Pulmo Sleep Center Eliksir

The first weeks of a baby's life are a huge change in the life of parents, especially if it is their first child. The development of the baby by weeks is accompanied by numerous changes, unusual situations and various dilemmas that confuse mothers.

Doubts and getting used to a new way of life mixed with the most beautiful parental emotions are a normal phenomenon after the birth of a child, including numerous questions that you definitely want to ask someone. In the following, we will try to answer some of them, and point out what the baby needs in the first days.

Baby's appearance in the first month

A worried mother and a baby whose skin color changes during the first days of its life are a normal occurrence in this period. In the first hours after birth, the baby will have strange transitions in skin color, which can vary from blue to blue-purple or reddish. Such scenes can seem scary, but they are completely normal and should be expected.

The baby's body, like the mother's, suffered a lot of effort during childbirth and you should not be surprised by bluish hands or other phenomena on the skin caused by immature blood circulation. Precisely because of the mutual physical shock, it is not uncommon for women in labor to need professional care at home after childbirth.

Don't forget that the child was in the mother's tight womb for months, after which he suddenly found himself in the open. Reactions on the skin are just a sign of adaptation to the new conditions outside your body.

Later changes on the skin, which you may notice a few days after leaving the hospital, are not necessarily a cause for concern. Slight redness and most changes are harmless and disappear spontaneously, but according to instinct, contact your pediatrician.

How much does a baby eat and sleep in the first days of life?

The arrival of a baby home from the maternity ward does not mean that your home will be constantly filled with the sounds of crying. Babies spend most of the day, even up to 18 hours a day, sleeping, and this should not worry you. Of course, falling asleep happens at intervals, so the child will wake up every three or four hours so that you can meet their needs and put them back to sleep.

As for the first few months of life, the rhythm of sleeping and eating is regulated spontaneously, without the mother's intervention. This is the period when you listen to your child, who cries and indicates hunger, and satisfy his need when he shows it. Breastfeeding the baby in the first days and the amount of milk that will satiate it is also determined by the baby itself, so let it suck as much as it requests. During this period, you will still not encounter the problem called - what to do when the baby won't eat?

How to adapt the space where the baby sleeps?

Babies are not aware of most things in the first weeks of life, but they feel the energy, the atmosphere and the mother's presence. Accordingly, they can calm down or become agitated, and it is up to the parents to adapt the living space, especially the one where the baby lives, to its needs as much as possible.

Create a pleasant atmosphere for the baby. During breastfeeding and falling asleep, turn down the sounds, or possibly play a soothing melody that will relax the baby. The baby will also be calmed by the mother's voice, which is special compared to all others, considering that babies listen to their mothers months before coming into the world.

You can dim the lights and adjust the temperature of the room so that it is pleasant to stay in. Do not heat the room too much because it can have a bad effect on the child. Take care of yourself - even you are not comfortable sleeping in a room that is too hot or too cold. Adjust the brightness to the time of day, so as not to confuse the child's brain. During daytime sleep, you should not darken the room, so that the baby gets used to it over time and differentiates sleeping at night from sleeping during the day.

You cannot expect discipline in terms of sleep in the first few months, because the child is not able to reason things out and understand when it is day and when night. In the first weeks, it is guided exclusively by its needs, so it will not choose the time to wake up and be hungry. Parents, and primarily mothers, should adapt to this pace, regardless of the fatigue and lack of sleep that usually come with this pace.

You cannot expect discipline in terms of sleep in the first few months, because the child is not able to reason things out and understand when it is day and when night. In the first weeks, it is guided exclusively by its needs, so it will not choose the time to wake up and be hungry. Parents, and primarily mothers, should adapt to this pace, regardless of the fatigue and lack of sleep that usually come with this pace.

How do mom and baby prepare for their first bath?

Preparations are an important part of every mother's life. First you need advice and preparation for childbirth, then for leaving the hospital with the child, and then for his first baths, temperature, mischief and everything else that comes with time.

Bathing a newborn can seem like a very serious task, and for most mothers it seems that there are a million things that can go wrong when bathing. There are several basic rules that you should follow in order to make bathing your baby a mutual pleasure.

What is needed to bathe a baby?

Bathing a baby requires a bathtub, a soft towel, suitable shampoo, baby powder, and clean clothes for the baby. Apart from these things, the most important thing is the safety of the child. When you place him in the tub, which is placed on a safe and solid surface, do not leave him alone for even a moment.

Do not separate yourself from the child who is in the bathtub, not even with a glance, because you never know when babies will use the opportunity to make early movements and thus potentially lead to unwanted situations, which arise due to insufficient attention of the parents. The child is not aware of what is happening, and you cannot expect him to care about his body position and the movements he makes. This is solely the responsibility of the parents.

You can cover the baby tub with a towel, so that the baby does not slide in it. The height of the water in the bathtub should not exceed 7 or 8 centimeters, and the temperature of the water should be close to room temperature. Carefully hold the baby during bathing, paying attention to the position of the head and back. You bathe the baby with water, shampoo and a cloth sponge with which you clean the body, while you wash the face and eyes with clean hands and water without shampoo.

Wash the baby's head and hair with a little shampoo, being careful not to get soapy water on the face and eyes. Pay special attention to washing the baby's ears and the space between the fingers. You should hold the child with one hand all the time, while you bathe him with gentle movements with the other hand. When you have soaped your baby and removed all the soapy water, lay her on a dry towel and rub some baby powder into her body. In this way, the first bath will pass without any problems, and both mom and baby will enjoy each subsequent one even more.

Baby's reflexes in the first days of life

You can apply the baby's reflexes yourself: sucking, grasping and automatic walking are more than obvious. Sucking is a way for a child to eat, and when you bring your face, finger or an object close to the child's lips, he will mechanically begin to suck. You will notice grasping with your hands whenever you give your baby a finger, and she squeezes it with her fist. Although walking is still far from your newborn baby, you will notice his legwork when you lift him up high - babies imitate walking that way.

You can apply the baby's reflexes yourself: sucking, grasping and automatic walking are more than obvious. Sucking is a way for a child to eat, and when you bring your face, finger or an object close to the child's lips, he will automatically begin to suck. You will notice grasping with your hands whenever you give your baby a finger, and she squeezes it with her hend. Although walking is still far from your newborn baby, you will notice his legwork when you lift him up high - babies imitate walking that way.

When it comes to the baby's vision, during the first month of life she will see very little and limited. He will be able to fix his gaze at a distance of 25 to 30 centimeters, which is enough to see his mother's face while breastfeeding. Over time, the child's vision will develop until it becomes completely normal.

The baby's hearing is somewhat more developed, and you will notice how it reacts to loud and sharp sounds by twitching its body and head. Try to neutralize the sounds and not to give the child such surprises. His favorite sound that he recognizes most easily in the first months of life is his mother's voice. The mother's smell is also the first smell that the child begins to smell a few hours after birth, and over time they become sensitive to other smells as well. A child's taste develops somewhat later, with the introduction of solid food.

The first days of a baby can be stressful, but try to listen to your child and feel free to contact the pediatrician every time you have a doubt or a problem with the child. If for any reason you are unable to devote yourself adequately to the child, feel free to seek the help of a professional in baby care at home.

Do not panic about the smallest changes, because they are normal and desirable during the first weeks of a child's life. Do your best to enjoy motherhood, as many say, the most beautiful feeling in the world.