Q&A: Expert tips on preparing for your baby's arrival

News On 6 has experienced a bit of a baby boom lately, both on-air and behind the scenes. So, we invited Child Development Expert Kendra Morgan to discuss all things baby-related."

Q: How can we prepare for a baby, and even if the baby is already home from the hospital, how can we adjust?

"So I think the first thing to know is that it's a big transition to bring a baby home. I mean, it affects everything, right? It affects your whole entire house. It affects your marriage and your other siblings, and so it's just a big transition. It's a good transition, but it's still a change. And so be patient with the change. It just takes some time to figure out all the details with a newborn. They're a lot of work."

Q: How important is the first year for a baby's development?

"Huge, more than people probably realize. For neuron development, overall development, the first year is huge for brain development."

Q: What are the top five things a new baby needs?

1. Meeting Their Needs

"So this is a basic thing, but it's probably the most important thing, and so we always tell our families, start paying attention to their cry. Their cry is different when they're hungry versus when they're dirty, when they're in pain, their cry is different. So just really spend some time getting to know your baby and listen to the needs and then meet the needs, meet their basic needs. They have to feel safe."

1. Routine and Structure

"Well, and it takes time, like, you're not going to have a routine that really even the first week or so. I mean, it just takes time to develop that routine. Once you kind of start to meet their needs, understand their cry, they're going to get on a feeding pattern, they're going to get on a nap pattern.

And so just pay attention to those routines and then just make a structured day. The more structured the day is, the more the child will sleep during the night. It's just going to help you in the long run. And then take advantage once you start building a routine, throw in some basic things that you can continue to do as they age.

So we always say, start with nighttime routine. You know that sleep expert always says, make their room dark. They don't need a night light when they're newborns. We want the night light, but they don't need it, so make their bedroom dark, get them in a good sleeping pattern.

Like start developing—read books to them when they're newborns. We'd love for newborns to be read to. So just start developing a routine and some structure."

1. Connecting and Touch

"So really, this could almost be up on that top number one. I think the touch and connection is so important. So lots and lots of eye contact, touch them. We love baby massage. We love bath time, putting lotion on them, but when you're doing all that, you have to talk to them. You have to connect. It's so important for brain development for them to be connected to."

Q: You can have a conversation with a baby even though they don’t understand?

A: "Well, and they might not, and they're not going to talk back. So we find that caregivers are just really quiet, but really, the only way they learn language is by hearing it. So we always say talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. Just talk about what you're doing. Talk about your day, touch them. Connect with them.

When you're feeding them, make eye contact with them. You have to start building those neurological development back-and-forth conversations. So when you talk to them, touch them, then take a break. I mean, it's developing all of those patterns."

1. Playing and Singing

"And I probably could talk about this all day long, because I think we think, oh, let's wait until they can be mobile to really start playing with them. But I mean, start tummy time the day you bring them home. Get on the floor with them, talk to them while they're doing tummy time. It's hard. They have to work really hard.

So the more you're involved in it, and the more you can help them, that's great. So yes, sing, sing, sing. We love for their names to be in songs. We love songs to be made up.

We have parents all the time say, but I don't have a very good voice. They don't really care. They just want you present. They want you to sing and dance and have fun with them. Just spend time with them."

1. Support System

"Well, we hear it all the time, and we hear moms say all the time, 'I feel so lonely.' And that you have all these children, you're taking care of them, but it can be a lonely feeling, and so you've got to develop a support system.

So if your family doesn't live here, it's okay. You have to develop a support system somewhere. I would encourage you to get a part of Building All Children. We do monthly baby play groups so it's birth—one day old up to 12 months.

You come, we connect you. We have a one-year curriculum that we can hand out so you know month by month what to expect. But mainly you have to get connected and involved with other people so that you have a support system."