Dont Let Your Newborn Sleep In The Car Seat
This is a contentious one, because weve all been there: Your baby conks out in the car seat while youre driving home or running errands, and the beauty of the bucket seat is that you can pop it out and transfer your sleeping infant inside for the remainder of her nap. But according to the AAP, allowing an infant to sleep in a bucket car seat thats been placed on the floor or clicked into a stroller is a safety hazard, as the babys head can fall forward and cause something called positional asphyxiation. Due to the angle of the seat design, its much safer to let your newborn nap in the car seat while its attached to the base and installed in the car. Letting your baby sleep in a car seat overnight when youre not awake enough to check on her is a serious baby sleep mistake. In fact, experts actually recommend limiting the time your baby spends in a car seat, bouncer or swing to 30 minutes, mostly for developmental reasons and the risk of developing positional plagiocephaly . However, wed like to acknowledge that this 30-minute maximum is downright impossible on road trips, for parents who have long work or daycare commutes, or when the swing is truly the only place you can get your infant to nap. Wed love to see some more research on this recommendation.
Months: Read Or Sing Nursery Rhymes
The old Mother Goose nursery rhymes can seem a little uncool, but theyre classics for a reason. Whats wonderful about Mother Goose is the rhythm and the rhyme, Morrison says. The classic rhymes also contain all kinds of unique and unusual vocabulary , which is great for your childs cognitive and verbal development.
Good to know: Studies have shown that the more words kids are exposed to, the better they typically do in school. So the more we can stretch his or her vocabulary, the better. And children between the ages of 16 and 24 months are real sponges for language. Thats when language is really blossoming, and a very important window in terms of child development.
Take An Infant Cpr Class
Consider taking an infant CPR class with your partner. This is one thing I didnt do before my daughter was born and I still regret to this day. As I mentioned earlier, I suffered from extreme postpartum anxiety. I honestly think had I taken a CPR class before she was born, I wouldve felt a little better knowing if something bad did happen that I had the skills and knowledge I needed to get me through the situation. Would it have taken away my anxiety completely? Probably not, but it wouldve helped and any little bit of help is worth it.
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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 newborn’s 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 they’re 3 weeks old, babies will turn toward the breast or bottle not just because of a reflex, but because they’ve learned that it’s a source of food.
Decide How Youll Share The News Of Babys Arrival With Family And Friends
Another important thing to do before the baby arrives is to decide how youll share the news of their arrival with family and friends. Will you send group texts, call people one by one, set up a phone chain, designate a specific person to do the calling, etc. Who will you call when you go into labor and who will you call after the baby is born?
It may seem silly to figure out details like that, but during the chaos of giving birth, its so easy for things to slip through the cracks. Just make your lists and plans ahead of time and youll be grateful when no family member or friend gets accidentally forgotten.
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About The Hie Help Center
The HIE Help Center is sponsored by ABC Law Centers, a medical malpractice firm exclusively handling cases involving HIE and other birth injuries. Our lawyers have over 100 years of combined experience with this type of law, and have been advocating for children with HIE and related disabilities since the firms inception in 1997.
We are passionate about helping families obtain the compensation necessary to cover their extensive medical bills, loss of wages , assistive technology, and other necessities.
If you suspect your childs injury may have been caused by medical negligence, please contact us today to learn more about pursuing a case. We provide free legal consultations, during which we will inform you of your legal options and answer any questions you have. Moreover, you would pay nothing throughout the entire legal process unless we win or settle your case.
Am I Doing Enough With My Newborn
Babys mind and body are constantly developing in the most amazing ways right now, and we get your enthusiasm about maximizing every moment of this key period. But the truth is, you dont need to do a heck of a lot to entertain a newborn.
Forget mommy-and-me French lessonsright now, baby can benefit most from a few simple activities, says Lisa M. Asta, MD, a clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of California at San Francisco and fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. So if youre doing the following, then youre definitely doing enough:
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Take Precautions If Your Newborn Is Rooming
If you are in isolation for COVID-19 and are sharing a room with your newborn, take the following steps to reduce the chance of spreading the virus to your newborn:
- Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds before holding or caring for your newborn. If soap and water are not available, use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
- Wear a mask whenever you are within 6 feet of your newborn.
- Keep your newborn more than 6 feet away from you as much as possible.
- Talk to your healthcare provider about how you can protect your newborn, such as using a physical barrier while in the hospital.
When your isolation period has ended, you should still wash your hands before caring for your newborn, but you do not need to take the other precautions. You most likely will not pass the virus to your newborn or any other close contacts after your isolation period has ended.
- If you had symptoms, your isolation period ends after:
- 10 days since symptoms first appeared, and
- 24 hours with no fever, without fever-reducing medicine, and
- Other symptoms of COVID-19 are improving.
When To Contact A Doctor
When in doubt, contact a doctor. Only a doctor can accurately determine the reason that a newborn is sleeping too much. In many cases, a pediatrician may be able to assess the problem over the phone.
Excess sleep in a newborn is not typically an emergency unless they also show signs of respiratory problems. or go to the emergency room if the following apply:
- The baby is gasping for air or wheezing.
- The babys breathing is very loud.
- The babys nostrils flare when they breathe.
- The skin around the babys ribs sinks in when they breathe.
- The baby has a fever.
- The baby may have inhaled, touched, or eaten something toxic.
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Baby Gear And Accessories
There are literally hundreds of baby gear items and baby accessories you could buy and 99.9% of them are completely unnecessary. Sure a lot of them are fun and adding them to your baby registry is harmless, but I think 5 things you really need in the first couple of months are tons of receiving blankets, pacifiers, baby carrier wrap, BABYBJORN bouncer, and swaddles.
Check out this post on the23 things you actually need for your newborn for specific recommendations and brands.
When To Be Concerned About Newborn Development
See your child and family health nurse or GP if you have any concerns or notice that your one-month-old:
- is crying a lot and this is worrying you
- isnt feeding well
- is very tired or sleeps a lot more than expected for this age that is, more than around 16 hours a day
- isnt moving arms or legs
- isnt responding to bright light or seeing things for example, isnt following your face with her eyes
- isnt making sounds like gurgling
- isnt hearing things for example, isnt startling to loud sounds or turning her head towards sounds
- isnt sleeping well.
You should also see your child and family health nurse or GP if you or your partner experiences the signs of postnatal depression in women or postnatal depression in men. Symptoms of postnatal depression include feeling sad and crying for no obvious reason, feeling irritable, having difficulty coping and feeling very anxious.
Children grow and develop at different speeds. If youre worried about whether your childs development is normal, it might help to know that normal varies a lot. But if you still feel that something isnt quite right, see your child and family health nurse or GP.
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How To Tell If Your Baby Is Seriously Ill
It can be difficult to tell when a baby is seriously ill. Above all, it’s important to trust your instincts.
You know your baby better than anyone else, so you’ll know if their appearance or behaviour is worrying.
See does your child have a serious illness? for a checklist of “red alert” symptoms that should always be treated as serious.
How To Do Tummy Time
- The ideal time to do tummy time is after your baby wakes up from a nap or following a diaper change.
- Clear a small area of the floor. Place your baby on his tummy on a playmat or clean towel.
- Surround your baby with a few favorite toys.
- Try to keep your baby belly-down for three to five minutes, two to three times a day.
- As your baby begins enjoying tummy time, work up to longer and more frequent sessions throughout the day.
- Never put your baby to sleep on his stomach. Sleeping in the prone position is a significant risk factor for sudden infant death syndrome .
Concerned about your baby developing a flat head from sleeping on his back? Try not to worry: Most flat spots round out as babies grow older. In addition to tummy time, you can also vary up your babys sleep direction . And avoid too much time in bouncers, swings, car seats and carriers, which put additional pressure on the back of babys head.
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What Are Some General Things That Need To Get Done Before Baby Arrives
If you thought this list was almost over, youre kinda right but were not there quite yet. There are a few more general things that need to be done to prepare for a newborn that doesnt really fit into a specific category but are still very important. Below is a list of a few general things you need to do to prepare for your new baby:
Months: Make Some Noise
At four months, babies are beginning to tune in to the different sounds that make up speech, so its a good idea to let talking take center stage. Baby is probably already making some distinct sounds, so pick one he or she says often and use it throughout the day in the words you say and the songs you sing. Yes, you can totally make this up. For example, if babys saying da-da-da-da, look at some pictures of daddy and sing the Star Wars theme song in your best dah dah dah DAH dum voice. You can switch it upmaybe use a different sound every day to get baby hearing a variety of sounds to imitate.
Good to know: Copying babys sounds encourages him or her to make more. And as baby listens to you speak, he or she will begin to pick up other sounds and combinations of sounds. Before you know it, the two of you will be babbling back and forth.
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Newborn Sleep Survival Guide
Sleep Close to Baby Being close to his mother regulates a baby’s heart rate, immune system, and stress levels and makes breastfeeding easier, says James McKenna, Ph.D., director of the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory at University of Notre Dame in Indiana. “It also keeps the baby in lighter phases of sleep so he can practice arousing and going back to sleep, which is good in case of any problems, such as sleep apnea.”
It may also be linked to a decreased risk of sudden infant death syndrome . A bedside or freestanding bassinet is a good option. Various experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, advise parents not to sleep with their babies because of the danger of suffocation.
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Day vs. Night “Encourage him to switch,” says Jodi Mindell, Ph.D., associate director of the Sleep Center, Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia and author of Sleeping Through the Night: How Infants, Toddlers and Their Parents Can Get a Good Night’s Sleep . “At night, keep the lights low and move slowly when you feed him. Be boring. Make sure he gets bright light in the morning, and keep him as busy as you can during the day. Make noise. Play with him.” In other words, during the day, be interesting.
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2. Dealing with Crying
3. Baby Fevers
Feeding And Burping Your Baby
Whether feeding your newborn by breast or a bottle, you may be stumped as to how often to do so. Generally, it’s recommended that babies be fed on demand whenever they seem hungry. Your baby may cue you by crying, putting fingers in his or her mouth, or making sucking noises.
A newborn baby needs to be fed every 2 to 3 hours. If you’re breastfeeding, give your baby the chance to nurse about 1015 minutes at each breast. If you’re formula-feeding, your baby will most likely take about 23 ounces at each feeding.
Some newborns may need to be awakened every few hours to make sure they get enough to eat. Call your baby’s doctor if you need to wake your newborn often or if your baby doesn’t seem interested in eating or sucking.
If you’re formula-feeding, you can easily monitor if your baby is getting enough to eat, but if you’re breastfeeding, it can be a little trickier. If your baby seems satisfied, produces about six wet diapers and several stools a day, sleeps well, and is gaining weight regularly, then he or she is probably eating enough.
Another good way to tell if your baby is getting milk is to notice if your breasts feel full before feeding your baby and less full after feeding. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns about your child’s growth or feeding schedule.
If your baby tends to be gassy, has gastroesophageal reflux, or seems fussy during feeding, try burping your little one after every ounce during bottle-feeding or every 5 minutes during breastfeeding.
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