A newborn baby (or neonatus in Latin) is a toddler from birth to four weeks of age. Often, doctors call this period of life neonatal. And he, of course, has a huge number of its own characteristics. Indeed, it is during the neonatal period that a number of important changes occur in the baby’s body, which determine the further functioning of his body. Therefore, these 4 weeks have a particular impact on childcare.
How to care for a newborn
When a child is born, he immediately finds himself in an alien environment: sounds, light, smells appear, you need to breathe on your own. Also, the circulatory system immediately changes, which now becomes independent, and not dependent on the maternal, and metabolism. To help your baby adapt more easily to the world, you need to follow a specific care system. Naturally, with its own variations to suit the requirements of the child.
Feeding is one of the most important basic needs of the baby. In most cases, babies are already able to suck the mother’s breast correctly at a subconscious level. When a newly born child is laid out on his mother’s stomach in the delivery room, he instinctively begins to look for a breast. But it often happens that it is quite problematic to establish breastfeeding for the mother.
There may be several reasons for this:
- improper breast latch
- lazy child
- early bottle training
- lack of patience, etc.
In each individual case, it is necessary to understand the problem in detail. But the main recommendation is called frequent latching – literally at the first squeak, give the child the opportunity to suckle the breast as much as he needs, even if he falls asleep during this process.
In modern society, the services of breastfeeding consultants are very popular. It is enough to call such a specialist at home a couple of times so that he teaches the young mother how to properly feed the child.
You can control whether the baby is eating up with the help of ordinary weighing. To perform such a simple operation, it is enough to put the baby on the scales before and after feeding. The difference between his body weight will be the grams that he ate. So, it is easy to check whether the child is within the norm. Another way to keep track of whether a child is full is by counting the daily urination. The kid should write about 20-25 times a day. And this will speak of his health and sufficient nutrition. However, there is no need to rush to extremes either. For the first few days, the number of urination is calculated according to a different scheme: the baby should write as many times as he is days old, + 1.
If a newborn does not eat well, it is worth consulting with a supervising pediatrician.
It may be necessary to introduce supplementation or even switch to a mixture. In the first case, after breastfeeding, you simply need to feed the baby to normal with a mixture from a bottle (the doctor should also advise the mixture). In the second (this, as a rule, is a forced measure), you will have to completely feed the baby from a bottle. Especially selfless mothers fight to the last for breastfeeding, as it is most beneficial for the child. But even if you can’t feed your baby on your own, you shouldn’t blame yourself. Moreover, modern mixtures are of sufficient quality and are made taking into account all the needs of a growing baby’s body.
Another important need for a newborn baby is sleep. According to statistics, a baby under the age of one month should sleep about 18-22 hours a day. The child needs this so that the transition to an independent life is softer and more comfortable. This is how the child gains strength for further development.
The organization of sleep is quite an important event, which provides the child with comfortable conditions.
First of all, take care of the correct decoration of the crib. It should have a fairly hard mattress, preferably with natural fillers, such as buckwheat or coconut. Such a mattress is needed so as not to damage and not bend the child’s spine ahead of time. It is also advisable to ditch the pillow. Newborn babies sleep well without them. But for additional safety, it is best to use special devices in the bed, which help to keep the baby on his side while sleeping. The position on the side is the most physiological, since if the baby suddenly rolls onto his stomach, he can easily suffocate, since he still cannot actively roll over. And lying on your back can lead to the fact that the baby may simply suffocate during spitting up.
It is also important to provide the most comfortable conditions in the room where the baby sleeps.
First, there should be a minimum of toys in it (all the same, the child does not yet evaluate them, and he does not really need them). Secondly, the room must be clean, the floors must be washed once a day. In addition, the temperature in the room where the baby sleeps should be 18-22 degrees. Cool and humid air contributes to more correct and cleaner breathing of the child, since the mucous membranes have sufficient moisture and practically do not have pathogens in the form of dust and bacteria.
It is advisable to swaddle a newborn baby for sleep (at least legs) or place him in a special sleeping bag. This is due to the fact that his movements are involuntary. And he can easily wake himself up by jerking a leg or a handle
As for sleepwear, it must be made of natural materials, preferably cotton. In addition, it should have a minimum of details that could injure the delicate skin of the baby.
If a newborn does not sleep or does not sleep well, it is worth reconsidering the organization of the conditions where he is. The room may be too hot. Maybe it’s too cold. Or, for example, a child has wet himself, and he is wet and unpleasant. It is enough just to eliminate the source of discomfort, and the baby will sleep well.
In case the baby cannot fall asleep for no apparent reason, it is better to consult a doctor to rule out any serious pathologies. It happens that even such little children are tormented by serious illnesses.
Baby’s skin must be looked after very carefully. Indeed, during the neonatal period, it is very thin and delicate. The morning toilet should be started with washing. It is carried out like this: they take cotton swabs, moisten them in loam and gently wipe the baby’s eyes first, then with another swab the entire face of the child.
After each toilet, the baby needs to be washed (especially if the baby pooped). This is necessary so that the remains of feces or urine do not irritate the baby’s skin, causing inflammation and irritation.
Newborn diapers need to be changed regularly. But several times a day for 5-10 minutes it is recommended to leave the child to take air baths without diapers. This will be an excellent prevention of diaper rash.
It is necessary to use only high-quality and hypoallergenic cosmetics for child’s skin care. In addition, decoctions of herbs are very often used for child hygiene.
In the first days of a child’s life, special attention should be paid to caring for the baby’s umbilical wound
It should be treated with brilliant green or chlorophyllipt solution several times at knocks. It is also necessary to carefully clean the existing crusts along the edge. Normally, the navel heals quickly enough.
But if there are a number of warning signs:
- pus or other discharge from the navel
- bad smell
- bleeding, etc., you should immediately consult a doctor
As for the baby’s hair, it must be carefully combed after each wash with a special safe comb. Often a newborn baby has birth crusts on its head. They need to be combed off slowly. To do this, it is enough to apply vegetable oil to the baby’s hair, let him soften the crusts a little, and then remove them with gentle combing movements. If a newborn’s hair falls out, this is a signal to see a doctor. After all, this state of affairs can speak of emerging problems.
Walks also play an important role in caring for a newborn. They should be daily. In practice, it is recommended to start walking with the baby a couple of weeks after discharge from the hospital. In fact, many mothers start going out with their baby as soon as they come home. In any case, being on the street is not harmful for a child, the main thing is to follow some recommendations.
You should not go out with such a small child if it is very cold outside; temperature -5 is the ceiling. If it is lower, it is better to replace the walk with sleep in a stroller on the balcony. Naturally, it is necessary and correct to dress the baby for a walk. It depends on what time of year it is outside. In summer, it is better to undress and cover the baby with a thin diaper as much as possible. In winter, dress warmly, but do not overheat.
It is usually advised to wear the same amount of clothes on the child as on the mother, plus one more layer.
Also, do not immediately expose the baby to ultraviolet radiation. It will be quite enough for him that he will get lying in a covered wheelchair. The sun, directed directly at the child, can lead to undesirable consequences, up to burns of delicate skin.
Caring for a newborn is not an easy task. However, over time, it reaches the mother’s automatism, so it does not cause any particular difficulties. And besides, at the time of various procedures, the mother has an excellent opportunity to spend time with her baby alone. And this is the greatest happiness!
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