All of us should stop reading many scary stories on the Internet, imagine what happens if our baby gets ill and simply panic. There will be snots, and not once. There will be high fever and diarrhea. As well as first nail trimming, first blood test and first appointment at the dentist. But in the end everything will be fine! Always remember that.
Chapter 5. Safety rules
Children are such charming people. You cannot take your eyes off them.
And if you do – you have only yourself to blame.
Zaryana and Nina Nekrasov. “Stop raising children – help them grow up”
I remember one episode since the time when I was pregnant. I was at the NST – with my beautiful belly tied with ribbons and decorated with sensors, reading a smart book about raising a child. So, I was laying there, trying to read, and my eyes were not on the book but on the fetal monitor tape. Here the line strangely went up, and now it is suspiciously quiet. I do not know anything about non-stress tests, but there is something definitely wrong with my baby’s heartbeat. I call for a nurse. She studies the tape and then looks at me… and says the words that I will remember forever: “Ok, mommy, when your baby is born, you will have many more reasons to worry. Will you panic like that always? Your NST is perfectly fine!”
Then, already after birth, I understood the main difference that occurs in a woman after she has had a baby. I am not talking about changing your bra from B cup to DD. And it is not about the fact that after birth mommies do not tend to converse about universal matters, preferring “we woke up” and “we pooped” instead. The most dramatic change is the fear that is now firmly settled in the brain of a delivered woman. Fear for her child, for baby’s health and for herself as well.
Before birth I was rarely scared for my life. I could even call myself an adrenaline junkie. But then I became more of a “scaredy cat”. It seemed now that it is more dangerous on the road than it was before, black ice became especially frightening, and the air – more dirty (so we definitely have to move outside of the city). I was an overeducated mother and already knew about SIDS and apnea, so at night every half hour I was rushing to the crib to see how my baby was breathing.
After about a year this paranoia started to abate. But I already accepted the fact that it will never go away fully.
I am not alone. Future mommies prepare to become an advanced parent with all their might, swallowing books about early child development and studying advice on how to raise a genius since birth. After birth they suddenly realize that all of this is not so important yet. It is much more important to protect their baby from all dangers of this world.
If you want to avoid many reasons to drink sedatives, it is better to take all necessary precautions and discuss them with the family (and better yet, write all safety rules down). When my husband and I started going out again, we started leaving Matvey with his grandmothers who did babysitting. We printed out an impressive list of household safety rules and put it on refrigerator. This way everyone felt more confident: us, new parents, and the baby’s grandmothers who forgot things and anyway had an approach of “we-did-raise-you-somehow”.
Let’s divide all those rules into three relative categories according to baby’s age (or simply speaking, according to the method which he uses to get around). Every next list is an addition to the previous one and includes new rules that take into account your baby’s growing-up.
Ι. Until your baby learns to crawl
It seems like a newborn is not capable of anything yet. He\she will stay wherever you put him\her and is not able to do anything dangerous. However, everyday your little one develops new skills. There, he\she grabbed a rattle for the first time, rolled over to his tummy for the first time, and there you see he\she already rolled two meters away from where he\she was… I remember Matvey was four months old when my friend asked me: “So, did he\she fall off a bed already?” At that time, I thought: “How!? How is that possible to not look after your baby properly and let him fall off a bed?” Later I learned how. About six times.
– On the changing table
Never leave your baby unattended. Even if he\she did not learn how to roll over yet, your little one can move in unimaginable directions, just like a little caterpillar. Keep all baby care products so that your baby cannot reach them when lying on a changing table.
– In the bathroom
Check the water temperature with your elbow. The palms of our hands are much less sensitive. The ideal temperature is when your elbow does not feel cold or hot.
When bathing a baby support his head with the palm of your hand or put it on the crease of your elbow.
3. In the baby bed
Mattress in the baby bed should be enough hard and not easily sagged. Children do not need a pillow until 1,5—2 years old. Do not cover your baby with a blanket fully to the neck and on top of the baby’s hands. If you do, he can pull the blanket over his\her face. Either swaddle, or use a special baby sleeping bag.
If you put cushions around for a more comfortable sleep, make sure that they are not close to the baby’s face and do not close the baby’s nose. If you sleep next to your baby, make sure that it is safe. Do not use the same blanket and put a cushion between you and the baby.
4. Around the baby
There should not be any long ribbons and strings (on clothes, toys, pacifiers, etc.) in the vicinity. When you are holding a baby (or stay close to him\her), do not drink or eat anything too hot.
5. In the car
Doctors recommend to minimize the number of rides in a car with a baby until he can hold his head. If you have to, you can use a special collar for a baby to support the neck. Naturally, a child of any age must be put in a child safety seat. Yes, babies sometimes do not like to stay in the seat fastened, but safety is more important than silence.
To ensure safety in the car, it is important to buy a good safety seat and install it correctly as well.
Group 0 seats (so-called infant carriers) are installed only on the back seat of a car, perpendicular to the direction of the movement, head to door. Baby carriers hold the baby lying on the back.
Group 0+ seats are installed only in a rear-facing position, preferably on the back seat. If you put it on the front seat, make sure to turn the passenger airbag off.
Group 1 seats (for children who weigh 9—18 kg and can already sit properly) are forward-facing. Your baby is secured in the seat with a 5-point harness.
6. When going for a walk
In the summer avoid direct sunlight on the newborn’s skin. When your baby grows up a little, do not forget about the baby sunhat and sunscreen.
ΙΙ. When your baby already crawls
In the blink of an eye you baby will start getting around on his\her own. It seems like only yesterday he\she was laying on his tummy, and there he\she is, already crawled to the cupboard and is now playing with pots, spoons, pasta and other educational material.
If you do not want to impose restrictions or have many reasons to worry, simply make your home safe in advance. Before your little one starts exploring the surroundings, remove all electric cables and other dangerous things from the floor.
1. Safe environment at home
Get into the habit of closing the doors of all potentially dangerous spaces: balconies, pantry, closet with household cleaning products, etc. Put safety plugs into electrical sockets, hide away the cables, household chemicals and pharmaceuticals (better