Parenting Your Newborn, with Dr. Bob Hamilton

The good news is that figuring out how to parent your newborn is something you can do while you discover what type of parent you want to be, and most of the time, your baby will lead the way. The even better news is that it will probably involve a skin-to-skin extravaganza. Dr. Bob Hamilton is here to tells us more.

What we talked about:

• The Hamilton Hold
• Shocking: babies cry all the time
• Following your baby’s lead
• The beauty of a skin-to-skin extravaganza
• How to engage with and be present for your baby
• Mirrored neurons
• “They need your face.”
• What parent do you want to be?
• Creating a sense of closeness
• Including your child in your life
• Including your child in your community

Mentioned links and other related articles*:

• The Hamilton Hold
• 7 Secrets of the Newborn: Secrets and (Happy) Surprises of the First Year, Dr. Bob Hamilton’s book – Head’s up: consider going right into the chapters relating to babies (which is the purview of the pediatrician) and skipping the parts related to birth (which is the purview of OBs and midwives). In particular, the “7 recommendations for a great delivery”, which tend to be paternalistic, a bit fear-mongering, and sometimes not evidence based. (They include things like going light on birth plans and letting the medical staff “do their job”, for fathers to keep a low profile, that you should give birth at the hospital because it’s the only safe place to do so, and not to have a waterbirth.)

Related podcast:

• 12 Days of Birth, with Adriana Lozada
• A Mindful and Minimalist Baby Registry, with Megan Whitaker
• Your Baby’s Calming Reflex, with Dr. Harvey Karp

Courtesy of Dr. Bob Hamilton

About Dr. Bob Hamilton

Robert C. Hamilton, M.D., has over three decades of experience as a pediatrician and is the owner and founder of Pacific Ocean Pediatrics, established in 1996 in Santa Monica, California. Dr. Hamilton is also the creator of the “Hamilton Hold,” a method for soothing crying babies seen by over 30 million people in his instructional video on YouTube. He’s also the proud father of 6 children and is grandpa to 8 more little ones. He lives in Santa Monica with his high school sweetheart, Leslie, to whom he has been married 45 years.

Title music: “Vibe Ace” by Kevin MacLeod, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).

Sponsorship music: “Air Hockey Saloon” by Chris Zabriskie, from the Free Music Archive / CC BY (edited for length).