Taking Care of a Newborn

Nothing can be compared with the feeling of holding your kid for the first time. After my daughter was born, I didn’t want to let her go. I couldn’t sleep the very first night, on the one hand I was thrilled and on the other hand scared. I thought something can go wrong if I not look at her.  Sound familiar?

Taking care of a newborn baby is like you acquire new skills and get new experience in your life. And good news is that you will learn very quickly.

In reality the first weeks are not so easy. Yes, it is true taking care of a newborn baby for the first time is not just walk in a park. But you little treasure has not so much needs and they are as following:

1) need to be fed in time;

2) temperature in your room. It can be too cold or too hot for your baby;

3) needs to be changed. Change diapers when it is wet or dirty;

4) attention. Do not leave your child alone for a long time. Your newborn child needs attention and care more often that grown up children.

When you hear cry and scream of your baby it merely means that your newborn baby wants to tell something to you. Crying in the only way your child can communicate with you. Your task is only to understand what does a child ask for. There are no two babies that behave the same way but the common reason of crying is that your child wants to attract attention.

 Learn how to put a baby in a swaddle?

At the very beginning it looks very hard but in reality swaddling is very easy art. Only thing is to have more practice on it. The tightness and warmth of a swaddle are calming to most babies and it make them feel secure, this gives them feeling of safety. Swaddles are likewise more secure for babies when they rest since they are less inclined to turn.

Find an appropriate room temperature for your baby.

When the first night we were home my baby didn’t sleep. I couldn’t realize why? I started to thing and suddenly I found out that room temperature is not so warm as it was in hospital. So I turned the temperature up to 72 degrees and my baby went to sleep at last.

The next step of taking care of your baby is to learn how to give a newborn a sponge bath.

First, clean the bay’s eyes. Be attentive and clean your newborn baby eyes carefully and use different parts of a damp washcloth for each eye. Start wipe down the eyelids gently. Use only warm water. Do not put soap in water when you clean baby’s eyes. Then wash the rest of the face and ears.

Secondly, when you clean baby’s neck add some soap on your damp washcloth and clean neck gently. Milk can get on your baby’s neck and then dry and get yucky and gross. Then wash out the soap with wet washcloth. Continue to get all of those crevices, such as behind the knees, armpits, and elbows. Wash the belly, back, arms, legs, feet, and hands… saving the private parts for last.

Before you clean the private parts, you likewise need to wash your infant's hair. Utilizing infant cleanser, tenderly back rub the scalp similarly as you would wash your own hair. Be very mindful so as not to get water/cleanser in the child's eyes.

Wash the infant's privates altogether last and afterward give your little one a new dry diaper. Pat dry with a towel!

How to feed an infant?

There are many different ways you can go about this. You could breastfeed, use formula, pump, or any combination of those three. I did all these thing. I had no milk at all at the very beginning and it was hard moments or me. Each child and moms are different and the important thing is that your child should be fed. Otherwise you will get sleepless nights and a lot of cry.

The only thing should do is to feed your baby 8 times in 24 hours. You can also do that at night but it is better to schedule your feeding time.

As long as your little one is eating enough (and you’ll know based on the weight they gain), then you’re doing fine. 

How do you get sleep with a newborn?

Newborns sleep almost all day, on average they sleep 16-18 hours a day with 2 hours’ increments for feeding and exploring new world in their cradles. My advice is sleep when you have possibility. Of course, it is god when your husband help you and you take turns to take care of your baby. You need to discuss it before the situation goes wrong way. Ask your husband to help you. Communication is key!

Establishing bonds with a newborn baby.

There are many ways how to establish relationships with your newborn baby. You can do it every day. This helps your child to explore the surrounding world and to get more new things about you. Positive interactions between parent and child are essential for your infant's social, emotional, and cognitive development. Additionally, by connecting with your sweetie, you can foster a safe environment and establish trust.

Things like eye contact, skin-to-skin contact, responding to cries, talking/reading/singing to your baby, dancing, rocking, being silly, kisses, and tummy time are all ways you can build a relationship with your newborn.

So, to sum up taking care of a newborn baby is not easy but it gives a lot of joy and satisfaction for both you and your child.