Scott W. Cohen - Eat, Sleep, Poop: A Common Sense Guide to Your Babys First Year

A COMMON SENSE GUIDE TO
YOUR BABYS FIRST YEAR

Essential Information from an
Award-Winning Pediatrician and New Dad

SCOTT W. COHEN, M.D ., F.A.A.P .

This publication contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is intended to provide helpful and informative material. It is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering medical, health, or any other kind of personal professional services in the book. The reader should consult his or her medical, health, or other competent professional before adopting any of the suggestions in this book or drawing inferences from it.

The author and publisher specifically disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.

Scribner
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 2010 by Scott Cohen, M.D.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Scribner Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

First Scribner trade paperback edition March 2010

SCRIBNER and design are registered trademarks of The Gale Group, Inc., used under license by Simon & Schuster, Inc., the publisher of this work.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or business@simonandschuster.com.

The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

Designed by Carla Jayne Jones

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009037966

ISBN 978-1-4391-1706-4
ISBN 978-1-4391-3252-4 (ebook)

For my daughter, Aubrey Grace

Like most new parents, you will probably be inundated with parenting advice during the first year of your babys life. When she sneezes or spits up or has a fever, youll not only receive unsolicited guidance from friends and family, youll also be tempted to click on to countless informational websites where it can be overwhelming to sort through the sage and not-so-sage advice. And as happens after most Internet searches, youll likely end up with more questions than answers. Thats why Ive written this book: to answer your questions about caring for your baby and to be your commonsense pediatrician-in-residence.

What do I mean by common sense? The philosophy behind Eat, Sleep, Poop is what I call Common Sense Parenting. It basically boils down to this: raising a child should be enjoyable and as stress-free as possible. The most current science and medicine are certainly important when dealing with your babys health and well-being, but so is parenting in a way that feels comfortable and makes sense for your family. I want you to be able to use common sense in raising your baby so that health and safety fit in easily with the fun of having a child. And trust me: it is fun, as well as challenging.

Although humankind has been raising children for a very long time, in this age of overstressing and overparenting, some parents and doctors would have you believe that caring for a child requires systematic calculations, precise schedules, and the input of a host of experts. I believe that informed common sense is your best tool. During this fascinating first year of your babys life, I want to empower you to look at your childs green poop and smile rather than worry; to calmly treat a temperature of 102 knowing that everything will be okay; and to have faith that your baby will learn to sleep through the night without holding a grudge against you.

Eat, Sleep, Poop will give you answers to such new-parent questions as: What should I feed her when shes ready to eat solids? How often should she take a nap? Why does she have a fever? Why is she crying for no reason? Whats that crusty rash on her scalp? And it will also help you figure out when you can handle something on your own and when you should contact your doctor. Included in the back of the book is a section of fact sheets that you can photocopy or tear out for easy reference to help you quickly answer your most common concerns.

I know from personal experience what its like to be a first-time parent, because my wife and I recently welcomed our first daughter, Aubrey, into the world. This book was written during Aubreys first year of life and our first year as parents. I now scrutinize my own advice as a doctor and find myself questioning some of it as a dad. Thats why youll find my Daddy vs. Doctor confessions throughout the book, which hopefully will convince you that doctors are human, too. Even when we know the right thing to do, sometimes our hearts and emotions tell us otherwise. After all, its one thing to advise your patients to let a baby learn to self-soothe by crying through the night. Its another to be the dad listening to his little girl cry for three nights straight.

I developed the ideas behind my Common Sense Parenting philosophy by reflecting on how my parents raised my siblings and me. They didnt have medical degrees, but somehow my mom and dad survived our rashes, whooping cough, vomiting, and diarrhea. Looking back, I sometimes wonder how Im even still here. I tumbled down the stairs in a plastic egg-shaped walker I called my Vroom Vroom. I slept on my stomach. I played in the snow without gloves or a hat. I ate Play-Doh and dirt and dog food. I slept in the same bed as my brother and sister until I was eight. But somehow my parents navigated through it all by applying a little common sense and we turned out just fine. I think their brand of common sense involved knowing when to worry and when not to. When they were worried, they called the doctor. Otherwise, they felt confident they knew what to do.

It is my hope that Eat, Sleep, Poop will give you that kind of confidence so you can enjoy the adventure youre about to begin.

Scott Cohen, M.D., F.A.A.P.

The period before your first baby is born is one of the most exciting times in your life, but also one of the most anxiety-producing and nerve-racking. As anxious parents-to-be, we try to control a situation that is already out of our control, and we find it nearly impossible to focus on what is most importantlooking forward to the babys arrival. In this chapter Im going to help you focus by offering Common Sense Parenting advice on preparing for your babys arrival. Hopefully, youll then be able to cut down the anxiety and concentrate on the excitement.

Heres what well focus on:

What to buy

How to choose a pediatrician

Cord blood banking

What to bring to the hospital

If youre like most couples, as soon as you find out youre having a baby, you are immediately inundated with advice. Everyone with kids tells you what you absolutely must buy for the first year. Unfortunately, most first-time parents have trouble cutting anything from the list of must have baby items, which is why many end up with a bedroom like my friends.