Parenthood is an incredibly exciting and nervous roller coaster journey, especially if it’s your first child. Even though you’ve read all the articles and watched all the videos or might even have some experience with other children, handling your own child is totally different.
The fact that your child is around every single moment of every day, makes it a bit more challenging because usually when we interact with other children it’s only for a little while and that’s usually the time when the child is already in a good or neutral mood. When you have to deal with the baby crying profusely and you can’t figure out what’s wrong, it can get extremely tiring and frustrating at times.
Even though newborn babies are really small and look very fragile, they are actually quite tough and can handle a lot more than what a new parent would expect. This doesn’t mean you can throw them around, rather you can take it a little easy and not stress over every single time the baby lets out a little cry.
Also, you should understand that the only way the baby can communicate is through crying. In fact, for the first couple of months, even the baby is not aware that they are crying as they don’t really understand how to communicate. Crying is an involuntary reaction that just happens, and it’s up to you to figure out why.
Here are a few tips that will address some of the most common problems new parents have and how you can take better care of your baby.
1. Food
The biggest concern for parents is usually food. How much should they feed, what should they feed, how should they feed, and every other concern related to food. According to the WHO, children up to the age of 2 should continue to have breast milk. However, exclusive breastfeeding is not always possible and the alternatives to breast milk can actually be quite helpful in this case. Other than the nutritional value, you want to ensure that the baby is getting all the fuel they need to fight diseases and infections. Similarly, you also want the milk to be easy on their tummy. You can try out a few different types to see what works best for your baby.
2. Sleep
Other than the food, sleep plays a huge role in the development of a baby. In fact, sleep plays a big role even in the development of adults. It’s important that babies get enough quality sleep for their bodies to grow. Some parents worry when their newborn is barely ever awake, but according to a reliable online resource for parents, it’s completely normal for newborn babies to sleep for 17-20 hours per day. Understand that nap time is the time when their body is actually doing all the building. Your baby will only wake up to eat and then it’s back to nap time.
3. Hygiene
Another important factor for parents is the baby’s hygiene. Babies are very different from adults and they don’t need the same kind of hygiene as adults do. In fact, giving your baby a bath more than thrice a week can be very harmful to their skin and can lead to many other problems. More importantly, you don’t want to submerge the baby in water till the umbilical cord has completely separated and fallen off. Ideally, you should just wipe your baby down with a soft sponge or a soft damp cloth and freshen them up. There is no need for soaps and shampoos as their skin is far too delicate to handle those chemicals. Be very quick when it comes to changing diapers as you don’t want them to develop a rash.
4. Interacting
Even if your baby isn’t able to understand, they are still learning with every passing minute. Even newborn babies are extremely observant and for the first few years of life, the child is simply trying to make sense of the world around them. It’s a great idea to talk or sing to your child when they are up, especially during activities such as bathing or changing diapers.
For the first 3-4 months, you want to give your baby a very stable environment in terms of temperature, exposure, feeding times, and all the other variables. This is a very sensitive time of their life where they can easily get sick or injured, so you should be very cautious. Keep an eye out for changes and if something seems to be the matter, don’t waste time in getting professional help. If anything does develop, you want to sort it out before it becomes a serious issue. Other than that, they also need lots of cuddles.