Hug him. Hug him again. And again. Now a kiss. Again. 'Nother hug. Smile at your wife. Kiss her. Hug him again. Group hug. Group snuggle. Inhale deeply. Rinse. Repeat.

Haven't had much time to read let alone post on Neatorama, nor did I get much sleep lately ... It's amazing how much work a little baby entails.

Yes, let your baby sleep with you. Independence is not what a newborn needs, but confidence that his parents are there, and that his needs are met. If a little baby cries and cries and is not answered, he will stop, true enough. That means he has given up hope. Answer his cries, and he will become confident and independent rather than clingy.

Oh, and have fun! Take the time now for all the little things. Play cool tunes, go for walks, even when it's snowing.

Two pieces of practical advice:

- When changing his diaper, have a cloth or clean diaper at the ready. The moment you flip down the front of the dirty diaper, drop the cloth over his front. The sudden exposure to cool air will often trigger him to pee, and that way he won't hose down the walls. (Mine once managed to pee in his own ear.)

- When he has a stuffy nose, stick a wedge (such as a couple of books) under the head end of his mattress. Having his head slightly elevated will help him to breathe a little easier and will help him sleep.

One piece of philosophical advice:

- It isn't as scary as you think it's going to be.

He is beautiful

My advice would be to "chill" and go easy on yourselves.

With the first child everything is ecstatic and stressful. You, as parents, need to learn a new trade and your parents and grandparents may turn into psychopaths.

Just remember that sonny boy is really not all THAT fragile and that you don't need to be worried ALL the time.

I always told myself i would read "The Chosen," by chaim potok, "To kill a mockinbird," and "Raise High the roofbeams, carpenters" again when i'm a father. I hope you do too. There are things here to be learned from.

What an angel!

Start reading to him NOW, if you don't like to read out loud, get books on tape/cd from the library. My 8 year old can read at an 8th grade level because I started reading to her when she was born.

Don't start letting your baby sleep with you, they can cry for awhile, you are not being mean, you are giving them some independence. You will all sleep better in the long run.

Trust your instinct, you will be fine, they don't break very easily & most of the time you will know what to do.

Here's a bit of advice: You and your wife are the experts on your children. Everyone else may think they know better, but they don't.

Here's what worked for us: we were "attachment" parents before we even heard of the term. Basically, we gave babies the love and attention when and how they wanted and needed. Our babies slept with us, nursed on demand, and were picked up when they cried.

Yes, it was a sacrifice, but we've reaped the benefits. They did not become "brats." As they grew older, we had rules in our house like everyone else -- see my post under swaddling/spanking.

But the bottom line is that our boys love us and each other, and they've grown into wonderful young men who are loved and respected by their friends, schools, and community.

Swaddling worked wonders for our boy. Blankets are a pain - get the Miracle Blanket. Absolutely the best $30 we spent on our newborn.

The DVD of "Happiest Baby on the Block" had tips that worked well for us, and just made a lot of sense to us.

Enough with the products. Best advice I got regarding a newborn? He is not crying to piss you off. He is incapable of using emotion as a tool (yet!). Infinite patience and a stout heart are required.

Don't use baby talk with them. Use normal words, though you can certainly spice them up with silly voices and general goofiness. Our 27 month old has the vocabulary of many 4 or 5 year olds, can form accurately assembled sentences and carry on complex conversations.

I second what all have said before: Structure and discipline will do more good than "letting them find their own way". Yes, it actually takes effort. Yes, you will all be happier on down the road.

Finally, two words: Sleep training. Likely to be one of the hardest things you can experience with a 6 to 12 month old, but it's better than money in the bank. After a couple of weeks, we could set our clocks by his internal naptime and bedtime clock, and he sleeps wonderfully.

Best wishes and good luck!

Advice? As the mother of a 27 year old and a 23 year old, I think I'm qualified so... My advice is just enjoy life. There will surely be times when things don't go so well; there will be pressure from all sides to do everything just right; everyone will think they know more about your child than you do. Just ignore those people. Ten or twenty years later you'll wonder what all the fuss was about and you'll regret the time you wasted on things that seemed important at the time. If, when your child is an adult, he is one of your best friends you will have been successful.

The most precious gift you can give your son, yourself, and your wife is time. Spend as much as you can with them. Hold your son as much as possible - there will be times when he's not around that you'll find it a comfort. Enjoy his language, his games, his way of explaining the world to you. Listen.

Given a choice between family and work, choose family. Yah, we have to earn a living, and we want to move up, and we want to succeed and we want to give them more than we ever had. But they're interested more in you - not in things.

When you're at work - work. When you're home, then be home. You know what I mean.

Remember to share yourself.

Nuff said for now.

I recommend a welding mask for nappy duty XD