How to Hold a Newborn Baby

Holding a newborn baby can be a daunting task, especially if you've never done it before. But once you have mastered the simple technique, there is no better feeling than cradling a newborn baby in your arms.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Place your left hand under the infant's head and neck and your right hand under his bottom. If you are left handed, simply reverse left and right in these steps.
2. Lift the newborn toward you using a scooping motion.
3. Bring the baby close enough to your body so that her head can rest against your chest. Then carefully shift support of the baby's head from your left hand to your left arm.
4. Slide your now free left hand down under the baby's bottom, taking the weight off your right.
5. Wrap the baby with your right arm for extra support and snuggling, or use it to go about other activities as you normally would (albeit one handedly!)

Tips & Warnings

• When holding a baby for the first time, try sitting down and having someone place him into your cradled arms. That way you won't feel as nervous about dropping him.
• Generally, you'll want to use your non dominant hand to support the newborn baby’s head, which means the left hand for right handed people and the right hand for left handed people.
• Some crying babies respond well to a beating heart. Position baby's head on the left side of your body to take advantage of this.
• Newborn babies have a soft spot in their skulls where the bone has not yet fused together. Be careful when handling their heads.
• Newborn babies have very little muscle control and cannot hold up their heads. Be sure to support the baby's neck at all times to prevent the head from flopping back.