How To Handle A Newborn

How To Cope With Jealousy Toward The New Baby

Acknowledge your childs feelings. Know that your little one may express negative feelings or act out, and dont scold. Instead say, Being a big sibling can be hard. Sometimes you will feel sad or mad or do things you dont mean to do and thats OK. We will always love you and want to help you feel better.

Spend regular one-on-one time together. Try to give your toddler a bit of undivided attention, even if its just 10 to 20 minutes a day. One way to accomplish this more easily is to wear your newborn in a sling, which gives you two free hands to play a game with your older child. And have your older child cuddle while youre nursing.

Feeling frazzled? Enlist help from a relative, who can tend to your newborn as you spend time with your oldest. Or suggest your partner schedule special activities together with your child, like whipping up weekend waffles or heading out to the movies.

Praise often. Reward your child with hugs and compliments for showing patience , cooperativeness and empathy . Make a fuss, especially in front of others: Thank you for handing me the diaper, sweetheart! What a great big sibling!

What To Do About Burping Complications

Burping complications can lead to him or her being overly gassy for extended periods of time if not burped properly, which creates discomfort. If that discomfort leads to prolonged bouts of crying then the condition worsens because your baby is now swallowing even more air from all of the fussing.

Colic is defined as three or more hours a day of continuous crying due to gassiness and, as mentioned, only works to exacerbate the gas problem. Colic is something that many parents simply have to deal with in their own special way depending on what makes each baby happy. It is extremely common but be advised using anti-gas drops is not a laboratory proven method to treat colic or gas and your pediatrician should be contacted for the most effective and safest treatments.

Every baby is different and all parents will have a trial period to learn and understand how to burp a newborn, how often to burp him or her in between feedings, and what methods and routines generally make them happiest.

In todays chaotic world, having family time isnt always easy. It can get pretty hard to coordinate schedules, especially if the family is large. Life demands that we work, attend school, nurture friendships, hobbies, etc. All of those things are extremely time-consuming and importantbut so is spending time with your family.

Lets get started, shall we?

Stay Safe When Stepping Outside

Now is the time to lean into staying home and safe while enjoying extra snuggle time. When you need to go out, enjoy solo walks in the fresh air with your baby while making sure to keep a six-foot distance from others. These are great for your mental health as well. Dr. Dougherty says the risk to your baby is low because they will be in their stroller and not touching any surfaces. However, he says it’s best to avoid bringing your baby into the grocery store and pharmacy since it may be harder to maintain distance from others.

If you are starved for parent-to-parent interaction, look to see if any local parent groups in your area have moved to online meetings. There are also Facebook groups parents can join where active forums and chats can offer support, like the Fussy Baby Support Group with more than 34,000 members. You can also ask your health care provider if they are offering any online support groups for people who recently gave birth.

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Be Clear On The Birth Announcement

Since a birth announcement is an invitation to stop by, you can add some instructions to it, to be sure your guests understand your preferences. You can indicate that the baby visit is welcome by appointment only along with how the appointment can be made, for example through your partner or your mother.

Helping Your Baby Sleep

It’s normal for new babies to only sleep for 2 to 3 hours at a time through the night, as well as during the day.

One reason is that newborn babies are not tuned into day and night yet.

Babies also grow quickly in the early months and they have very small stomachs. This means they need to feed little and often.

As your baby grows, they’ll gradually start to need fewer night feeds and will sleep for longer at night.

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Holding A Baby And Cradling A Baby

Make sure your babys head is resting against your chest. Slide your hand up from babys bottom to support their neck.

Gently move your babys head to the crook of your arm, still supporting babys neck. Place your other hand under babys bottom.

Using the cradle hold lets you look at your baby. You can smile and talk to baby.

How To Hold Your Baby While Breastfeeding

Here are four breastfeeding positions you can try with your little one:

Get the full list of recommended breastfeeding tips.

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Questions To Ask Your Doctor

• When will my baby get over colic?
• What is the best way to feed my baby to avoid colic?
• Should I hold my baby upright for a certain amount of time after they eat?
• Is there a good position to hold my baby in to make them feel better?
• Can I give my baby any medicines to make them feel better?
• What can I do to help myself from getting angry or frustrated when my baby cries?

How To Handle Vaccine Appointments

Even if your well visits have moved online, you’ll likely still need to bring your baby into your doctor’s office to get their vaccines. Delaying them usually isn’t advised because the timing is critical to protect them against diseases like meningitis and whooping cough, explains Dr. Dougherty.

Still, given the current level of risk , he adds, some vaccine appointments may need to be delayed. You and your pediatrician can discuss and make the safest timeline for your little one.

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Check The Umbilicus If Needed

If you need to check the umbilicus then gently grip the kitten with the forefinger and thumb of one hand forming a girdle around the kitten’s chest. Support the kitten’s rear end in the palm of the opposite hand while you gently lift and roll the kitten over. The kitten may cry, which is a warning to the mother she is upside down. Return the kitten to a natural resting position as soon as possible.

How To Organise Baby Visits And Keep Yourself And Your Guests Happy

When a newborn arrives, people will want to visit. Grandfathers, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, friends, colleagues and sometimes even acquaintances naturally want to come by to see the new arrival. Sometimes, the thought of having so many people over can be a little overwhelming for new parents, though others cant wait to show off their little mirable it really differs per family.What is the best way to deal with this? Are there certain rules of etiquette around baby visits and can you ask your visitors not to take photos? In this blog, we list a number of tips and advice from parents who have dealt with baby visits before!

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Challenge #: Toddler Wont Share Anything With The Baby

This goes back to jealousy from Challenge #4. All the toys and things that your oldest child had in the home was perceived as theirs.

Now that the baby is present, the child still thinks all the toys, babys toys, babys blankets, etc. belong to him. This is normal and expected with the toddler and newborn transition.

When it seems like sharing will never occur, remember that fair does not mean equal. Your toddler may take a toy from the baby, but in truth, the baby may enjoy and learn just as much from watching the toddler play with the toy.

You can coach your child in these sharing situations using a Language of Listening approach. It may sound something like this

You took her toy. She doesnt look very happy. See her face. Shes frowning and seems sad. She doesnt have anything to play with.

Then pause for a few seconds and allow your child to correct their own behavior. If he doesnt self correct, offer him something he can do.

You can give her the toy back. Or you can find another toy she might like.

When your toddler finds a solution to the problem and both kids are happy, name those strengths.

She likes the toy you gave her. Shes looks happy. You found a way to make it work.

Babies Tune Into Our Feelings And Reactions

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For better or worse, a baby tends to tune in to her caregivers emotional state. This means that just when babies need us to be at our calmest so we can help calm them, we are often feeling stressed, frustrated and wound up! Our arms and shoulders are tense, and our facial expressions also may show the stress. A caregivers stress can add to the babys stress and intensify her fussiness.

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Keep Your Emotional Strength Up

Lack of sleep, hunger and feeling alone can all make it harder to cope with your babys tears. Try to build your resilience up by napping when your baby naps, ensuring you eat often and leaning on your support network. That means you are better able to face those cries and respond to your babys needs.

Be Honest About Your Preferences In Advance

• If you have had a difficult delivery and are not quite ready for visitors yet, this is nothing to apologise for. If your loved ones contact you about planning a visit, simply say that you will let them know when you feel better, or plan the visit for 2 or 3 weeks in the future. If you still don’t feel well, just say so.
• You can let people know that the visits are tiring for you and indicate that they should ideally last for around a maximum of half an hour each. This way, your visitors know where they stand and you can indicate that you would like to sleep or have a rest once the time ends. The visitor then knows it is time to go.
• Let your visitors know that they are only allowed to visit if they do not have a cold or are feeling under the weather, and that it is perfectly okay if they cancel for this reason.
• If you are inviting people who have children of their own, but dont feel up to visits from the children just yet, be honest that this is too much for you right now. Let them know that they are all more than welcome to visit later on, but that you would prefer people to come alone or with their partner for now.

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Advice For Every Parent

Did you know that up to 75% of each meal goes to build your baby’s brain? Or that over 80% of your babys brain is formed by the age of 3?*

With every hug and every kiss, with every nutritious meal and game you play, youre helping to build your babys brain.

Here are some tips to help give your child the best start in life:

Sleep When Your Baby Sleeps And Start A Bedtime Routine

Babies under the age of 1 should always be put to sleep on their backs never on their sides or stomachs because back sleep minimizes the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. After the American Academy of Pediatrics began recommending that babies be put to sleep on their backs, the incidence of SIDS dropped by more than half.

At first, newborns sleep a lot about 16 to 17 hours a day but that sleep is broken up every hour or two by periods of wakefulness. In the early weeks, your baby will mostly wake just long enough to be fed and changed, said Massachusetts-based certified pediatric sleep consultant Arielle Greenleaf. Since your baby will also be awake for short periods throughout the night, which will inevitably disrupt your sleep, in order to stay well rested, you should absolutely sleep when your baby sleeps, she said.

Its also fine to let your baby fuss for a few minutes at night if shes not hungry or soiled you dont have to rock or hold her constantly. Let them see if they can naturally fall asleep on their own, said Dr. Angela Mattke, M.D., a pediatrician at the Mayo Clinic Childrens Center in Rochester, Minn.

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Make Their Days More Wakeful

Sunlight really does set the bodys internal program, says Amanda Jewson, a Toronto-based sleep consultant and owner of Babys Best Sleep. Get your babe outside, ideally every day. If thats not possible, set up your babys play area in a sunny spot by a window. When your baby is outside, protect them from the sun with a hat and a stroller shade, but note that babies dont need to constantly wear sunglasses, says Hall, who adds that UV exposure is key to setting a circadian rhythm.

Some babies have their days and nights confused because of their eating schedule. Your baby doesnt care when shes feeding, says Hall. This means that if a baby takes epic naps during the day, theyll make up for missed calories by eating more frequently at night. In this case, wake your baby every few hours during the day, feeding them and then providing some mild stimulation to keep them up for 45 minutes to an hour before letting them sleep again.