. We’re already struggling to make mommy and daddy friends. We already feel as if we’re doing this alone, with only the internet to turn to for answers to our questions and fears.

Image Credit: Pixabay

As a society, we’re becoming more and more isolated, but when you’re turning your entire life upside down, the best thing you can do is invite the people in who are willing to help you right all of the furniture, clean the rug, and feed you dinner while you get your bearings.

It takes a village. Don’t hide from yours.

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The New Baby Smell Activates Your Brain’s Reward Centers

It’s hard to describe how a newborn baby smells, but you definitely know the scent. Although we don’t think about it much, people are highly driven by smell, and it’s an important part of mother-child bonding.

A study published in Frontiers of Psychology explores this bond. The researchers behind the study recruited 30 women: 15 without children and 15 moms who had recently given birth. They measured the brain activity of the women as they smelled different odors, including the odor of newborns, as collected from cotton undershirts. The women had no idea what they were smelling.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Women had a hard time identifying the baby odor, and they said it was pleasant. The brain scans told another story, though. The scans showed activity in the dopamine pathway of the caudate nucleus, which is the region of the brain associated with rewards. The reaction was stronger in the new mothers than in the other women, but it was present in all the women.

Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that triggers feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. Dopamine also plays a role in addiction, although that role is complex and not completely understood.

Photo Credit: Pixabay

Does this mean that women are addicted to their newborn babies?

…No.

But it does help reinforce the that bond mothers have with their babies. The researchers weren’t sure of the exact cause of the dopamine response in the new moms as opposed to childless women – it could perhaps be due to hormonal changes, or maybe to the experience of caring for a newborn.

The researchers didn’t include men in the study, but it would definitely be interesting to see if they have a similar reaction to that new baby smell.

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A Guy Shared Some New Parents’ List of Meal Requests on Nextdoor App and It Is Bonkers

Having your first child is an overwhelming, 24/7 job that usually makes people put aside their pride and reach out for any assistance they can get.

And one of the easiest things they can get is food. And lots of it. It’s often called a “meal train” and it’s so valuable.

But this couple… wow. They’re something else.

Meet Jack Jokinen. He joined the social network Nextdoor, which is basically just Facebook but for your neighborhood. He saw a post from some soon-to-be parents who asked for help after their baby was born.

And then things got CRAZY…

Yeah, we’re ready…

Oh, you don’t think that’s what they’re doing Jack? Well, get ready…

“On a fence of emotions” might just be my new favorite phrase.

But it gets better…

Yeah. YEAH.

And here are the meals…

Breakfast and Lunch…

Dinner…

And even Snacks! Because why not, right?

It keeps going!

And going…

Jack has the right response…

Needless to say, the story went viral and people had some things to say…

Some negative…

Some positive…

What do you think?

Personally, I think this guy had the right reaction.

If you’re asking people to help you out FOR FREE with meals, you can list a couple dietary restrictions… but this is nuts.

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For nominatively challenged…

For nominatively challenged parents, a new company offers help. Future Perfect charges $350 for a personalized list of 10 possible first and middle names for a newborn. For $225, you’ll get a list of first names only, while for $100 they’ll provide “a namestorming session like no other.” And for a mere $75, they’ll also […]

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15 Tweets That Perfectly Sum up Life With a Newborn

Parenting is an incredibly rewarding experience, but it’s definitely also hard, exhausting work. Newborns are especially tough to deal with because they’re constantly crying, pooping, or sleeping. That may not sound so bad, but wait until you experience a wailing newborn at 3:00 a.m. in the morning.

Newborns are tough, which is why I want to hug all 15 of these parents for making me laugh through my exhausted tears.

#1. This continues into toddlerhood but it can be any type of food or sticky substance, not just puke.

Image Credit: Twitter

#2. Times two if you’re doing it with a partner.

Image Credit: Twitter

#3. Mostly when you should be sleeping.

Image Credit: Twitter

#4. There’s no way to turn those things off at the beginning.

Image Credit: Twitter

#5. Totally normal question.

Image Credit: Twitter

#6. That’s sure to freak some people out.

Image Credit: Twitter

#7. Luckily, she won’t remember any of this.

Image Credit: Twitter

#8. Wait, we’re supposed to change?

Image Credit: Twitter

#9. I mean, nice try, though.

Image Credit: Twitter

#10. We’ve all cried over spilt milk if we just spent 20 minutes pumping it in the middle of the night.

Image Credit: Twitter

#11. The sleep deprivation is real.

Image Credit: Twitter

#12. Because we’ve all tried.

Image Credit: Twitter

#13. If it’s the latter I want to be friends with your kid.

Image Credit: Twitter

#14. I’m good.

Image Credit: Twitter

#15. See also: I’ve found my keys in the front door the next morning.

Image Credit: Twitter

Clearly they’ve kept their senses of humor!

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