How to Survive Taking Care of Newborn Baby
Guide
Newborn Infant Care Nuts: What to Know When You Get out the Hospital
What to pay attention to, the kinds of schedules to follow, and what y'all don't demand to worry well-nigh at all.
Credit... Aart-jan Venema
This guide was originally published on May half-dozen, 2019 in NYT Parenting.
Life with a newborn tin be magical — and also overwhelming, exhausting and terrifying. I still retrieve the twenty-four hour period I brought my son home from the hospital and thought: How do I care for this tiny, needy creature? Where is his owner's manual? But hard as being a new parent can be, you're probably going to do fine. "Babies are a lot stronger than parents may requite them credit for," said Dr. Jennifer Shu, M.D., an Atlanta-based pediatrician and co-writer of "Heading Home With Your Newborn: From Nascency to Reality." (I recollect our week-old son rolling off a couch once and thinking we had cleaved him. He was fine.) Over time, too, parents learn to detect and understand their baby'southward needs, desires and schedules. Caring for a newborn — a baby under 28 days old — is not easy, only it does become more manageable, specially with the right advice on hand. For this newborn guide, I spoke with 3 pediatricians and a certified pediatric sleep consultant, collecting tips on what parents should pay attention to, what kinds of schedules they should follow, what they should do and what they don't need to worry about.
Whether you're breastfeeding or using formula, feed your babe frequently.
If a mom is breastfeeding — the American University of Pediatrics recommends doing so for at to the lowest degree 6 months — her trunk will usually start producing breast milk inside three days of nativity. Before that, her breasts will produce a thick, xanthous food-filled liquid called colostrum.
At offset, a nursing mother might have to work to ensure that her infant correctly latches, or fastens onto her breast, in order to eat. If you're having problem establishing a practiced latch or getting your baby to eat, talk to a certified lactation consultant; most hospitals and birthing centers have at to the lowest degree one on staff. You tin too discover a private lactation consultant via the U.s. Lactation Consultant Association.
[How to breastfeed during the start two weeks of life]
No affair whether yous're breastfeeding or formula feeding, newborns should exist fed every one to 3 hours, and then that they eat viii to 12 times in 24 hours. (If you're using formula, feed ane to two ounces at a time. The C.D.C. has information on how to choose, prepare and store formula.) Frequent meals assistance newborns regain weight that they may take lost subsequently birth. As your babe grows, she will gradually be able to eat more at each feeding and eat fewer times each twenty-four hours and nighttime.
Don't fret if your infant doesn't burp afterward a feeding. "Babies will burp if and when they need to," said Dr. Diane Cicatello, Chiliad.D., a developmental and behavioral pediatrician and vice chair of pediatrics at CareMount Medical in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Sleep when your infant sleeps — and start a bedtime routine.
Babies under the age of 1 should ever be put to sleep on their backs — never on their sides or stomachs — because back sleep minimizes the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. Later the American University of Pediatrics began recommending that babies be put to slumber on their backs, the incidence of SIDS dropped by more than half.
At commencement, newborns slumber a lot — about sixteen to 17 hours a day — but that sleep is broken up every hour or ii by periods of wakefulness. "In the early on weeks, your baby will mostly wake but long enough to be fed and inverse," said Massachusetts-based certified pediatric slumber consultant Arielle Greenleaf. Since your baby volition as well be awake for brusque periods throughout the dark, which volition inevitably disrupt your sleep, "in order to stay well rested, you should absolutely sleep when your baby sleeps," she said.
Some babies have their days and nights mixed upward and may sleep more during the day than at night. If that's the case, Greenleaf suggested waking your baby whenever daytime naps exceed 2 hours. Y'all may also want to beginning a bedtime routine, which serves as a social cue that information technology is time for your babe to sleep for a longer stretch. A newborn bedtime routine might involve irresolute your baby into pajamas, swaddling him, feeding him, reading to him and singing him songs. "When parents are able to create a predictable routine for a baby — or as predictable every bit it can exist in the early on days — babies start to empathise the menses of their 24-hour interval and what to look side by side," Greenleaf explained.
It's also fine to permit your baby fuss for a few minutes at night if she's not hungry or soiled; you don't accept to rock or agree her constantly. "Permit them see if they can naturally autumn asleep on their ain," said Dr. Angela Mattke, M.D., a pediatrician at the Mayo Clinic Children's Center in Rochester, Minn.
Breast-stroke your babe safely, but not as well often.
Spot clean your babe every day around his oral cavity, neck and groin — basically, anywhere that gets muddy. As for proper bathing, "ane to two times a week is actually plenty," Shu said, and bathing too frequently tin lead to dry skin or eczema, a skin condition characterized by crimson, itchy skin and rashes.
[How often should you bathe your baby ?]
To wash a baby before her umbilical cord stump falls off — which usually happens 5 to 15 days afterward birth — yous'll want to give sponge baths. To do that, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends wrapping your baby in a towel and laying her down on a soft apartment surface. Commencement wipe her face with a clean, moist washcloth — you lot don't want to use soap because it could get into her eyes or oral cavity — then apply a small amount of infant lather onto the washcloth and gently wipe the rest of her body. Then wipe your infant's trunk once more with a clean clammy washcloth. After the bath, consider applying a infant moisturizer, such as petroleum jelly, Mattke said, to prevent dry pare.
Once your baby'southward umbilical cord stump has fallen off, you tin can bathe him in a difficult plastic baby bathtub or basin. Before starting the bath, brand sure y'all have everything yous need within reach — baby soap or shampoo, washcloths, a cup for rinsing and a dry towel. (If y'all need to get something after you've put your infant in the bath, bring your baby with you — never exit a baby unattended in a bath or he could drown.) Fill up the bath with two inches of warm water effectually 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Place your infant on his back in the bath and wash him with a washcloth and a small amount of baby soap, rinsing with clean warm water afterwards. Consider applying moisturizer such as petroleum jelly to your babe's damp skin later on.
When your baby is awake, bail with her, at-home her and do tummy time.
One of the best ways to bond with your infant when she'south awake is through skin-to-pare contact — resting your bare-chested baby on your bare chest, for example. Studies accept shown that babies who feel skin-to-peel contact immediately later nascency are more likely to be breastfed, are breastfed for longer and have healthier responses on heart and breathing tests. Shu likewise suggested talking to your baby regularly and, since babies are nearsighted, getting your face up up close to her so she can see you better.
When your babe gets fussy, consider using some or all of the "v Southward'south" — swaddle, side or stomach position (only when awake!), shush, swing and suck — which were first suggested by pediatrician Harvey Karp, M.D., writer of "The Happiest Baby on the Block." If you want to introduce a pacifier to give your baby something to suck on, it's all-time to wait until after he has learned how to nurse or drink well from a bottle, Shu said.
Don't forget nearly tummy time, which is "really important for gross motor evolution, head control and cervix force," Mattke said. To do breadbasket fourth dimension, place your awake baby on her tummy on a stable soft surface two to iii times a 24-hour interval for 3 to five minutes. Engage with your infant on the floor to keep her entertained. You can also do tummy time on your chest if your baby prefers that, Mattke added.
Ask for support.
Becoming a parent is exciting, only it can as well be exhausting and unsettling. If y'all are struggling with the transition, inquire your partner, if yous have one, for assistance or reach out to other family members or friends. "A tired, stressed out, poorly nourished and emotionally impoverished parent or caregiver cannot nurture their child," Cicatello said. Ask friends or family members to agree your baby, change him, accept him out for walks or bottle-feed him expressed breast milk or formula.
More than one-half of mothers feel "postpartum blues" — mood swings, loss of appetite or sleeping problems. (Partners can feel depressed, too.) Ofttimes, these symptoms resolve on their ain within 2 weeks of nativity. But if your mood swings are severe, you aren't sleeping much or are sleeping likewise much, or you lot are feeling similar you can't do everyday tasks, you lot may exist experiencing postpartum low, which affects 1 in nine mothers. If you recollect yous might exist depressed, talk to your doctor correct away to go the help you need.
When to Worry
If your baby has a temperature above 100.4 (always take a baby'southward temperature with a rectal thermometer), call your doctor immediately, because a fever in a newborn tin be a sign of a serious infection. It's as well a proficient idea to call your pediatrician if your baby isn't eating well or if she is crying constantly. Talk to your doctor, too, if you meet signs of worsening jaundice — a condition in which there is too much bilirubin, a yellowish pigment made past reddish blood cells, in the blood. Signs of worsening jaundice include increased yellowing of your baby'due south skin (especially on her confront, stomach, arms or legs) or yellowing of the whites of her eyes.
Melinda Wenner Moyer is a science announcer, mom of two, and author for Slate's science-based parenting column.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/article/newborn-baby-care-guide.html
0 Response to "How to Survive Taking Care of Newborn Baby"
Post a Comment