Secrets of the Nanny Whisperer
A new baby is one of the greatest joys for new parents, but adjusting to life with your baby can be stressful especially for the 75% of American moms who return to work after their pregnancies.
Tammy Gold is a parenting expert and author of the new book “Secrets of the Nanny Whisperer”. She joins us today with tips on how to achieve the perfect balance of a happy baby and a happy mom.
Tammy, thanks for talking with me today. What are the biggest stresses that new moms face?
Moms face a lot of new stresses because their whole identity is changing. One of the biggest stresses is that 42% of all moms stress specifically on feeding including what, when, and how to feed the baby. In particular feeding can be a huge stress to moms.
Why is feeding your baby such a huge stress, and what tips do you have to cope and help alleviate that stress?
Feeding is a huge stress because it's a do or die. It's the one decision that really impacts the health of the child. What crib or stroller to purchase isn't a life or death decision, but formula or breast milk and all of that is very stressful to moms and they really want to make sure they are making the best decision. In actuality, the best decision is really what is best for moms. I tell moms that if you are calm and relaxed then that is really the best thing for you and your baby. If you can breastfeed...terrific, but if you can't then formula-feeding is also terrific. Within the formula category, you don't have to have one particular one that you got from your doctor or one from the hospital, they are all FDA-approved and nutritionally the same. You can pick the one that is the least expensive and then decrease the stress by saving some money and taking those decisions out of the equation.
So what is the real difference between name brand and store brand formulas? Why don't they give the store brands to new moms in the hospital?
That is a great question. There is no difference. The formulas are exactly the same. In order to keep that $600 savings, the store brands do not participate in the sampling program. The sampling program costs millions of dollars to give free to the hospitals and doctors offices who then in turn pass it on to the parents. The parents then think it's great because they get it free for a couple of weeks, but then they have to go pay 50% more to maintain that certain brand. They are all exactly the same and by not giving it free to the pediatricians and hospitals, the store brands companies can maintain that savings throughout and save families up to $600 a year vs. the brand name.
Sometimes when a baby cries, parents just have no idea what the cause is. So how do you crack the code as to why a baby is crying?
Really what I will tell parents is to log what is going on. You want to use your investigative skills. For instance are they hungry or are they sleepy or maybe even a diaper change or overstimulated. Babies cry, obviously, because they can't communicate, but if they are crying for long stretches of time then it may be that they need a more gentle formula or some burping after feeding. By logging when they cry, what's going on, and how much they are eating then you can either crack the code yourself or you can bring that log into your pediatrician to help you figure out what's going on.
When you have a new baby it seems like every second of a parent's life now belongs to that baby, why is making time for yourself so important?
Making time for yourself is critical. The happier you are, the happier your children are. Babies, young children, and infants directly are who they are because of their parents. If you are happy and positive then that's how babies form attachment and feel safe and secure. If you are doing everything right, but are stressed, tired, and depleted then your baby will feel that. So that's why moms need to find time for themselves. If they can't get out of the house then to watch a movie, meet with friends, read a book, or something to decrease the stress and give back to themselves so they are full enough to give to their children.
Where can people go for more information?
They can go to storebrandformula.com for more information about the formulas and cost-saving coupons.
So remember to take the time and enjoy yourself. Give back to yourself, take time for yourself, and don't let the stresses get to you. Your children will sense that stress and feed off of that. Giving back to yourself will also make parenting those infants easier. Check out Tammy Gold's book “Secrets Of The Nanny Whisperer” in stores now.
