Tracking Your Baby’s First Year

Being a parent is a wonderful experience. It is an experience that words cannot describe. To image that you were instrumental in creating a life is something unimaginable. And then it is time to take your newborn baby home. All sorts of worries start plaguing your mind. Will I be a good parent? What do I need to do to make this tiny life comfortable? Am I doing everything right? Well, these questions are common. To make your life a little easy, here are some general hints and tips for parenting a newborn baby.

Hints for Parenting a Newborn Baby

• Comfort: All babies need comforting and this means they want to be held. This is quite normal. You will find that if you cuddle your baby, it will stop him from crying. Swaddling is considered to be one of the best ways to comfort a newborn baby as it reminds them of keep safe and snug in the womb. This means wrapping your baby snuggly like bundle.
• Cord Care: For the first few days, you will notice that the clamp on the baby’s umbilical cord is left on. It is usually removed before you and your baby are discharged from the hospital. The cord will dry up and fall of on it own in 7 to 10 days time. Until this happens, it is important to keep the cord as dry as possible. After you bathe your baby, let the cord air out a bit. Do not forget to clean the area after each nappy change with a swab of cotton wool and surgical spirit. In case you notice pus formation, contact your doctor immediately.
• Hunger: With newborn babies crying is usually a sign of hunger. A newborn baby has no patience and when he cries, he wants his milk immediately. Remember, newborns usually need a feed every hour or so for the first six weeks.
• Ear Care: Never insert anything into your baby’s ear. His ears will produce ear wax as it is a natural phenomenon. By inserting anything into the ear, you are risking rupturing the eardrum or pushing the ear was further into the ear. In order to clean your baby’s ear, just take a moist piece of cotton wool and wipe the ear clean. Do not forget to wipe behind the ear as this is where the spilt milk will invariably collect.
• Eye Care: In the first two or three months, you will need to clean your baby’s eyes regularly. Wipe his eyes with cooled boiled water and a clean piece of cotton wool. The trick is to wipe the eyes inside out. First wipe the upper eyelid and then the lower one; each with a new piece of cotton wool to avoid spreading infection.
• Nail Care: Always cut your baby’s nails after a warm bath as the nails are soft and can be easily clipped. A newborn baby’s nails will grow very fast and you will have to trim at least once a week. This is important or else the baby might end up scratching himself. The best way to trim the nails is using a pair of baby nail scissors with rounded tips.
• Nose Care: No special care is needed when cleaning the nose. However, there are some babies who have dry stuffy noses on waking up. Just put in two drops of saline in each nostril to unclog the nose. You can also tickle your baby’s nose with a tissue to induce sneezing.
• Tummy Ache: Newborn babies usually suffer from tummy aches because of wind. Try burping the baby to make him comfortable.