What Routines Can I Start With My Newborn
It helps to remain flexible with newborns. However, you might choose to start doing simple things with your baby in a similar order when it comes to sleeping, feeding and playing:
- when your baby wakes from a sleep, offer them a feed
- in the middle of, or at the end of the feed, change your baby’s nappy
- have cuddle, talk and play time
- settle your baby down to sleep
At night you may prefer to skip play time and simply try to settle them back to sleep.
You should do what you feel is best for you and your baby, but seek advice if you are not sure. Call Pregnancy, Birth and Baby on 1800 882 436 to talk to a maternal child health nurse.
Causes Of Silent Reflux
One reason babies are prone to reflux is that they are born with underdeveloped esophageal sphincter muscles. These are the muscles responsible for opening and closing the esophagus to allow for the passage of fluid. Reflux is more commonly seen in younger infants since these muscles mature as babies grow.
Babies with neurological disorders, such as cerebral palsy, as well as those who are premature or have a family history of reflux may be at an increased risk for reflux. Having a hiatal hernia or a weak upper stomach valve also may increase the risk for reflux.
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Sit In The Sunlight With Your Newborn Baby During The Day
Exposure to the sunlight in the case of a newborn baby is a very challenging method due to various reasons. The primary goal is the baby is unaware of the sunshine and can be afraid when you will bring the newborn to the sunlight. But sunlight is essential for the bones and body.
It provides comfort as well as vitamin D to the baby. That is why parents should add this activity to the daily routine if the baby. The mother or father should take the newborn in the sunlight once in the day time. Then play with the newborn or just put it in a baby court and let the newborn enjoy the time.
This activity will provide a sense of sunbathing to the newborn baby. The newborn babies enjoy the sunbathing time in winters very much. That is why it is imperative to consider that the sunlight is comfortable or not. Check and balance the temperature of the sun, and the whole weather is essential.
After the complete assurance brings the baby to sunlight, and this method will not only provide pleasure and comfort but also will consume a part of day time. After one or two visits daily, this sunbathing will add to the routine of the newborn.
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Tips For Parents Of A 1
Welcome to your new life as a parent! Youve made it through many weeks of pregnancy and then childbirth and you now have a bundle of joy to show for it.
That also means you may have a host of postpartum symptoms to show for it, too from hemorrhoids, incontinence and vaginal soreness , to constipation, backache and sore nipples .
As your body recovers and your newborn settles into a routine, you will start to feel human again. In the meantime, try to put your aches, pains, fatigue and worries aside and enjoy this wonderful time with your new baby. Gaze into her eyes, stroke her soft skin, smell her sweet scent and know that life will never be the same again for good reason.
Keep An Eye Out For More Severe Symptoms
Dr. Fisher recommends calling your childs pediatrician if she becomes “excessively fussy” and it goes on for more than three hours, or if she develops difficulty breathing.
Also important: Always call your doctor if a baby under 3 months old is running a fever of 100.4 degrees F or higher if a baby 3 months or older is running a fever of 101.5 degrees F or higher or if your baby has been sick with a cold or flu, has a return of fever of 100.4 degrees F or higher and appears sicker.
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Thicken Breast Milk Or Formula
With your pediatricians approval, adding a small amount of infant rice cereal to formula or breast milk may be an option to lessen spitting up.
Thickening the food is thought to help stop stomach contents from sloshing up into the esophagus. This option has not been shown to decrease other reflux symptoms. Check with your doctor before trying this option.
Not Feeding On Demand
Some new parents make the mistake of letting baby sleep too long between feedings, likely due to exhaustion and their own need to get a bit of rest. But thats a mistake, say experts.
The first few weeks, the baby does need to be fed every two to three hours, even if they dont demand it, said Altmann. But once they have regained their birth weight and you get your pediatricians OK, its fine to cross your fingers and hope that you get a stretch of three to five hours without the baby waking to be fed. But in the first few weeks, babies do need to be woken up.
If youre doing everything right and your baby is growing and developing well, said Altmann, its perfectly possible to get a baby to sleep through the night by 2 or 3 months of age. But be aware that some babies regress between three and four months and begin to wake up more frequently and feed more often.
If you jump in and turn on all the lights, start playing with them, and basically have a party in the middle of the night, they will continue to wake up, Altmann said.
I usually tell parents if every time you wake up there was chocolate cake on your nightstand, you would start eating it every night and you would wake up expecting it, she said. Same with babies, right?
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Walk And Talk With Your Newborn Baby
Sometimes the babies feel discomfort when they lay down in the baby bed or the cuddle all day long and in the night. They can sleep in the same position at night, but in the day, the newborns feel active and want to do some other activities. When the newborn doesnt get the right amount of business, then they start crying.
If you want to make the newborn comfortable during day time too, then you should take the baby to a walk. This walk can be a five to six steps walk in the room or on the lawn in the home. You can take the newborn on a walk in the backyard of the house.
For this purpose, wrap the baby appropriately and take the baby to the garden in the lap. Just talk to the newborn while waking or silently move the baby here and there. For less than half-hour and more than fifteen minutes, you can give this walking session to the baby. This activity will take part in the day time of the baby. Take to the baby on a walk daily, this will add to the routine of the baby soon.
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Why Do I Need To Entertain My Newborn When They Are Awake
Play is the most important way that babies and toddlers learn. They explore their environment, learn language, develop relationships, strengthen motor skills, and gain knowledge through play. Newborn activities for development are important and they can start as early as 1 week old!
These early months are the building blocks of your newborns development. Its important to stimulate them as much as possible to get their bodys systems off to a running start. Newborn play ideas may be difficult to think of at first, but as you get used to it, the play will actually come quite naturally.
You may be surprised to know that the human brain grows and develops at the fastest rate when they are babies and toddlers, it is because of this that activities for your newborn are so important. In order to help your child have the most optimal tools for growth, give them all the interaction, love, and stimulation that you can.
It may not be apparent right now, but you will be providing them with important sensory input to their bodys joints, strengthening muscles for physical development, and brain stimulation for social and emotional interaction and so much more.
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What Is The Rooting Reflex
Babies are born with involuntary reflexes that help ensure survival. Reflexes also are a way for babies to interact with the world. For example, gently stroking a newborns cheek will get the baby to turn the head and mouth to that side, ready to eat. This is called the rooting reflex.
But by the time theyre 3 weeks old, babies will turn toward the breast or bottle not just because of a reflex, but because theyve learned that its a source of food.
What Activities Can I Do With My Newborn
You may be wondering, what activities can I do with my newborn?, and the answer is simple the best way to introduce play with your newborn is to provide stimulating opportunities in your day-to-day life. Newborn play ideas can be super simple- and do not require a lot of preparation or any special training or tools.
You will actually find that a lot of the best ways to play with your newborn come from things that you already instinctively do. Things like singing, rocking, talking, bouncing, holding, imitating, and massaging are all excellent newborn awake time activities.
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The Clinical Benefit Of Using Acid
Most recently, a study of 800,000 children published by JAMA Pediatrics found that infants treated with acid-suppressing medications, either histamine-2 receptor antagonists or proton pump inhibitors, had a significantly higher risk of later developing allergies, especially food allergies.
As the main researcher of the study said:
These medications are usually given to infants who regurgitate food and appear fussy. For most infants, though, regurgitation of food is not a disease. Rather, its a developmentally normal process.
The research is growing that the microbe of the infant gut is closely linked to the development of a healthy immune system. We are learning that the more we intervene with medications that change that gut microbiome, the more likely children are to develop allergies.
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Do Not Use Medication Or Vapor Rub
Most cold medications are not safe or effective for babies. And vapor rubs are proven to be dangerous for children younger than 2 years old. Remember that increased mucus production is the bodys way of clearing out the virus, and its not a problem unless its severely affecting your babys ability to eat or breathe.
Babies with congestion at night may wake up more often, have increased coughing, and become very irritable.
Being horizontal and being tired make it harder for babies to handle congestion.
Treat night congestion the same as you would in the daytime. Its important that you stay calm in order to keep your baby calm.
Do not prop your baby on a pillow or put their mattress on an incline. Doing so increases the risk of SIDS and suffocation. If you want to hold your baby upright while they sleep, you need to stay awake and take turns with your partner.
Congestion is more likely among newborns living in dry or high-altitude climates, and those who were:
- exposed to irritants, like cigarette smoke, dust, or perfume
- born prematurely
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Give Ample Tummy Time
“Spending time on her tummy is essential to a baby developing a strong body for movement, including head and trunk control,” says Amelia Miller, MS, chief infant development specialist at La Rabida Children’s Hospital in Chicago. You can help your infant develop motor skills by initiating tummy time at the end of your child’s second month. Start by placing your baby on your chest or lap or holding your baby in your arms. You can then move on to putting your baby on a blanket on the floor. Tummy time isn’t a baby activity that infants are generally fond of, so when your baby gets fussy, tummy time is over.
Learning Play And Your Newborn
Play is the main way that infants learn how to move, communicate, socialize, and understand their surroundings. During the first month of life, your baby will learn by interacting with you.
The first thing your baby will learn is to associate you with getting their needs met. So, the feel of your touch, the sound of your voice, and the sight of your face will begin to mean nourishment, warmth, and comfort.
Even at this young age, babies are ready to learn about the world around them. Your newborn loves to look your face. Newborns can recognize and respond to a parent’s voice by looking alert and becoming less active. Babies may try to find out where a sound is coming from by looking around.
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Connect With Your Baby
“Starting as soon as a baby is born, the most important thing you can do to help your baby develop motor skills and language is to engage in human contact,” says Kenneth Wible, MD, medical director of the Pediatric Care Center at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Mo. “This includes holding the baby close to you, talking or singing to the baby, and doing other things that stimulate hearing.” It’s also important to motivate the baby’s sight. “When the baby is awake, make sure she can see your face. Research shows that babies prefer objects and designs that resemble the human face,” Dr. Wible says. “When the baby reaches 2 to 3 months, smile a lot so she can reciprocate.” He adds that babies are born with primitive 20/200 vision, so it’s important to hold them close so they can see you clearly.
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:
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What I Do All Day When I Am Home With The Baby
I am, for now, a stay-at-home mother. People sometimes ask what exactly I do during the day and I never have any idea what to say.
Below is a fairly accurate description of most of the things I do on any given day. To save time, repetitive actions like changing diapers and feeding the baby are not constantly mentioned but, please be aware, they are being done.
* * *
Aaaaaaaaand, START!
7:00 Wake up wishing I had gone to sleep before 1:00 a.m. Feed baby a bottle.
7:15 Put baby in high chair surrounded by Cheerios and cut up pieces of fruit while I make a completely overzealous and unrealistic to-do list.
I’ll totally get to this stuff
8:00 Change baby’s diaper and get him dressed to go outside. You are possibly going, “Wait — the last entry was at 7:15. It took you 45 minutes to give him Cheerios and make a four item to-do list?” I know, right? It doesn’t make sense to me either.
8:25 Bundle baby and put extremely bundled-up baby in stroller. Make vague attempt at getting dressed. Put leash on dog.
8:30 Take dog for 30-minute walk, the entire time feeling guilty that baby is outside in the freezing cold.
“Explain to me again why I left the uterus?”
9:00 Return to apartment. Carry stroller up the stairs of our third-floor walk-up. Un-bundle baby.
9:05 Play with baby on floor, the entire time feeling guilty that dog didn’t really get enough exercise and is becoming clinically depressed.
“Chew tennis ball. Stare out the window at cats. What’s the f*%king point?”
11:00
What Am I Supposed To Do With My Baby All Day
Ever wondered what on earth youre supposed to be doing with your baby ALL day?
New parents often talk about days flying by at an alarming rate when looking after a newborn baby.
Its an endless cycle of nappy changes, feeding, desperate efforts to get them down for a nap, and tummy time.
Once youre in a very vague routine, its like Groundhog Day on speed. Every three hours the cycle repeats itself once again: Feed, burp, play, sleep.
We all have days when we look at the clock and cant believe its 4pm and were still in our PJs.
But what about the days that drag? Yes when youre juggling visitors, cleaning, appointments and cooking it seems impossible to fit everything in.
Then the initial newborn buzz calms down and youre kind of beginning to get a sense for what having a baby is all about, what happens next?
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Simple Tips For Shooting Diy Newborn Photography At Home
Babies grow up fast and change so much even in days. There is no way people can schedule a professional photo shoot to capture every little milestone.
So its a smart idea to learn how to take DIY newborn photography at home. The photos might not look that professional. But DIY newborn photography has advantages.
Like you can take all the time you need. Or use any props that you have on hand.
For the rest of the tips, read here.