Taking care of your baby means providing him or her with the comfort conditions necessary for full development. To do this, it is important to regularly carry out the essential hygienic procedures for the child and follow a number of simple rules.
For newborns, hygiene procedures should be carried out in the morning and evening and during the day since the baby’s body is still adapting to external conditions and requires special care.
The daily routine for parents of a newborn baby is to make sure the baby is as clean, warm, comfortable, nourished, and healthy as possible. Taking care of a baby is not easy, but every loving family can do it.
So, like every person, the newborn needs a morning routine, feeding, healthy sleep, and walks in the fresh air. In addition, massages are necessary for a baby from 1 month of age.
How many times and how to bathe a newborn baby?
Every morning for a baby begins with water procedures. They are, of course, not the same as for adults or older children. To wash a newborn, you need to prepare: a place for the morning bath (the changing table), water (a cup is enough), cotton pads, cotton rolls, baby oil, a clean diaper, clothing.
The procedure will take place after the baby wakes up: smile at him, talk to him, after 5-10 minutes of communication, begin to bathe.
Cleanliness begins with the baby’s head and ends with intimate hygiene.
For diaper rash, use a powder (it dries it up). Pay special attention to your baby’s ears and nose. Treat the ears with dry cotton swabs only on the outside (the auricles). The nose is cleaned with cotton swabs slightly soaked in the same baby oil. Each nostril has a separate cotton ball.
But that is not all the procedures. Next, the baby’s belly button is cleaned, and the diaper changes.
Changing diapers and baby’s intimate hygiene
Let’s move on to intimate hygiene: the newborn should be washed with warm water or wiped with the baby’s groin with wet baby wipes (better of course) from the front edge to the back. Then lubricate the area with baby oil or cream. If necessary (with diaper rash), use a special cream or powder. Put on a diaper.
Attention! After each pee, the diaper should be changed (even if it costs a lot of money and your efforts – a newborn baby pees at least 12 times a day)! This is recommended by pediatricians and manufacturers of baby care products themselves. Every time you change the diaper, wipe the baby’s genitals, allow your little one to spend 15 minutes without the diaper (air baths). Wear the diaper so that it does not touch the belly button.
Nail care for newborns
In addition, it is worth paying attention to the baby’s nails: they are trimmed 1-2 times a week. It is best to use ordinary manicure scissors (no kids’ modern scissors do not fit so perfectly). But they must be designed only for a newborn! On the hands, nails grow faster than on the toes. Watching their growth is necessary because the baby, with his uncoordinated hands, fingers can scratch themselves. Nails on the hands are cut in the shape of a finger (oval) and straight on the toes.
Massage and exercises
Before each bathing of the baby from one month is recommended, massage and exercise prepare him/her for water procedures and stimulate the activity. It starts with stroking, from the feet to the periphery.
Rubbing and other massage movements should be performed not earlier than 2-3 months of age, as he/she will be ready for it.
How many times and how often you should feed your baby
From birth to 6 months old, a baby will eat every 3-4 hours, at least every 4 hours, and no more often than every 3 hours. Thus, depending on the baby’s individual needs, he/she will eat 7 or 8 times a day. Personal factors, in this case, are the size of the baby’s stomach and general condition. This determines how much the baby will eat at once to satiety. Some infants eat slowly, taking breaks “to sleep” (such babies are tired while “getting” their mother’s milk), and others eat quickly, getting full for 4 hours.
Some babies can’t eat much at once because their stomachs aren’t ready for it. Take it easy when your baby is getting full, even if it takes 40 minutes. Feeding is your baby’s first experience with mommy: tenderness, love, confidence.
Whether you breastfeed or feed with baby formula, it doesn’t matter: calmness, peace, and joy, and that’s what’s most important for the baby.
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Putting the baby to bed: when, how, and what
There is no need to force a newborn to sleep, either: the baby knows “when it’s the right time.” Again, your task is to trace this moment (rubbing eyes, rubbing ears, starting to complain) and be ready to give this opportunity. The newborn sleeps for 3-4 hours in a row, after which he/she eats and sleeps again. This is how the first or third month goes: the baby sleeps 16-20 hours a day. Gradually, the sleeping time decreases, and the waking time increases. And at 6 months, the baby sleeps only 14.5 hours a day, including 3-4 daytime naps.
Follow the sequence of actions
It is important to remember the sequence of actions. It should always be the same: you wipe the baby after bathing, put on a diaper, pajamas, swaddle, and feed in the same order night after night. You can choose the actions that suit your situation, but it is essential to follow the sequence.
If you repeat these actions every night and try to relax during the ritual, the baby will be more willing to fall asleep and sleep more soundly at night.
All rituals before bedtime should be completed
After the final point, there should be no more games and active actions. Satisfy all of your baby’s needs beforehand, and after the ritual is finished, don’t go socializing. Otherwise, the ritual will not fulfill its main function – sleep marking.
Be persistent and consistent, and then in a few days, the child will accept these rules and be happy to go to bed after your joint actions.