A newborn babies schedule can feel unpredictable

 

Whether you have just welcomed a baby into your family or have started the process of pregnancy or adoption, you may have a few questions about life with a newborn. From feeding and diapering to safety and wondering if you will ever sleep again, here is a primer on life with newborn babies. Becoming a parent is a wonderful, empowering experience, but that doesn't mean you have to do it all alone. From the simple question about decorating your nursery to the bigger questions about your baby's health, we have the answers to help you along the way.

A newborn babies schedule can feel unpredictable. Newborns will sleep an average of eight to nine hours in the daytime. They may sleep up to another eight hours total at night. But this won’t usually be for the same stretch of time. Your baby should also sleep on their back, which is the safest position for them. Avoid using blankets, pillows, or crib bumpers. Instead use swaddles, sleep sacks, and pajamas to keep baby warm at night.

Newborn babies also have very small stomachs. They’ll need to get up about every three hours to eat until around 3 months of age. Once they’re a little older, they’ll be able to go longer between feedings. Some babies will sleep through the night starting at 4 months. Others won’t sleep through the night until later. Your pediatrician is your best resource for letting you know how often your newborn will need to be fed throughout the night as they grow.   

Newborn babies seem mostly to sleep, eat, cry and poo. But as you and your baby get to know each other and bond in your early days together, your day will also involve cuddling and playtime. All babies are different their eating and sleeping patterns often change, and it may take some time for them to settle into a routine.

Handling a Newborn

If you haven't spent a lot of time around newborns, their fragility may be intimidating. Here are a few basics to remember:

·         Wash your hands (or use a hand sanitizer) before handling your baby. Newborns don't have a strong immune system yet, so they're at risk for infection. Make sure that everyone who handles your baby has clean hands.

·         Support your baby's head and neck. Cradle the head when carrying your baby and support the head when carrying the baby upright or when you lay your baby down.

·         Never shake your newborn, whether in play or in frustration. Shaking can cause bleeding in the brain and even death. If you need to wake your infant, don't do it by shaking — instead, tickle your baby's feet or blow gently on a cheek.

·         Make sure your baby is securely fastened into the carrier, stroller, or car seat. Limit any activity that could be too rough or bouncy.

·         Remember that your newborn is not ready for rough play, such as being jiggled on the knee or thrown in the air.

Bonding and Soothing

Bonding, probably one of the most pleasurable parts of infant care, happens during the sensitive time in the first hours and days after birth when parents make a deep connection with their infant. Physical closeness can promote an emotional connection.

For infants, the attachment contributes to their emotional growth, which also affects their development in other areas, such as physical growth. Another way to think of bonding is "falling in love" with your baby. Children thrive from having a parent or other adult in their life who loves them unconditionally.

Begin bonding by cradling your baby and gently stroking him or her in different patterns. Both you and your partner can also take the opportunity to be "skin-to-skin," holding your newborn against your own skin while feeding or cradling.

Babies, especially premature baby and those with medical problems, may respond to infant massage. Certain types of massage may enhance bonding and help with infant growth and development. Many books and videos cover infant massage ask your doctor for recommendations. Be careful, however 0babies are not as strong as adults, so massage your baby gently.

Babies usually love vocal sounds, such as talking, babbling, singing, and cooing. Your baby will probably also love listening to music. Baby rattles and musical mobiles are other good ways to stimulate your infant's hearing. If your little one is being fussy, try singing, reciting poetry and nursery rhymes, or reading aloud as you sway or rock your baby gently in a chair.

Some babies can be unusually sensitive to touch, light, or sound, and might startle and cry easily, sleep less than expected, or turn their faces away when someone speaks or sings to them. If that's the case with your baby, keep noise and light levels low to moderate.

Baby Crawling

Babies start to crawl around the 9-month marker or later, but some start as early as 6 or 7 months, while others take their sweet time putting four on the floor. And some babies actually bypass crawling altogether going straight from sitting up to standing to walking. It is the question which is often asked that When do babies crawl. When your baby’s playing on the floor, you’re probably already keeping a close eye on the situation. Start watching for the most common signs that your baby’s getting ready to crawl. One sign is when babies are able to roll from their stomachs to their backs and vice versa. Another sign of readiness is when your baby manages to get herself from her stomach up into a seated position by herself.  Let’s take a closer look at the development of crawling and other modes of infant locomotion. When do babies start crawling, why is there so much variation, and what can you expect to see during your baby's first year? When we think of crawling, we often envision babies scampering around on hands and knees, their tummies held high above the ground. But some babies learn to when do babies start crawling along on their bellies instead. If you know when do babies start crawling, you can expect him or her to switch to hands-and-knees crawling within a couple of months. But belly-crawling isn't a prerequisite. Some babies begin hands-and-knees crawling without any prior experience with belly-crawling.

How to get your baby to crawl

There are a few ways you can help your baby discover crawling:

• Tummy time. Make sure your baby gets plenty of supervised tummy time so she can practice raising herself on all fours. Tummy time helps her build strength in her back, neck and arms the better to crawl, scooch or creep with, my dear!
• Propping up your baby to sit. Sitting assisted at first, and then unassisted when she's ready, also helps babies develop strong abdominal and back muscles for crawling. In fact, babies often "discover" crawling from learning to sit: One day she might lean over from sitting and discover she can prop up her body on her hands and arms. From there, she might try rocking back and forth, or even holding herself in a plank pose, until she figures out her own way to move along, inch by inch.
• Belly bait. Another game that encourages babies to get crawling is to place tantalizing toys some call it "belly bait" nearby but out of reach during tummy time, or near where baby is sitting. She'll be extra motivated to try out new ways of moving her legs and arms when there's a clear reward in sight for her efforts.

Baby Milestones 

Your baby’s first year is full of developmental milestones. Here, we’ve broken down what to expect each month. It’s important to remember, though, that every baby develops at a different pace, and there’s a wide range of normal timelines. Developmental surveillance is the process of monitoring child development over time to promote healthy development and to identify possible problems. Standardized developmental screeners have greater sensitivity than baby milestones -based history taking.  Unfortunately, Canadian screening guidelines, to date, are sparse, logistical barriers to implementation have slowed uptake of screening tests and physicians continue to rely on milestones. When using clinical impression as a framework for surveillance, clinicians may not know when to consider a baby milestones delayed because developmental attainments exist within an age range and there is an absence of referenced percentiles on available published tables, which are particularly problematic for the cognitive and social-emotional sectors, which are less familiar to physicians. A novel, five-sector milestone framework with upper limits, referenced to the best available level of evidence, is presented. This framework may be used in teaching and may help physicians to better recognize failed baby milestones to facilitate early identification of children at risk for developmental disorders. Baby's here and it's time to start showing her this exciting new world! Find out how you can help behavioural development stay by understanding these 1 month baby milestones. The first month of a baby's life can be a blur of eat, sleep, poop, repeat. But more is happening with baby's development than you might think, and those early weeks set the stage for a year of remarkable achievements.