About Your Newborn

Parenting a newborn is a tiring, 24-hour-a-day job. Fortunately, there are programs and resources in your community to help you when you need answers or support.

Babies are learning how to understand the world around them and to communicate with parents, caregivers and loved ones. They are also learning how to move around and how to grasp and hold objects. Learn how you can help your baby grow and develop in all ways, by providing a safe and emotionally secure home. Parents and caregivers often want to know when their baby will learn a certain skill, such as crawling, walking or talking. Just remember that each baby grows and learns in his or her own way.

Among the challenges of parenting newborns are dealing with sleeping, crying and eating. Your sleep will be interrupted for some time because your baby will wake in the night. Learn the best way of making sure you get enough sleep and the best way of preparing your baby to sleep. You will also need to learn how to deal with crying. All babies cry and they cry for many different reasons. Learning the best way to soothe your baby will allow for a happier and more restful home for everybody. Feeding your baby can sometimes be a challenge. Manitoba offers resources, including classes, support groups and a telephone hotline, to help you with questions you may have about breastfeeding or bottle feeding.

Sometimes parents and caregivers wonder if punishment or discipline can help them correct their baby's behaviour, such as excessive crying. However, because babies are so young their brains are not yet capable of understanding that their crying affects you or that you want them to stop. Learn positive ways to dealing with your child's behaviour, and if you ever feel overwhelmed or angry get help.