You are expecting a baby very soon and you are reading up on what to as far as newborn care goes, and you have so many worries that you may do something wrong. That is because you are going to be a first-time parent, or you are a parent who has older kids that is expecting a baby which means you had forgotten about what newborn care entails!
This is why you are going to be refreshed on it, or learn about it for the first time right here. That means you can stop organizing those hipster baby clothes that you had gotten for the new arrival coming soon as you have been getting ready and start reading on how to care for the baby!
Let’s start off by the best feeding tips to utilize when you are caring for your newborn:
Newborn Feeding Tips
You likely at this point had made the decision to breastfeed or bottle-feed. If you have decided to breastfeed, then you will receive help when it comes to feeding and pumping from a lactation consultant who you can rely on. However, even so, you will need to know how to properly feed your newborn by using a bottle. Breastfed babies will need to be bottle-fed at times whether it is due to someone else feeding the baby with your pumped milk or through formula supplementation. With that said, the things to do when you are feeding the newborn are to:
- Cradle the baby by placing him or her at the crook of your arm and your other arm either around or underneath the infant as that will help him or her feel secure.
- Be sure to sit the baby up as that will help relieve gas or reflux which is quite painful for the baby.
- Place the baby on your lap whether you are sitting while feeding or laying down as that will also keep the gas from moving upward.
- Be sure to tilt the bottle while you are feeding the baby as that will prevent too much air from getting into the baby as he or she is sucking the nipple of the bottle.
- Once the feeding is done, the baby will let you know by pushing away or squirming, and that is when you will want to place the baby on your shoulder to be burped. Don’t forget to put a cloth over your shoulder. You can also burp the baby by placing him or her in a sitting position in your lap by rubbing the back gently until you hear a burp.
If you take those steps while feeding a newborn, you will not have any problems with feeding. If your baby is still gassy and uncomfortable, it may unfortunately that he or she has colic or may have reflux. It is wise to take the infant to the pediatrician if you have concerns. Let’s now go over newborn sleep tips.
Newborn Sleep Tips
You have probably heard about the Back To Sleep campaign, as that encourages parents to place their babies on their backs to reduce the risk of SIDS. However, if the baby fusses while being on the back, then if the baby is placed safely on the side, then that is okay too. You will want to make sure that you have a swaddle blanket so that your baby is secure while being swaddled as that is how he or she was over the last 9 months in the womb.
Additionally, it is imperative to keep the crib or bassinet absolutely clear of items that could suffocate the baby such as loose blankets or fabric of any kind. Also, no toys are allowed in the sleep space. And make sure the mattress is firm and meets the safety standards currently whether your baby is sleeping in a crib, bassinet, or a co-sleeper.
You will also need to realize that initially there will be no schedule with a newborn. However, you will want to get the newborn to understand the difference between days and nights by making the activity happen such as keeping lights around and the noise levels up during the day. And you will want to keep the environment dim and quiet which means no TV can be on at night so the baby gets that daytime is for being awake and night is for sleep! And this also ties into their development tips!
Newborn Development Tips
In order to make sure that your newborn is developing properly, you need to be interactive with him or her. Yes, a newborn will not give back but any type of social interaction and when you talk and sing to the baby, it helps his or her development. The baby will start to smile around 6 to 8 weeks of age, and you will notice when you engage with the baby, that will only help enhance the speech and learning parts of their brains.
You will also want to give the newborn tummy time while you are supervising it in order to help strengthen their bodies and limbs. And you will want to bring your baby to baby groups because again, social stimulation helps with the newborn’s development. And besides, you will get lots of compliments on your baby wearing something adorable such as harry potter baby clothes because those are eye-catchers.
However, if you are doing what you can to foster development in your baby but your baby seems to not be receptive to you or to anyone else, then that may be worrisome. In fact, you will want to make appointments with the pediatrician to discuss the concern if the baby is becoming older and is not evolving very much. That is just something that all parents should watch out for. Sometimes that signifies nothing and the baby may just simply be a late bloomer or may be just very naturally introverted. That does happen as well. But it is always best to keep an eye on your baby’s development regardless of the age.
