Dont Lift Your Newborn By Or Under Their Arms
Your babys head and neck muscles are very weak for the first few months. If you pick them up by or under their arms, you risk injuring their arms or shoulders. Worse, their head will dangle and could flop around, potentially causing a brain injury.
Instead, place one hand behind their head and neck and the other hand under their bottom. Gently scoop the baby up toward your chest. For more stability and to protect your back bend your knees as you shift forward and lift with your legs.
When Should You Avoid Taking Your Newborn Out Entirely
There are some times when youll want to think twice before loading baby into their car seat or stroller. You may wish to stay inside your home if:
- Extreme weather conditions are occurring. Mail carriers may brave wind, snow, sleet, and hail, but your newborn should avoid extreme temperatures and being outside in bad air quality whenever possible.
- Your child has a medical condition. If your newborn has special medical needs that leave them particularly susceptible to germs, youll want to consult with their doctor before taking them out and about.
- Its peak sunlight hours. The middle of the day can be an especially hard time to find shade and protect your babys skin. For this reason, you may wish to avoid excessive time outside when the sun is at its strongest.
If you do need to go outside with baby for any reason, especially in warmer weather and for longer periods of time, be sure to bring plenty of breast milk or formula to keep them hydrated.
Safe Gentle Ways To Hold A Baby
Holding a baby is such a delightful task, Many people say that they could hold a baby for hours. While this is true, there are many different ways to do it. There are also times when you need to be doing other things at the same time. You need options for different situations. Learn safe ways to hold a baby that you can also show others to ensure your baby is always cradled correctly.
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How To Hold Your Baby During Skin
Skin-to-skin contact, a.k.a. kangaroo care, is a bonding practice you can begin right after your baby is born .Skin-to-skin contact involves placing your nearly naked baby on your bare chest with his chest touching yours. Drape a blanket or a gown over your babyâs back to keep him warm. Skin-to-skin contact not only helps you and your little one bond but also helps regulate your babyâs temperature, breathing, and heartbeat.For new moms and dads, the benefits of skin-to-skin contact can include feeling more confident as a parent. And nursing mothers may experience an increase in breast milk supply.
Time To Show Some Extra Love To Your Babys Skin
Handle your newborns skin with a lot of love. In addition to the tips mentioned above, make sure the new outfits of your little munchkin are clean and washed and you make them wear loose clothes to prevent prickly heat rashes. Refrain from using baby powders which may result in respiratory distress and chemical detergents or chemical-laden baby products that are often known to lead to allergic reactions.
Your baby deserves every bit of pampering you can offer and a soothing massage with your own hands is not just good for the babys skin, but it also fosters a healthy bond between the two of you. Go ahead and do your best to gift smooth and happy skin to the apple of your eye!
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How To Change Babys Diaper
To change your newborns diaper, make sure you have all supplies on hand. Then, follow these steps:
What Are The Do’s And Don’ts Of A New Born Baby
- Parenting Do’s and Don’ts for a Newborn Baby. …
- Do Ask for Help After the Birth. …
- Do Remember Your Newborn Is Fragile. …
- Do Interact with Your Newborn. …
- Don’t Put Your Newborn on Their Stomach at Bedtime. …
- Don’t Let Your Newborn Sleep Through the Night. …
- Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself.
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Dont Press The Two Soft Spots On Their Head While Holding
On an infants head, the anterior fontanelle above and the posterior fontanelle on the back are very soft regions. The posterior fontanelle will close within one or two months after birth. However, you will have to be careful with the soft area on the top as its not going to close until your baby is around two years old. While you hold your baby, these delicate areas in their head should not get pressed.
A few more tips on how to hold a newborn baby so that they dont face any harm.
- Make hand sanitizing a ritual for yourself and everyone who wishes to hold your baby.
- Always support your infants neck and head if you want to pick them up or hold them. Ask everyone to do it also.
- Never let anyone jiggle your baby on their knee, nor allow any person to play with them by throwing them in the air.
How To Introduce Baby To Siblings
Older children may be excited to meet their new sibling. Or they may be angry or resentful about the new baby.
Some parents give siblings a small big brother or big sister gift from the new baby. You can also have a caregiver hold the new baby while you cuddle with your older child.
When youre home and recovered, you can let your older child pick a special spot where they want to take the new baby to celebrate their arrival. Or you can arrange a safe area for the sibling to hold the new baby, depending on the older childs age.
If baby will be sharing a room with their sibling or youre planning to move your older child from their crib to make room for baby, prep the older child well ahead of time.
Plan to transition an older child from their crib a few months before the arrival of baby so theyre less likely to feel like theyve been displaced for baby.
If baby is moving into their room, discuss this change with your child in a positive light. Consider letting them help decorate or set up babys area.
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When A Baby Has Trouble After Birth
All the babyâs body systems must work together in a new way after birth. Sometimes a baby has trouble making the transition. Health assessments such as the Apgar test done right after birth can help find out if a baby is doing well or having problems.
If there are signs the baby is not doing well, treatment can be given right in the delivery room. The healthcare provider or midwife and other members of the healthcare team work together to help the baby clear excess fluid and start breathing.
Babies who may have trouble at birth include those born prematurely, those born with a difficult delivery, or those born with a birth defect. Fortunately, special care is available for these babies. Newborn babies who need intensive medical care are often admitted into a special area of the hospital called the neonatal intensive care unit . The NICU combines advanced technology and trained health staff to give special care to the tiniest patients. NICUs may also have intermediate or continuing care areas for babies who are not as sick, but need special nursing care. Some hospitals donât have a NICU. Babies may need to be transferred to another hospital.
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How Long Does It Take To Stop Swaddling
When you have to stop swaddling your baby, you dont need to go completely cold turkey in fact, babies tend to find the transition less jarring if you spread each stage out over the course of a few nights.
For example, you might start by swaddling with one arm out while your baby sleeps for a few nights, then move on to both arms, before switching out the swaddle blanket altogether.
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Medical Emergencies In Newborns
You may want to enroll in an infant CPR and basic first aid class before your baby is born. Consider reenrolling in a class even if you took one before the birth of a previous child.
Look for a class at a community center or hospital near you. You can also ask your OB-GYN for recommendations.
In the class, youll learn to identify signs of an emergency. Its important to watch out for the following and seek emergency medical help right away if you notice them:
- Your baby is having difficulty breathing. Signs that baby is having trouble breathing may include:
- rapid or irregular breathing
- turning blue in the face
- seeming to have difficulty taking air in
- making grunting noises while trying to take a breath
The Newborn Shoulder Hold
Wondering how to hold a newborn over your shoulder? Then youre talking about the newborn shoulder hold, best for burping and can be used both standing or sitting.
Simply, lie your newborn on one of your shoulders with her belly resting against your chest. Use the crook of your arm to support her bottom and offer more support to the head with your opposite hand.
The shoulder hold is a popular position for burping because its so effective. In this position, gentle pressure is applied to babys abdomen, gently squeezing air up and out.
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Mastering Other Holding Techniques
How Can I Successfully Use The Pick Up Put Down Method Of Sleep Training
Pick up, put down method success is often based on perseverance and patience, as this method can take a long time to master. A naptime version of pick up, put down can also work just follow the same steps as at night.
Heres how to become a pick up, put down pro, day or night:
- Follow your bedtime routine. Keep up the same regular tuck-in schedule youve established with your baby, which may include a final feeding, a bath, books and a lullaby.
- Put her down drowsy, but awake. After one last cuddle, put your sweetie down while shes drowsy but still awake so she’ll learn to fall asleep on her own in the crib.
- Give her a chance to settle. If she’s quiet, leave the room. But if she starts to fuss, wait a bit before you go back in. She might cry but then stop on her own after a short while.
- Pick her up and soothe. If she’s really upset and wailing, go in and pick her up to offer some comfort for a minute or so.
- Put her down and leave. When she’s calm again, put her down and exit the room.
- Repeat as needed. Take it from the top and listen for crying, wait to see if she’ll settle down and then pick her up and put her down again. Repeat until she’s asleep.
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Tips And Ideas For Preparing Your Newborn For The Photo Session
First of all find a professional photographer and plan ahead carefully!Before the original photoshoot, you should take any time to discuss your plans and ideas with the cameraman for the newborn photography concourse.
While planning for the newborn photoshoot, parents often examine online and come with their ideas, which are often attractive and fun. However, the photographer might advise about understanding and promoting those ideas and some facts and information. This might be about posing, props, shooting form, or anything correlated to the session itself. The parents should always verify the photographers quality and work to ensure that they give what they demand.
Some photographers do more representations, some prefer posed scenes, some lifestyle images, and all of those methods should be discussed in advance. Also, always remember that every newborn photographer will first consider the babys safety and then the essence and creativity.
How To Hold Your Baby While Breastfeeding
Here are four breastfeeding positions you can try with your little one:
Cradle hold. This is the most traditional hold and the one most moms try first. Cradle your baby with the arm thatâs on the same side as the breast your baby will be nursing from. Rest her head in the crook of your elbow, facing your breast, with her body turned inward toward you. Make sure to support your babyâs head.
Cross-cradle hold. Itâs similar to the cradle hold, except that youâll be holding your baby with the arm opposite the breast he will be nursing from. Support your babyâs head with your hand, place his bottom in the crook of your elbow, and use your other arm to support your breast from below. Have your babyâs body turned inward toward you. Try this position if your newborn is having trouble latching.
Football hold. As youâd imagine, this position has you tucking your baby under your arm as if she were a football. To do so, hold your baby to your side at the same level as your waist and support her back with your arm. Tilt her head up toward your breast. Try this position if youâve had a C-section, if you have large breasts, or if youâve given birth to twins and want to feed both babies at the same time.
Get the full list of recommended breastfeeding tips.
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How To Hold A Baby With Colic
Colic is a condition that refers to a period when an otherwise healthy baby cries inconsolably for more than three hours, more than three days a week, for three weeks or more.It can be tough to know what to do if your baby has colic, especially when nothing seems to work. One of the methods you can try is holding her close to your body while taking slow and calm breaths. This may help soothe her.Rocking your baby in your arms may also help, as can holding her close to you in a baby carrier. Read more about how to soothe and treat a colicky baby here.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Swaddling Your Baby
Swaddling can help a baby sleep but has both pros and cons. The advantages of swaddling your baby include:
- Better sleep. For babies, being swaddled is like being back in the womb. One study of 16 babies aged 10 to 16 weeks found that swaddling increases the amount of time they stay asleep and decreases the number of times they startle and wake by themselves.
- Less crying. A study on 368 babies who cried excessively found that babies under seven weeks old cried slightly less after being swaddled.
- Premature babies. Swaddling has been found to help premature babies with improved development of nerves and muscles, better organization of motor movement.
- Calming and pain relief. Premature babies who are swaddled during a weighing were less distressed compared to babies who arenât swaddled. In a study, it was found that swaddling can help relieve pain in premature infants after a heelstick blood test.
- Sleep position. Parents who swaddle their babies are more likely to place them flat on their back when swaddled, which is the recommended sleep position for babies.â
Disadvantages include:
Swaddling is a technique that involves wrapping a baby snugly and securely in a blanket. To swaddle a baby safely, the blanket must support the babys body comfortably, but not too tightly, leaving the head showing so they can breathe.
However, swaddling has some potential risks if a person does it incorrectly or at the wrong age for the baby.
To swaddle a baby safely:
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