Newborn Care Guide.
Caring for your newborn can feel scary and overwhelming. Today, we’ll be talking about the top newborn care tips you should know to help you take care of your baby.
The first step to holding a baby is to washing your hands. Washing your hands helps to prevent the spread of infection. Baby’s heads are heavier and bigger than their body, and their head and neck muscles are weak, so they cannot support their head independently. It’s very important that you’re providing support just below the bottom of the head. Their heads are sore after birth, so you have to be gentle. If you put pressure on the back of the head, this can actually upset the baby, and it can often lead to feeding difficulties. Finally, babies often prefer a curled-up position because it resembles their position in the womb. So, if you find your baby curled up on your chest, that’s actually normal.
Most parents want to know, ‘How should I care for the umbilical cord?’ The umbilical cord is the leftover piece of the cord that’s going to be on what your baby’s new belly button will be. It usually dries out and falls off within the first two weeks of life. Your job is to keep it clean and dry. Until it comes off, you only want to sponge bath your baby. Every time you change the baby’s diaper, you want to check. Avoid wiping the umbilical cord unless it’s soiled. And then you want to make sure you fold down the front of the diaper so you leave the umbilical cord open to air. Don’t use alcohol unless your pediatrician tells you to do so. It can actually kill off the good bacteria that helps the cord to dry out and fall off naturally. You want to let it fall off naturally. Never pull the umbilical cord stump yourself. And finally, if you see any discharge, redness, or it smells, you want to contact your pediatrician because these are signs of an infection. Newborns’ nails can be long at birth, and they grow fast, so you want to keep them trim and short. It’s very important to do this because they like to scratch their face because they’re used to having their hands near their face and your belly. In the first couple of months, your baby’s nails are actually attached to their skin, so you can’t use clippers.
Changing diapers is one of the most overwhelming things for new parents. So, for starters, it is normal by the end of week one that a baby should be having 6 to 8 wet diapers per day plus bowel movements. This means you’re changing a diaper up to 10 times per day, and the more you change it, the more it’s going to help prevent diaper rash. It’s important that you have a clean surface and you gather all your supplies before you start. Cold air in the genital area stimulates the urge to urinate, so both girls and boys will pee once you open up that diaper. Additionally, if you open your baby boy’s diaper and you see the penis is erect, that usually means they’re going to pee. When you’re dealing with a baby girl, it’s important to wipe from front to back to avoid her getting a urinary tract infection. The first stool can be challenging to clean. So, one of the best things you can do, which can save time and money, is to actually take the front part of the diaper and wipe from front to back. It’s usually quick, gentle, and effective. Finally, get that clean diaper on and secure before throwing away the garbage. This leads to less accidents.
Burping a baby is extremely important to help prevent colic and upset stomach. Newborn babies will feed 8 to 10 times in a 24-hour period if they’re breastfed, and approximately every 2 to 3 hours if they are formula fed. The first breast milk is colostrum. It’s very thick and sticky, so no burping is required, but it’s a good practice time for you if you want. After that, whether you’re formula feeding or breastfeeding, you want to make sure the baby is being burped. If your baby has swallowed amniotic fluid, then you will need to burp them because they’ll have an upset stomach in the hospital. Babies who have a tongue-tie will also swallow air, and they’ll need to be burped more frequently. And this includes a tongue-tied baby who’s only using a bottle. Proper burping, like I said, it reduces colic and spit up. You want to do this halfway through the feeding and again at the end. You want to hold baby upright on your shoulder and you pat or rub the baby’s back. Gentle but felt. If it’s really, really light, it won’t work. And remember, burping can take a few minutes. Don’t rush it. After you are done, you want to make sure that you wipe the baby’s mouth and always keep a burp cloth handy because spitting up is normal. Alternative positions for burping your baby can include sitting your baby on your knee and rubbing their back.
Swaddling is a technique for wrapping your baby to sleep, and it’s very commonly used in newborns because it assists with sleep. It keeps the baby feeling warm, and they feel safe because it keeps legs and arms close to their body like when they were in your belly. It also limits the startle reflex, which can wake them up. Now, you can get premade swaddles or you can use a regular blanket, and practice makes perfect in order to learn how to swallow. For a blanket, you want to fold down one corner and place the baby in the center of that with the shoulders, even with the fold. You tuck one hand into the pocket that’s naturally created and wrap the blanket around the baby. Then bring the bottom of the baby’s blanket up, but don’t cover their face. Then put the other hand in the other pocket, wrap across, and tuck in snugly. Make sure the baby’s face is clear, never covered. Also, if you have a baby born with hip dysplasia, there’s special swaddling that will be shown to you by your pediatrician. Finally, you want to stop swaddling once the baby learns how to roll over because this increases the risk of SIDs, and rolling over usually happens around 2-4 months.