You know it’s a life-changer to have a baby, but what will it be like after you have brought home your newborn babies. Along the way, all parents will face ups and downs. Maybe your newborn baby has some surprises for you.
To help prepare you, here are 11 things to know about newborn babies:
Newborn Babies: Looks A Bit Funny
Far from the photos of chubby babies, you’re used to seeing during your pregnancy on every magazine cover, website, and booklet you’ve read, your newborn looks can be shocking. They’re going to be somewhat red and wrinkly and might even wear a hair cover over his body called “Lanugo” (this’ going to go away in time). They are incredibly small, so at the beginning, they are usually fumbling limbs.
Newborn Babies: The Eyes
Your infant can only see things 20 to 30 cm in front of him for the first few weeks of its life. It promotes your attachment because it’s almost the same difference between your face and yours when you’re feeding him.
Both babies are born with deep blue eyes, and over maturity, they adapt to their real color. It depends on the amount of melanin in the iris, which hue his eyes should settle upon. Around six and nine months, you will experience the most drastic change of eye color.
Newborn Babies: Feed The Hungry
Stick always on the breastfeed or formula milk. Breast milk is the perfect baby food-with rare exceptions— a baby formula where breastfeeding is not feasible. Healthy newborns require no rice, tea, juice, or any other substance. Your newborn will need a feed every two to three hours, and it is very risky to start him on solids early.
Newborn Babies: Dry And Peeling Skin
Your baby’s exposure to dry air will play havoc with his delicate skin after swimming around in a tub of “water” for quite some time. You may find his skin flaky on his second or third day when it adapts to life outside the womb. Within a limited period, this will rectify. When you are worried about their skin’s appearance, you should use hypoallergenic baby lotion to smooth their bodies.
Don’t Bathe Your Newborn Everyday
In the early days, the baby isn’t going to do much (and since the baby skin is so delicate), you won’t have to take a full bath every day. When you let people interact with your baby, refrain from letting them touch their hands and face and kiss them. Get damp cotton, wipe their face, neck, arms, legs, and bum area. Always use different cotton in each part of the body.
They Will Always Cry
Your infant will cause such a noise with this tiny thing. He is going to be grunting, groaning, snorting, and more. They are crying for a reason, that’s their only way to connect with you. Newborn children sneeze a lot too. Their nasal passages are often very short, and occasionally trapping mucus contributes to some pretty strange sound effects.
The Sleeping Hours
There’s going to be a lot of sleep on your newborn baby. But he is going to wake up a lot too. “For nutritional purposes, newborns wake up at night almost as often as they do during the day. During these early days, expect your baby to wake up to eat as much as every two or three hours.
Mommy’s Smell
The sense of scent of your baby evolved in the womb, and as a result, it is one of the best senses present at birth. Yes, the sense of smell of your kid is going to help him recognize you because he can detect your scent by the time he’s a week old. It is another way nature allows for a special connection between you.
Don’t Simply Spoil Your Newborn
Your newborn wants to feel loved and safe, so there’s no way to be cruel about his crying. Keep him up regularly, cuddle, and speak to him, feed him on demand and respond to any call. You don’t exploit him, but you set the groundwork for a good relationship.
Leave That Umbilical Stump Alone
It’s one of the nastiest aspects of baby care, so you definitely can’t wait to get away from the unsightly umbilical cord-stump. But pulling on it to speed up the cycle would only delay it and even end up an infection. The only way to promote sliding off the stump is to leave it dry.
The First Poop
Your baby’s stools are composed of meconium for the first two days, a thick greenish-black material that covers your baby’s intestines during birth. Wipe the bottom of your baby with a ball of cotton wool soaked in water to disinfect it, and cover the bottom of your baby with petroleum jelly to make it easy to wash next time.
Newborn Babies: Conclusion
Your fetus grows rapidly after the “fourth trimester” and becomes an infant, then a crawler, then a child, then a tiny talker. Your brand-new infant will never feel like the sweet-smelling, utterly vulnerable being you’re doing right now. Love it or hate it, before you know it, the period will be over.
