•Your baby’s grasp reflex is exceptionally strong. One of the tests your doctor or midwife will do soon after birth is to check this reflex, as one of the indications of tone, development and well-being. Place an index finger in each palm of your baby’s hands and see how she automatically grasps tightly. Slowly pull her upwards from a prone into a sitting position and she will not let go. This instinctive reflex will gradually disappear. Until it does, it will be quite difficult to prise her fingers off anything she latches onto.
•Most babies sleep like tops for the first three to five days of life. No doubt the arduousness of birth has something to do with this and maybe also the adaptation to life on Planet Earth. Whatever the reason, it is certainly quite a surprise if you have been preparing yourself for lots of tears and interrupted sleep. There will be some of that but it is likely to be less than you imagined. Babies with jaundice are more tired, and big babies who do not feed well or frequently enough will need special attention, but for all the others, let sleeping babies lie and enjoy it while you can.
•Breast babies pass stools about 8 to 10 times a day in the first month to six weeks. Once the meconium phase has passed (that’s the thick green-black sticky stool of the first few days), a breastfed baby is likely to do a poo at every feed and often more than once at each sitting! Some will be big and explosive, others just a smear in the nappy. Breast babies’ poos are mustard in colour, soft as unfrozen ice cream and containing what looks like little sesame seeds. They are easy to clean and are not at all smelly. After this six-week period, the stools will reduce in number to as little as one in five days – still soft and easy to clean.
•Babies can sleep deeply while drinking their milk. You might well have seen Madonna-like pictures of a sleeping baby at the breast, but have you ever paused to think whether or not this can really be done? Well, it can, and yes, they can be fast asleep, eyes tightly shut and little jaw chomping away at the breast or bottle. All this without choking, spluttering or any other unwanted reactions. Feeding from the breast especially is hard work; and the nurturing effect of milk while cuddled in Mom’s arms adds to this sedative mix. Breastfeeding moms should take a leaf out of Baby’s book and also catch 40 winks while Baby feeds. Lie down comfortably and make up for broken nights. Babies on formula should not lie flat as they may be prone to ear infections from milk leaking into the ear via the Eustachian tube. Hold them at a 45-degree angle in your arms.
THINGS NOT TO WORRY ABOUT IN THE FIRST TEN DAYS
If you make your life, and Baby’s, as easy as possible in the first ten days with these top tips, the chances are that the first three months, so feared by parents, will be smooth and carefree:
•Forget about spring cleaning and maintaining a perfectly spotless house for now. Many women want to prove from the outset that they can be the perfect housewife and mother at the same time. Remember, though, that it takes time to adapt, and it is far more important at this stage to settle down as a new family and get to know each other.
•Do not worry if you feel that you are not coping and that there is simply too much to do – this is quite normal, and only essentials require your attention now. In any case, this is the time to call in all the favours you’ve always shown others and get friends and family to go shopping and run the other errands.
•You do not have to bath your newborn in these first ten days – a lick and a promise, paying careful attention to certain areas such as the buttocks and behind the ears, is quite enough. Babies don’t really become dirty at this stage.
•Routine is something that will gradually emerge as the weeks pass, so do not try to force it in the early days. Relax and observe and you will discover which patterns are important.
•Newborns are prone to many facial rashes in the first ten days, most of which will pass of their own accord. You need only adjust diet or seek advice if they become very worrisome or do not let up soon.
•Do not worry if your baby’s umbilical stub starts looking like a piece of biltong or of it oozes a little blood. Simply keep it spotlessly clean at each nappy change. By two weeks the stub should fall off and by six weeks at the latest, the spotting should have stopped.
•Go on, do yourself the favour of investing in disposables for this stage – just make them the best there are! Towelling nappies can come later when you have settled into motherhood.
•Babies’ nails grow really fast at this stage but don’t panic about cutting them – simply use a small emery board to keep them short and smooth so that they are less likely to scratch their faces. If they do get in a scratch or two, relax, because their skin heals very quickly.
•Don’t worry if milk splotches come out with winding – they are usually small amounts and it doesn’t mean you must feed all over again. These splotches usually look greater in volume than they are.
•If Baby doesn’t burp within five minutes of a feed, leave things be. He probably hasn’t swallowed any air, or it will come up or go down later.
•Forget about bibs at this stage. There is not yet much drooling to be caught and milk splotches need a towelling nappy!
•Forget about fancy baby clothes and use easy-to-put-on, all-in-one baby suits as you get on with the business of dressing your live, wriggly doll.
READ YOUR BABY LIKE A BOOK
Although you may be understandably distraught if Baby cries constantly, try to stand back and observe her body language and daily patterns to help you get to the root of the problem.
•A red, scrunched-up face denotes anger and frustration.
•Tense, drawn-up limbs might be associated with difficult birth and anxiety.
•Feel in the nape of the neck to check for a comfortable body temperature – clammy means too hot and comfortably warm means just right.
•If the abdomen feels like an ironing board, colic is likely.
•Notice if crying spells are at predictable times of day, as that calls for the tissue salt remedy Mag phos.
•If Baby possets or vomits forcefully, and, though generally well and gaining weight, seems to be in pain, the anti-spasmodic action of Mag phos may relieve crying very quickly.
•Tired cries are usually accompanied by pulling, rubbing or swiping of ears.
•Check the colour of hands and feet to ensure that no ribbons or tight garments are restricting blood flow.
•A strident cry is seldom associated with serious illness although certain types of colic and structural urinary tract problems may be accompanied by loud crying.
•Ill babies often whimper or cry more softly and pitifully, along with other signs of illness.
•A peevish, fretful, impatient and irritable cry might be part of a high-need child who is more difficult to satisfy, and homeopathic Chamomilla Tablets generally helps improve matters.
•A cry that is more highly pitched than you have become used to is sometimes indicative of an ear infection, so see your doctor if Baby seems ill. You can also use homeopathic EarCare or Chamomilla Tablets for earache and infection.
•Listen for a dry, raspy cry, which might indicate a sore throat, or a cry that ends with a bark-like cough, as this might be croup.
BATHING BABY
Bathtime is observation time, fun time, stimulation time, relaxation time, inducing-sleep time and a useful tool to help introduce a semblance of routine to your day. It also helps pass the time when Baby is a bit fretful or you simply do not have the energy to dream up an effective attention decoy.
There is no one right way to bath a baby. Every childbirth