10
Tried and True Steps for Newborn Care
by admin ·
Knowing when an infant is ill can be a challenge for new parents. Health care workers are so used to requests for information that a parent’s genuine concern can sometimes be treated too casually. Mothers can begin to doubt whether or not to trust their instincts.
The good news is that there are tangible and objective measures of a baby’s health.
WEEK ONE
A baby should nurse a minimum of eight times each day for a period of at least a quarter of an hour each session during the first week of life. You should be able to hear the baby swallowing milk. Muconium, baby’s first black sticky stool, will pass. This will transition from a black-green color to a brown doughey consistency. By the fourth or fifth day, this will appear yellow. Within 48 hours after birth, the baby will have wet diapers. By the end of this week, the frequency of wet diapers will increase to 2 or 3 per day.
An ill baby will show definite physical signs of his condition. There is reason to be concerned if a baby has a weak sucking reflex, little or no desire to nurse and cannot sustain a feeding for at least 15 minutes, 8 times per day. If a baby falls asleep before nursing for 15 minutes, makes a clicking sound when nursing, and has dimpled cheeks when sucking, these are also indications that there is some difficulty. If the pattern of stools don’t progress and transition and there aren’t wet diapers within two days of birth, this is not normal. Two days of these symptoms indicate that you should seek medical help.
THE FIRST MONTH
Signs of a healthy baby will be similar for the first month. Each day a healthy baby will nurse for eight sessions and produce 2-4 yellow bowel movements. Track your baby’s wet diapers. You should see between six and eight of them each day with clear urine, not yellow. The baby’s suck will gain in strength; You should see some milk at feeding and hear your baby swallowing. Your baby will grow both in weight and alertness.
Take special note of anything out of the ordinary: infrequent feedings, small stools or missed stools, decreased urination or bright yellow urine. You should be able to measure an increase in your baby’s weight and length. A baby that has a weak suck, doesn’t make swallowing noises during nursing, becomes sluggish and lacks quick responses and doesn’t sleep between feedings, is a reason for concern. Should you observe these behaviors for a couple of days in a row, seek out a health care provider.
THE 5TH THROUGH THE 10TH WEEK
A baby may change from 8 to 7 feedings per day during this time. This is because he is growing and can take in more milk. Bowel movements will continue to change and will settle into a pattern of either several small stools in a day or a large bowel movement every 2 days. In breastfed babies, this is normal because the body assimilates much of the milk with little waste. Six to eight wet diapers will continue daily, but check to be sure there isn’t a concentrated yellow color. You should notice that your baby is increasing in his awareness, has a stronger suck, audible swallowing and a little milk dripping at feeding time.
During this 5th to 10th week you may have reason for concern if your baby doesn’t nurse at least seven times per day or produce the right amount of wet (not bright yellow) diapers each day. Make a note if your child stops gaining weight or doesn’t grow in length. Babies that can’t be heard swallowing and have a weak suck are not likely to be getting enough nourishment. Seek medical assistance if your baby becomes lethargic, slow to respond or unable to sleep between nursing sessions. Two consecutive days of these behaviors indicate something is wrong.
MONITORING YOUR BABY
Remembering how often and when a baby ate can be a challenge when you are well-rested. Expecting a new, sleep-deprived mama to do this can be overwhelming. One solution is to keep a pencil and a notebook near the sleeping baby. Whenever mama feeds or changes the baby, note the time and what was done along with your observations. For example, you might write: “4:00 p.m., b-fed 15 min., wet diaper – clear, no poop” Start with a clean sheet each day. Write the date at the top of the page.
Should you need to confer with your doctor, you’ll be able to reference your notes for detailed information. This is also a good bonding tool for a new mama. By looking over her list, even a weary mama can tell at a glance if the crying is due to hunger (too long between feedings) or constipation (hasn’t moved his bowels). In turn, you begin to interpret your baby’s cries and what they mean. In turn, the new mother gains confidence in her ability to identify and meet her child’s needs.
However, older mamas give sage advice when it comes to newborns and new mamas. Enjoy these first few weeks to their fullest. There’s nothing more important than getting acquainted with your new baby. In a flash, they are no longer little.
Interested in more child training tips? No Greater Joy is a ministry dedicated to helping parents bring up children they enjoy. They have written a bestseller called To Train Up A Child that has helped thousands.
Tags: babies care, baby care, child baby care, newborn care, take care of baby
