6/8/11

Last night Josh and I attended Ministry Health Care's Basic Infant Care and Safety class. The class has a fee of only $25 and we got a baby CPR kit. The kit includes an inflatable baby, a CPR and choking quick reference card and a DVD. We also got a light weight swaddler.

At the class we learned a lot of important things. We obviously learned infant CPR and what to do if the baby is choking. We learned how to give the baby a sponge bath, how to properly put a baby in the car seat and how to make sure it fits right. We also learned how to swaddle the baby with a blanket and with a swaddler.

Josh learned how to put a diaper on. Believe it or not Josh has never changed a diaper in his life! The first diaper I ever changed was my baby sister's when I was 7 years old within the first two weeks of her life, I remember her umbilical cord hadn't fallen off yet, and it was a cloth diaper. I have changed a lot of diapers in my life between her, babysitting and my nephews, but that's nothing compared to how many I will change when we have our baby or maybe babies.

Another big topic of the class was SIDS. We got tips on how to prevent SIDS. The big thing was the proper way to put the baby to bed. Nothing but baby in the crib. No pillow, no blankets, no toys, no bumber pads. They sell mesh crib pads now so you don't need to worry about baby's limbs getting stuck in the bars, but also don't need to worry about them suffocating either.  Toys also serve as a suffocation hazard as do pillows and blankets. You should swaddle baby and place it on top of a fitted sheet in the crib on its back.

We also talked about cigarette smoke putting babies at risk for SIDS. The nurse suggested that any family members who smoke have a smoking shirt. When they go outside to smoke they should put on a designated shirt then take it off and put on clean shirt when they come in to hold the baby. My sister smokes I'm sure that won't go over well when I ask her to do this. Luckily our baby will be born in late fall so she'll be wearing a coat when she goes out to smoke for at least the first 4 months of the baby's life.

The class was great and we really learned a lot. If you want more information about classes offered at Ministry Health Care see their website http://ministryhealth.org.