Secrets of the Baby Whisperer Quotes

“Start as you mean to go on.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer: How to Calm, Connect, and Communicate with Your Baby

“Remember that everything you do teaches your baby. Therefore, when you put him to bed by cuddling him on your chest or rocking him for forty minutes, in effect you’re instructing him. You’re saying, “This is how you get to sleep.” Once you go down that road, then you’d better be prepared to cuddle and rock him for a long, long time.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“It takes patience and a calm environment. It takes strength and stamina. It takes respect and kindness. It takes responsibility and discipline. It takes attention and keen observation. It takes time and practice—a lot of doing it wrong before you get it right. And it takes listening to your own intuition. Notice how often”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“Back home, being a nanny—or a governess, as we often say—is a recognized profession, regulated by strict laws. A nanny hopeful must train for three years at an accredited nanny college. I was surprised when I came here to find that you need a license to file nails but nothing to look after children.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“One minute, I’m the best and most loving mother in the world to my two-week-old. The next, I feel like I want to leave the house and never return because it’s all too much.” “That’s okay, luv,” I said, smiling. “That just means you’re like every other new mother.” “Really?” she asked. “I was beginning to think something was wrong with me.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“You will be a mum until the day you draw your last breath.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“Whenever your baby wakes in the middle of the night, for whatever reason, never be too playful or friendly. Be loving, take care of the problem, but be careful not to give your baby the wrong idea. Otherwise, she might wake up the next night wanting to play.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“Why would a parent want to put her child in a box with bars in a dark room all by herself?”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“Finally, I said, “No!” rather sharply. His mum looked at me in horror. “We don’t say no to George, Tracy.” “Well, ducky,” I said, “maybe it’s time you started. I can’t very well let him come round here to destroy things my girls know enough not to touch. Besides, this isn’t George’s fault—it’s yours, because you haven’t taught him what’s his and what’s yours.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“What’s the deal? To him, straight lines appear to be moving, because his retinas are not yet fixed.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“It’s hard enough on them to be cast out of the cushy comfort of the uterus—some forced to squeeze their way through a narrow birth canal, others literally plucked from the womb—into the harsh fluorescent light of the delivery room. Along the way, they encounter surgical instruments, drugs, and a host of hands that pull, prick, and scrub them, typically within seconds of their arrival”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“Billions of dollars are spent annually convincing us we must create a proper “environment” for our babies, and parents buy into the idea big time. They think that if they’re not constantly entertaining their baby, they’re somehow failing her, because she’s not getting enough “intellectual stimulation.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“Also, some babies have an allergic reaction to the absorbent granules in disposable diapers, a condition sometimes confused with diaper rash. The difference is that diaper rash is localized, usually around the anus, whereas with an allergy the rash will span the entire area covered by the diaper, up to the waist.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“For example, I recommend to parents who carry their infants around in order to get them to sleep that they try doing that for half an hour with a twenty-pound sack of potatoes. Is that what you want to be doing a few months from now?”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“What she really wants is to have a good moan and then it will be over. But her partner has solutions on the brain and wants to fix the situation, so he comes back with a suggestion like “I’ll buy you a sling” or “Why didn’t you take her for a walk?” Eventually, she gets angry and feels underappreciated. He gets frustrated and feels harassed. He has no idea what her day was really like; all he can think is, What does she want from me? What he wants to do most right now is hide behind a newspaper or turn on the telly to watch his favorite basketball team. At that point, she’s likely to get madder than a wet hen, and instead of the two of them dealing with their baby’s needs, they’re immersed in their own drama.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“Humans, at any age, are habitual creatures—they function better within a regular pattern of events. Structure and routine are normal to everyday life. Everything has a logical order. As my Nan says, “You can’t add eggs to the pudding after it’s baked.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“When you rock any type of baby, sway back and forward, not side to side or up and down. Before your baby was born, she sloshed around front to back inside you as you walked, so she’s used to, and comforted by, that kind of movement.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“I just can’t get over how much babies cry. I really had no idea what I was getting into. To tell you the truth, I thought it would be more like getting a cat. —Anne Lamott in
Operating Instructions”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“Unlike England, where a home health aide nips over every day during the first fortnight and several times a week for the next two months, many new parents in America don’t have anyone around to guide them through the early days.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“realistic: The postpartum period is difficult—a rocky terrain. All but a rare few stumble along the way. (More about Mum recuperating during the postpartum period in Chapter 7.) Believe me, I know that the moment you get home, you’ll probably feel overwhelmed. But if you follow my simple homecoming ritual, you’re less likely to feel frantic. (Remember,”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“In any case, when a woman doesn’t want to breastfeed, we need to support her and we need to stop heaping on the guilt. We also have to stop using the word commitment only in connection with breastfeeding. Any kind of feeding regimen takes commitment.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“Every baby is a person who has language, feelings, and a unique personality—and, therefore, deserves respect.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“one must walk a fine line between responding and rescuing. A baby whose parents respond becomes a secure child who’s not afraid to venture forth. A baby whose parents continually rescue begins to doubt his own capabilities and never develops the strength and skills he needs to explore his world or to feel comfortable in it.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“Some mums with flat nipples will even end up with “T-shirt nipples” after nursing. Though her breasts will change again once the woman stops nursing, they’ll never go back to what they were before. Small-breasted women who breastfeed longer than a year can become flat as pancakes; large-breasted women may experience sagging. Therefore, if a woman is concerned about her body image, it might not be best for her to breastfeed. She’s likely to hear that she’s “selfish” for making such a decision, but who are we to make her feel guilty and wrong?”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“I just can’t get over how much babies cry. I really had no idea what I was getting into. To tell you the truth, I thought it would be more like getting a cat. —Anne Lamott in Operating Instructions”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer

“To calm the Touchy baby, you have to re-create the womb. Swaddle him tightly, snuggle him into your shoulder, whisper a rhythmic sh … sh … sh sound (like the splashing of fluid in the womb) close to his ear, and pat his back gently, mimicking a heartbeat. (This, by the way, will calm most babies, but it works especially well with a Touchy baby.) When you have a Touchy baby, the quicker you learn his cues and his cries, the simpler life is. These babies love structure and predictability—no hidden surprises, thank you.”
― Tracy Hogg, Secrets of the Baby Whisperer