After completing the nine months of pregnancy and reading and preparing for your newborn’s arrival, you may think you already have a gist of what you should be doing. But nothing actually prepares you for the arrival of your little one. Since this is your first baby, it’s normal to feel as if you just don’t know how to get through the long days and sleepless nights.
Caring for a child is tough. After all, a newborn baby comes with plenty of needs and they’re a hundred percent dependent on their parents. But, in no time, you’ll get the hang of it through days of practical experience and heeding through all the helpful pieces of advice you can gather from sources like this child care information on CareForKids.
Additionally, this article is here to provide some helpful tips for newbie parents like you:
1. Swaddle Your Baby
If you think you’re going through the biggest adjustment with the arrival of your newborn baby, just imagine how big the adjustment is for your baby as well. This is their first feel of life in the ‘outside world,’ and it’s a totally new environment for them. For nine months, all they knew and had were the comfort in your womb, the heat, and even your voice.
When it comes to soothing your baby, it helps to mimic the position and heat they’ve gone accustomed to in the womb. One of the best ways to do this is to swaddle your baby when they sleep. For a crying baby, swaddling them makes them feel as if they’re back in the womb again.
So, how tight should a ‘baby burrito’ be? It should be snug enough so your baby won’t be able to fling their hands and move around when there are sudden loud noises. Doing so may also help improve their sleep quality.
Along this line, another device that may soothe your baby and help them sleep better is a white noise machine. This mimics the ‘noise’ or sound your baby may be hearing from your womb, hence possibly helping your baby through their sleep.
2. Wash Your Hands All The Time
Washing your hands regularly may seem like a piece of very obvious advice, but when you’re sleepless, floating, and tired, this tip can’t be underscored even more. You might seem like you’re constantly feeding, burping, rocking to sleep, washing clothes, baby bottles, and cleaning your baby. But never neglect the simple act of washing your hands. When you’re out, cleaning your hands with alcohol or a sanitizer will suffice. But once you’re home, there’s no better substitute than washing your hands with soap and water.
The reason to be very particular about this is simple. A newborn baby’s immune system isn’t fully developed yet. Also, they may not have the recommended vaccines yet as these are spread out from birth until the early toddler years. This makes newborn babies susceptible to infection and sickness brought about by viruses and other bacteria.
One very good way to prevent this is by washing your hands. Also, ensure that even family members who wish to hold your baby have thoroughly washed their hands as well.
3. Take Good Care Of Yourself
When you’re nursing a newborn, self-care isn’t evil. As you take good care of your newborn baby, it’s not selfish to take care of yourself as well. While going to the salon might still seem impossible at the moment, do whatever makes you happy and healthy at home. This includes always staying hydrated, eating well, and taking the time to read a good book, among other things.
You can’t take good care of your newborn if you’re neglecting yourself. And, the happier you are, the better of a parent you can be to your newborn baby. So, take turns in ensuring that each of you both gets a good rest and get to enjoy some time away from the baby, even if it’s only for an hour.
Final Thoughts
With the tips above, are you now feeling more confident to successfully walkthrough with your baby in that newborn phase? If you feel helpless, like you’ve just been hit by a truck with your exhaustion, don’t be too hard on yourself. Even seasoned parents have once felt like they were simply on the verge of giving up. There's always room to learn and adjust, and the nights won’t always be long forever. One day, you’ll look back on that newborn phase and miss the roller coaster ride your newborn baby came with.
