After feeding your baby, they may need help to bring up wind. This can be done by simply leaning them forwards on your lap or against your shoulder and gently rubbing their back. If they haven’t brought up wind after a couple of minuets or are showing signs of discomfort such as grimacing, it could be that they don’t need to bring up any wind. Trapped wind is not harmful, however it can cause discomfort so it is best to try and bring up wind after a feed.
Your newborns nappy will need changing every couple of hours to begin with, as they usually urinate every one-three hours. This can make the
skin sore and lead to nappy rash, so it’s best to use a nappy cream after changing the nappy. Changing nappies takes some time getting use to but it will become second nature. Here are some step by step pictures
Pictures from www.abc.net.au/parents/parenting_in_pictures/changing_a_nappy.htm
Part of your baby’s physical care is bathing and hygiene, however
newborns don’t need bathing very often as only their face, neck, bottom
and skin creases get dirty, so they only need bathing every couple of days, the rest of the time you can top and tail. When you top and tail a baby you clean their eyes, ears, nose, face, hands and bottom. Using warm tap water (cooled boiled water for your baby’s eyes) cotton wool and baby wipes. When cleaning the eyes wipe from the inner corner outwards, with a new piece of cotton wool wipe clean the face and neck, making sure you get in the neck creases. Next wipe over and behind the ears but never inside them, uncurl your baby’s fingers and wash their hands and feet. Then clean the bottom in the same way as when you change their nappy.
It is recommended that you only top and tail your baby until their umbilical cord drops of and their navel is completely healed, which is between one to four weeks. You also need to care for the umbilical cord until it drops of. Some doctors recommend that you swab the area with rubbing alcohol until the cord dries and falls of; others recommend that you leave the area alone. However your baby’s navel area must not be submerged in water until the cord has dropped of and the area is completely healed.
Relationships
Bonding is a process of deep, intense attachment that you develop with your baby. This attachment is essential for your baby child psychologist Sue Ranger says, “If we have healthy, nurturing relationships with the main people in our lives in the first couple of years, they equip us with a set of strategies which we can use to cope with the difficult things that life throws at us.” For parents bonding can happen the moment you first lay eyes on your baby, for other it may take time. Bonding with your baby can be harder if your baby is premature and in a special baby care unit also if the mother is experiencing baby blues, a form of mild depression, where women feel very emotional and upset and may cry, yet they can’t explain why they are crying. The baby blues are linked to hormonal changes in the body and usually occurs three to four days after birth. The baby blues affect 60 to 80 per cent of women; it usually lasts a couple of days and then disappears.
You can bond with your baby by simply interacting with them for example holding them in your arms and stoking their face, eye to eye contact babies can see about twenty centimetres away from them, babies are fascinated with faces particularly the eyes and they will look at them for hours, which is great for when you are feeding them. Talking and singing to your baby is another example as they will soon learn to recognise your voice. Another great way of bonding with your baby is by giving them a massage; this is becoming increasingly popular with parents in the UK as it involves skin to skin contact. It is also a great way of getting them settled for bed.
Pictures from www.abc.net.au/parents/parenting_in_pictures/baby_massage.htm
These are all activities that both mum and dad can do and whilst dad is bonding with baby mum can have a rest as the first few weeks will be exhausting.
Your baby will communicate with you be cooing and crying. Crying is their way of telling you what they want. The average healthy baby cries for three hours a day, during the first three months. So it’s important to understand why your baby is crying. The most common cause of crying is hunger, your baby’s stomach can not hold very much and therefore need feeding regularly, so try offering them milk. If your baby has just been fed and is crying they maybe uncomfortable, until your baby can turn themselves over they rely on you to change their position. Also if their clothes are too tight or their nappies are dirty. If your baby is too hot or too cold they will cry, if they are too hot loosen their clothing and remove some layers of bedding. If they are too cold cuddle your baby and wrap them in a blanket, a good way to tell if they are too hot or cold is to place a hand on their stomach or the back of their neck. Babies will cry just to be held and have physical contact this can be very soothing for babies and makes them feel secure. If your baby is over stimulated they find it difficult to settle, if you can find no specific reason for why your baby is crying it could be that they have simply had enough and want to sleep, try taking them somewhere quite and gently rocking them and soothing them until they settle. However if your baby has long bouts of crying, pulls up their legs and generally looks really uncomfortable they have colic. Colic is uncontrollable crying in a baby who is otherwise healthy, it affect twenty percent of babies. The cause of colic is unknown but it occurs at around two to four weeks old and can last for three months, there are no medicines to treat colic although you can buy colic drops to help relieve abdominal symptoms.
Stimulating Learning
Newborns display a number of reflexes; these are automatic responses to specific stimuli such as the rooting and sucking reflex, this will help your baby find its mother’s breast. If you gently stoke your baby’s check they will turn their head in the direction of your finger and if you gently brush the top of their upper lip they will open their mouth. Also anything that is placed in their mouth is automatically sucked.
The grasp reflex, when you put an object or a finger in the palm of your baby’s hand they will automatically clench it, surprisingly tightly.
The stepping or walking reflex, if you hold your baby under the shoulders and lift them into an upright position, with their feet placed on a firm surface. They will make forward stepping movements.
Moro reflex, any sudden movement that’s the neck or causes the head to fall backwards, gives your baby the feeling that they are being dropped. So they throw out their arms and open their hands before bringing them back towards their body as if trying to catch hold of something.
Pictures from www.winfssi.com/appraisals.html
These reflexes help your baby to connect to their surrounding environment and also help them learn. Babies learn through their senses
Touch is very important for newborns, before birth they were kept warm and sheltered inside the womb. Your baby is now having to face the feeling of being cold for the first time. Your baby will want to be hugged and comforted and feel soft blankets. This will help your baby feel secure in their new surroundings. Your baby’s sight is not yet fully developed and they can only focus on people or objects up to twenty centimetres away, but when you hold your baby they like to look at your face and see your facial expression. Make funny faces, smile and laugh this will fascinate them and they may try and copy them. In the first few weeks your baby may have something known as “doll’s eye” this is when one or both eyes move in the opposite direction to that which the head is moved. This should disappear as your baby develops. Newborns are also drawn to bright contrasting colours such as black, white and red. These colours will help them to pick out shapes and patterns and therefore help stimulate their visual development. Your baby has been listening to their mother’s heart beat, the sound of her digestive system and her voice whilst in the womb. When they are born sounds become louder and clearer and can recognise their mother’s voice within hours after birth. You can help stimulate your baby’s learning by simply taking to them, hearing your voice teaches them a lot and helps cognitive development. Respond to them when they make a noise, this is them trying to talk back. The senses of smell and taste are closely linked. Your Baby can recognise their mother scent very soon after birth, they can also recognise the smell and taste of their mothers milk. From birth your baby can distinguish between sweet, sour, bitter and salty, babies prefer sweet tastes.
Spending time with your baby and playing with them helps them to develop gross and fine motor skills. A motor skill is an action that involves the movement of muscles in your body (Hames. P 2007). Gross motor skills are larger movements, which involve using the arms, legs or the whole body. Fine motor skills are smaller actions, which usually require hand-eye coordination such as picking thinks up. As your baby gets use to their new surroundings they will begin to develop these skills for example when you lie your baby on their back they will turn their head to one side (gross motor skill), newborns tend to have their hands tightly closed this is a fine motor skill and if you turn on a light your baby will turn their head towards it. You can stimulate their physical development by providing them with opportunity to kick freely and experiment with movement. A brightly coloured play gym and mobile will help their visual and sensory development. As your baby is close enough to focus on the toys and the bright colours and sound and when they are older they will be able to reach out and touch them. Choose toys that are brightly coloured and have lots of different textures, when buying toys check to see if they have a CE or lion mark, which means they are of good quality and have met the toy safety regulations.
One Month Physical Care
During the first few months your baby will grow very quickly. At one month old your baby is growing one to one an a half inches a month in length. Your baby should also be gaining two to three ounces a day in weight. These will be measured by your health visitor and recorded in your child’s Personal Child Health Record.
At this age your baby will not be able to stay wake for much longer than a couple of hours, if you wait much longer to put your baby down, then they could become overtired and will fine it very difficult to settle. Check for signs that your baby is tried such as dark circles around their eyes. Your baby will only sleep between two to three hours at a time, however at this age you can begin to teach them the difference between day and night. During the day keep the house bright and well lit; don’t worry about noises such as the telephone or the television and when your baby is awake play with them as much as possible. However at night when you are feeding your baby, keep the lights and the noise down and try not to play with them. This will help them learn that night time is for sleeping.
At this age your baby needs feeding every two to three hours and they will let you know when they are hungry for example they will make sucking noises, open their mouth and they will start crying. If you are bottle feeding your baby should be having about three to four ounces a feed. If you are breastfeeding there is no way to know how much your baby is having unless you express your milk and then put it in a bottle. If you do this you can store your milk for up to forty-eight hours in a refrigerator, you could do this if you are thinking of returning to work and taking your baby to a nursery.
Nappy changes should start to become less frequent, yet you will be doing about six to eight changes a day. Lots of wet nappies are a sign that your baby is getting all the fluids that they need. Your baby should have two or three bowel movements a day. If your baby is breast-fed expect their stools tent to be soft, if their bottle-fed they should be a little firmer but not hard.
Bathing a baby can by more difficult and a lot of new parents feel very nervous bathing their baby for the first time, so here I have put in a step by step guide in how to wash your baby and if you are still not confident in doing this you can always top and tail until you feel ready.
Pictures from www.abc.net.au/parents/parenting_in_pictures/bathing_a_newborn.htm#bathitems
Relationships
By one month old you will have formed a strong relationship with your baby. By simply spending time with your baby and carrying out daily activities such as feeding and changing nappies your baby has learnt both parents scent, they can recognise your faces and also the sound of your voices. If you respond quickly to your baby’s cry, they will have developed a sense of trust which will help them trust other people who they form relationships with i.e. grandparents, relatives.
Stimulating Learning
At one month old your baby’s is still near-sighted, however your baby is gaining more and more control over their eye muscles. They will also be able to turn their head and look at you. At this age your baby’s hearing is almost as good as an adult’s they can recognise both parents voices and can distinguish their tone and pitch from those of other people. However any sudden changes in noise levels will make your baby jump and can become very distressed. Your baby’s other senses are pretty much developed, so try introducing them to new things such as toys with different textures.
At one month your baby’s sensory development is improving your baby will follow an object with their eyes as it moves, so try moving a toy from side to side, remember they can only see about twenty centimetres away from them. Their gross motor skills are also developing; they are gaining more control over their neck muscles and can lift their head up for a few seconds at a time. Their fine motor skills are coming along too your baby will turn their head towards the light and will stare at shiny objects. Your baby is also developing emotional and socially for example at around five weeks your baby will smile, this smile will be in definite response to you. They will also use total body movements to show pleasure and they will imitate facial expressions e.g. sticking their tongue out. Their language is also developing they will quieten when they hear your voice or when they are picked up. Your baby will make eye contact and will cry to tell you that they need something. You can stimulate their development by having lots of physical contact and maintaining eye contact. Talk, sing to your baby and also give them the opportunity to respond to you. Play with your baby and let them kick freely as this will help build their muscles, always support the head when playing with your baby and provide toys that are brightly coloured such as a rattle. As well as toys that have different textures from example soft books or a play mat as these are brightly coloured, each section has a different texture and some may make sounds, this will keep your baby interested for hours.
Three Months Physical Care
Your baby is still continuing to grow at a similar rate; they should be gaining between two to three ounces a day and growing one to one point five inches in length per month. However theses are only averages your baby may grow faster or slowly and is likely to experience growth spurts.
If your baby was premature their growth should not be compared with a baby that was full-term.
At about three months most babies are sleeping about fifteen hours a day, with most of those hours being at night, however you may still need to get up once or twice for feeds. Now that your baby is older you can start establishing a bedtime routine, for example giving them a bath, getting them ready for bed, reading them a story and lights of by eight. By getting your baby into a routine they will know what to expect and understand that know is the time to go to sleep.
At this age your baby should be feeding about every four hours and your baby will be taking more at each feed. If you’re formula-feeding your baby should be eating between four and five ounces. If your breast feeding and your worried about how much your baby is taking in, check your baby’s growth and weight as these are good indicators that your baby is great all the nutrients that they need. If you are still worried try expressing your milk and putting it in a bottle.
As your baby gets stronger changing nappies may become more difficult, but by this time you should be a dab hand at changing nappies so the process shouldn’t take that long. However if your baby wont stay still try distracting them with a toy.
When your baby is two, three and four months old they will need to be immunised, they will be offered a DTaP/IPV/Hib vaccine which protects them from five diseases, they are diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whopping cough), polio and Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib). At three months they will also be offered a MenC vaccine which will protect them from meningitis C. And at four months they will be offered a PCV vaccine, this will protect them from pneumococcal infection.
Relationships
By three months you will have developed a strong relationship with your baby. You will know what they like and what they don’t, which is their favourite toy and what they want when they cry. Your baby is constantly learning about the world around them. Your relationship with your baby will help them feel safe and encourage them to explore. Provide them with opportunity to explore their surrounding but stay close by; they will need you for reassurance. They will notice if you have gone and they will not know if you are coming back, which could leave them feeling very distressed.
Stimulating Learning
At this age your baby is frequently smiling and babbling. Your baby enjoys repeating the same action over and over again, which helps them learn. They like consistency as this makes them feel secure. At three months your baby’s gross motor skills include using the arms and legs together, using voluntary actions instead of reflexes, and your baby maybe starting to try and roll over onto their stomach. Your baby can sit up with your support and they can lift their head up for several minuets. Fine motor skills include clasping and unclasping their hands, taking their hands to their mouth, watching their hands and playing with their fingers. They can also pick up toys using both hands for a short time before dropping it. Their cognitive and language development is coming along, for example your baby is taking a greater interested in their surroundings. Yet they still become distressed when they hear any sudden loud noises. They will show excitement when they hear approaching voices, they also babble and laugh. Your baby may also suck or lick their lips when they hear their bottle being prepared. To help promote your baby’s physical development try a supportive infant chair, so they can watch what’s going on around them. Giving your baby a massage can also increase body awareness. Holding your baby close and talking to them will strengthen the bonding process, imitate the sounds your baby makes and encourage them to repeat them, this will help the development of language. Responding to your baby’s needs and showing enjoyment in caring for them, will help emotional development and build confidence. At three months old everything your baby touches will be put in their mouths so provide toys that have different textures and make different sounds as this will encourage them to develop their senses and explore some more. Play gyms are great as it allows your baby to interact and learn about cause and effect, for example when they kick one of the toys it makes a sound.
Physical Care Six Months
At around six months your baby’s growth may start to slow down, gaining on average between one and one an a half pounds a month. Your baby’s growth in weight, length and head circumference will all have been recorded during check-ups, you can use these figures on the growth charts in your baby’s Personal Child Health Record to track their growth, by now you should be able to see a growth curve developing, on the next page is an example of a growth chart.
By six months there is no need to feed your baby during the night and most babies will sleep through the night without waking. Your baby will also still need two or three sleeps during the day, however these will only last for a hour an a half to two hours at the most.
Form six months old you can gradually start introducing solid foods to your baby. Weaning can be broken down into three stages. Stage one offer your baby pureed vegetables such as carrots, parsnips or perhaps fruit e.g. banana these are just to get your baby used to solids, the different textures and tastes. Milk should still be the most important food at this stage. If you are giving your baby hot food always stir it and test the temperature first. Don’t force feed your baby, if their not interested leave it and try again another day. Stage two increase more variety such as bread or pureed meat or poultry. Milk should still be the main source of food, however you can gradually increase the number of feeds a day. Stage three solid food is becoming a bigger part of you baby’s diet, so it is important to offer a wide range of different foods, to ensure that they are getting all the vitamins and minerals they need. Your baby should still be having about five hundred millilitres of breast or formula milk a day. Try to give two to three servings of starchy foods a day and one serving of meat, fish, egg or pulses
Image from www.adoptmed.org/storage/Fetal-Infant%20Prees
such as beans and give fruit or vegetables as snacks. As your baby continues to develop you can introduce foods with a thicker texture and encourage them to chew even if they don’t have teeth. Avoid giving your baby salt as thee daily limit is one gram, also avoid adding sugar as this can lead to tooth decay, avoid nuts as they can cause choking, also cow’s milk until they are one years old.
At about six months your baby will start getting their first teeth, these are known as milk teeth. The first to break through are the bottom front two, followed by the top two. As the teeth push through the gums it can cause your baby some distress, the gums may appear swollen, the cheeks may look red and your baby may excessively dribble. It can also affect their sleep if they are in pain, however you can help relive some of the pain by rubbing teething gel onto the affected gum area with a clean finger, a chilled teething ring can also help sooth sore gums and also distract them. As soon as your baby’s teeth come through you should start cleaning them. You need to use a soft toothbrush that is specially designed for young children and use a small pea size amount of baby toothpaste.
Relationships
The best thing for your relationship with your baby is to spend time with them. By this time you may have to decide to go back to work and your baby maybe going to nursery or being looked after by relatives. Many mothers feel guilty about going back to work, but this could be a great opportunity for your baby to explore new surroundings and be around other babies and as long as you still get the chance you talk, sing and play with your baby there is no need to feel guilty.
Stimulating Learning
At six months your baby can roll over and move along on their stomachs and push with their feet, they pick up everything around them they constantly babble and they are making new discoveries every day. Their gross motor skills have really developed your baby can sit unsupported for periods of time, they can roll from back to front, they can grasp their feet and put them in their mouths your baby they even attempt to crawl. Their fine motor skills are also developing your baby is alert to people and objects, they use the pincer grasp to pick things up (finger and thumb) if your baby drops something they will look for the fallen object and also everything is explored and everything is put in their mouths. Their cognitive and language development has also advanced your baby understands signs for example when the highchair is put out it means food is coming, they can make gestures for example raising their arms to be picked up, they will imitate you, clap their hands and play peek-a-boo. Emotional your baby is more wary of strangers and they will show distress if their mother leaves, your baby is also much more aware of other peoples feelings. Your baby is now a lot more active so ensure that furniture is stable and there are no sharp corners, encourage your baby’s mobility by placing a toy just out of their reach. You can stimulate their intellectual development by pointing at objects and naming them, talk to your baby about anything and everything and widen their experiences by taking them on outing e.g. go feed the ducks, imitate the sounds they make and encourage them to copy you. Give them time to play, stacking toys are great for this age as it allows them to develop their pincer grasp and hand-eye coordination. Also picture books where you and your baby can look together and point at objects with you.
One Year Old Physical Care
By the age of one your baby has tripled their birth weight and has grown about ten inches. Your baby should now be sleeping between thirteen to fourteen hours a day with one to two naps during the day.
Your baby can now drink cow’s milk, if you do give them cow’s milk it must be whole milk as it contains all the dietary fat needed for normal growth and development. Your baby should now be drinking from a cup, if you are breastfeeding only give them milk in a cup and not in a bottle. A t this age your baby should be eating three meals a day with two or three healthy snacks in between. However if your baby is not hungry do not try to force them, your baby will not starve themselves and will eat when they are hungry. Your baby has a natural sweet tooth so try to keep fatty and sugary food to a minimum and instead offer fruit as snacks such as banana which has a sweet taste. Your baby will also be able to feed themselves using a spoon, so expect a mess.
At the age of one your baby will have about eight teeth and the first molars will be starting to come through at the back. Encourage you baby to brush their teeth twice a day by letting them try and do it for themselves. Avoid giving your baby fruit juice especially before they go to bed as the sugar will rot their teeth.
Relationships
The bond you have developed with your baby has given them physical and emotional security and the confidence to explore the world around them. This security will help them to form relationships with other children and will help their development in all areas. Your baby is likely to grow up happy, confident and have a clear sense of self.
Stimulating learning
At twelve months your baby will probably be able to walk on their own, with their feet wide apart and their arms up to maintain their balance. They are likely to fall down a lot and they can stand up on their own without having to pull themselves up using furniture. All of these are gross motor skills; their fine motor skills have also developed. Your baby can build a tower with a few bricks, they can hols a crayon and shows a preference for one hand. They can also turn several pages of a book at once. Their cognitive and language skills are also developing. Your baby is learning new things by trial and error. Your baby may have produced their first words. They understand their daily routine and will follow simple instructions. Socially your baby is likely to play alone for long periods of time and will show definite likes and dislikes when it comes to meal and bedtimes. In order to stimulate development provide your baby with push and pull toys such as brick trucks, ensure that everything has been baby proofed, there are no sharp corners cover plug sockets with child resistant covers. Read to them, talk constantly and sing nursery rhymes. Encourage them to feed themselves and promote a feeling of self-worth by giving them their own cup, spoon, toothbrush etc. Also encourage them to join in and help with chores around the house e.g. duster.
Bibliography
Meggitt. C (1999) Caring for babies a practical guide. London. Hodder & Stoughton
Stoppard. M (2001) revised edition Complete baby & childcare. London Dorling Kindersley
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