Adopting a child is a wonderfully life-changing experience. But before you’ve created your forever family through adoption, it’s important to address areas where additional training and support may be needed. Parenting is an exciting adventure which can be challenging. We encourage adoptive families to learn all that they can about being parents before bringing their baby (or child) home through taking a baby care class. Babies definitely don’t come with instruction manuals, so you’ll be thankful that you learned about newborn care before you adopted.  

Most women having a baby biologically learn about the feeding, care, and development of babies in a childbirth class or at a course for expectant parents. Fortunately, there are hospitals and adoption support groups that have started to offer newborn care and parenting classes to adoptive couples. Ask your local hospital, a pediatrician, parent support group, or local chapter of Resolve for information.

If you feel uncomfortable taking childcare classes with pregnant parents, try searching for “newborn care classes” online. One resource that we found is New Parents Academy, which can be accessed online.

Be taught how to keep your baby safe by learning basics such as baby-proofing your house, car seat safety, and avoiding falls, burns, choking, and other dangers. The baby/childcare class you attend should include infant CPR, diapering, infant safety, newborn care, feeding, baby bathing, and when to call your pediatrician. By taking a baby care class now, you’ll have the skills and information needed to feel confident about caring for your newborn!

Being a parent is one of the most rewarding experiences you’ll have. Although though the job is demanding, it can really grow your capacity for love in ways you never imagined. This is why most parents (adoptive or biological) can barely recall a time when their child wasn’t with them. For many adoptive parents, the adoption wait and the work it took to adopt fades into a distant memory.

Written by Heidi Keefer

Heidi Keefer is a Content Creator for Lifetime Adoption and has 15 years of experience in the field of adoption. An author of thousands of blog posts over the years, Heidi enjoys finding new ways to educate and captivate Lifetime’s ever-growing list of subscribers.

Heidi has a keen eye for misplaced apostrophes, comma splices, and well-turned sentences, which she has put to good use as a contributor to Lifetime’s award-winning blogs. She has written and published hundreds of adoption articles which explore the various facets of domestic infant adoption today.