Happy Mommy Happy Baby!: Why Creating a Routine Is Important for Your Baby's Sense of Security and How It Makes Life Easier for You

By Elizabeth L. Rojo R.N.

Happy Mommy Happy Baby is a short book about the importance of creating a routine for you and your baby while keeping in mind that there are certain needs that are first and foremost, essential to raising a baby and toddler, such as eating, sleeping and hygiene.

Elizabeth forces mothers and fathers to take a look at the fact that a baby coming into their world is doing exactly that, coming into their world. It is up to them to decide what their babys needs are while still being able to focus on their own needs, each other and the needs of other children and responsibilities they may have.

No matter if you are a stay at home mother or a part-time working mother or a full time working mother, the way in which your baby is cared for and what kind a routine he or she may need is up to you. No two mothers and fathers have the same lifestyle but the importance of creating a routine and sticking to it is imperative to create a sense of security for your baby and make things easier for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 21, 2005
• ISBN: 9781465320759

Elizabeth L. Rojo R.N.

Elizabeth Rojo is a registered nurse in the field of maternal fetal medicine at Georgetown University Hospital, where she has worked, part-time, for over twelve years. In 1999 she was asked to be on the Advisory Board of Nurses at Marymount University, a position she still holds today. Elizabeth Rojo has an R.N. degree from Marymount University. The author is the mother of four and grandmother of two. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband Eric and two of their children.

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Copyright © 2005 by Elizabeth L. Rojo R.N..

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

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Contents

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CONCLUSION

Dedication

For my dear mother, Giorgetta Bonamico Llop, for teaching me the value of setting up a schedule and most of what I know about raising young children. To my eldest daughter, Cristina, for helping me to put my thoughts into words and giving me the confidence to write this book. My other children, Caterina, Phillip and Anna for their constant support on this project. To my loving husband, Eric, who initially inspired me to teach others what he witnessed worked so well in our home.

FOREWORD

Children are invaluable gifts. They challenge our spirit, uplift our hearts, generate strong emotional feelings, and give us constant hope that the future will always be better than the present. How we raise our children is a statement of our commitment to their well-being, their development, and sometimes their successes and failures. Children are a product of their environment. Although they may have inherited impressive skills and intelligence, the complete development of these talents is influenced by the time we spend with our children and the environment that we create for them.

Elizabeth’s book Happy Mommy, Happy Baby: Why Creating a Routine Is Important for Your Baby’s Sense of Security and How It Makes Life Easier for You is an excellent summary of the guidelines we must consider to optimize the growth and development of our children. It is a must-read for parents, child-care providers, and any person with the desire to better understand how to positively influence the growth and development of our children. Elizabeth’s training as a registered nurse provides additional focus on the health of the newborn and recommendations to minimize illness and trauma. She recognizes that the commitment to raising our children should not result in denying us the opportunity to appreciate our lives and needs. In fact, this book emphasizes that our success in raising our children is enhanced by taking time to recognize and appreciate our needs as adults.

Chapters 1, 2, 5, and 6 emphasize the importance of scheduling in establishing a routine that accommodates both the needs of the child and of the parents. There is a discussion on scheduling times for feeding, for playing, and for sleeping. Elizabeth describes how the newborn adapts to his environment and how this adaptation can be a difficult or an easy transition.

Chapter 4 offers helpful hints on how to develop the newborn’s environment. This is a very comprehensive discussion of the importance of creating an environment that is conducive to the needs of both the newborn and other members of the family, including the parents and siblings. Creating such an environment frequently avoids the animosity that may develop between siblings. The chapter discusses multiple things to consider in the establishment of a safe, efficient, loving, and supportive environment.

Chapter 7 is a nice synopsis of the expectations of the physical and biologic development of the newborn – what to expect, what to prepare for, and what training will be necessary to promote the development of the newborn.

The final chapter of Happy Mommy, Happy Baby is a brief review of some of the health topics to consider in the newborn. This chapter discusses the newborn diet, the importance of nursing, and the consideration of appropriate maneuvers in reducing the incidence of illness.

As a practicing maternal-fetal medicine specialist, I care for patients whose pregnancies are frequently complicated and whose prognosis may be precarious at best. The stress and strain that these pregnant women endure throughout their pregnancies is unfortunate and sometimes overwhelming. However, for the majority of these women who have a successful pregnancy, I anticipate that the knowledge that they may gain from Happy Mommy, Happy Baby may enhance their enjoyment of their newborn child. Having overcome the concerns and uncertainty of the pregnancy, the experience may now be tempered by the reality of a new life that has been nurtured in the womb and now requires more nurturing in the world.

I applaud Elizabeth for having had the insight and commitment to take her experiences as a mother and as a registered nurse to publish an excellent resource. The need for information on raising our children is always needed to discover and explore better and more effective ways to raise our children. The more time we take to understand, identify, and respond to the needs of our children, the more success we will have in improving our communities.

Kerry M. Lewis, MD

Director, Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine

Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Howard University Hospital

INTRODUCTION

Children can be one of the greatest satisfactions in life and give their parents more happiness and fun than anything else. They help to maintain parents’ youth and joy of living. The excitement and fears that come with having a child are usually multiplied once your new baby is born. This is true whether you are having your first child, and for the first time in your lives, you are faced with a being that is totally dependent on you for his or her very existence, or if you are having a second or third child and are unsure of how you are going to deal with the multiple needs that your children will have.

Child care is a great art and the most important job that any parent will ever undertake. This responsibility is both the father’s and the mother’s, and from the moment your baby is born, you will want to work together to see that this most important job is well done. Realizing that in today’s world the extended family is very often far away or nonexistent due to a variety of reasons, in many cases, there is no one to look to for guidance, which often makes having your new baby even more overwhelming.

The thought of writing this book came to me because not only am I a mother of four, but I am also a registered nurse in the area of maternal-fetal medicine at Georgetown University Hospital, where I have worked part-time for over twelve years. During this time, I have received countless questions from mothers who have apprehensions or just need some advice and direction about what to do with a new baby. Very often, they are surprised by my answers because, as you will soon read, I am a big believer that a child coming into your