Newborn Parenting Basics: Everything You Need to Know as a New Parent
- Renu Rawat
- Jul 17, 2020
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 28, 2023
As a new parent, you're about to embark on an exciting, terrifying, and challenging journey of your life. You may have great hopes and expectations about what life will be like raising your child, but parenting is a journey defined by the many adjustments you'll make as you learn to fulfils your role as a parent, meet your children’s needs as they grow, develop, and change and newborn parenting basics guide can help you in embarking this journey.
Becoming a parent for the first time is life-altering. But how much your life get alters, this you would only know when you actually go through this experience. And once you get to know, you can't move back, even if you want to.
Children are educated by what the grown-up is and not by his talk. –Carl Jung
So if you are new in this rollercoaster ride, welcome to the most adventurous ride of your life.
Here are some essential things that only new parents will truly understand:
Bonding and Attachment
Bonding and attachment are crucial in a baby's development. It's about always responding to your baby's needs with love, warmth, and care, becoming a special and trusted person in their life. You can form a bond between you and your baby by simple gestures like cuddling, smiling, gazing, singing, reading, and talking. While bonding with their mothers comes naturally, fathers need to make a little more effort to form that connection with their baby. Involve yourself in every activity of your baby, and eventually, you will become your baby's favorite.
Washing and Sanitizing Your Hands Before Holding the Baby
As babies have a weak immune system, they are at the highest risk of infections. Therefore, hygiene is crucial. Always make sure that everyone who handles your baby has clean hands. Wash or sanitize your hands every time you hold your baby.
Head and Neck Support
Support the head and neck of your baby whenever you lift, hold, and carry them to stabilize their entire body. Newborns have wobbly heads and necks and need to be treated gently. The fragility of babies is intimidating, but there is nothing to worry about; just be a little careful.
Baby Bath and Massage
Give your baby a sponge bath until the umbilical cord falls off and the navel heals completely, which usually takes around 1 to 4 weeks. After that, you can give them a regular bath using lukewarm water, but be gentle as babies are fragile and delicate. After the bath, gently dry your baby using a soft towel or cloth and keep the skin moisturized. Body massages are a great way to bring you and your little one closer. They help in trust and communication development as you interact with your baby. Your gentle touch will make your baby feel loved and cared for and generate good hormones. Massages may also help ease muscular tension, growing pains, and teething discomforts, as well as stimulate growth. Your baby will also feel relaxed during a massage, which helps to improve sleep.
Swaddling
Swaddling is a technique of wrapping your baby using some soft cloth that soothes them. Proper swaddling keeps a baby's arms close to the body while allowing some movement of the legs. It keeps the baby warm and gives them a sense of security and comfort. Swaddling may also help limit the startle reflex, which can wake a baby suddenly.
Diapering
Diapering is one of the most crucial things when it comes to babies. Whether you choose to use cloth or disposable diapers is entirely up to you, but make sure that the diaper is clean. Put some ointment during a diaper change to avoid rashes. You can use coconut oil or any other diaper rash cream, whatever you prefer.
Feeding
Babies need to be fed every 2-3 hours. Some newborns may need to be awakened every few hours to make sure they get enough to eat. Both breastfeed and formula feed are fine, but do not feed your baby with cow milk until they are one year old. Cow milk contains high protein, and a baby's digestive system is not strong enough to digest it.
With formula-feeding, it is easy to monitor the amount of milk baby is consuming, but with breastfeeding, it can be a little trickier. If your baby seems satisfied, produces about 6-8 wet diapers and several stools a day, sleeps well, and is gaining weight regularly, then he or she is probably eating enough.
Burping
Babies often swallow air during feedings, which can make them fussy. So burp your baby to avoid this.
If your baby doesn't burp after a few minutes, change the baby's position and try burping for another few minutes before feeding again. After burping, keep the baby in an upright position for a few minutes to avoid spitting up.
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding can be a struggle at the beginning, and in most of the cases, for the first 3 days after delivery, milk production is not up to the requirement of the baby and that's fine. Slowly after 2-3 days, milk production would be normal.
Breastfeeding isn't always easy and if you’re experiencing difficulties you’re not alone. You may face problems like pain while feeding or expressing milk, cracked and sored nipples, nipple biting, low milk production, difficulty in latching (very common initially).
But slowly you will come over it and within a month or two, you will be the master.
Sleep Deprivation
New parents quickly realize that sleep becomes a luxury with a newborn. Babies need to eat every few hours, and it can be challenging to balance caring for a newborn with getting enough rest for yourself. Sleep deprivation can affect your mood, concentration, and overall health, so it's essential to take care of yourself during this time.
Try to sleep whenever your baby sleeps, and don't be afraid to ask for help from friends and family. It's okay to take naps or go to bed early to catch up on sleep.
Try to form a sleeping routine for your baby. This will help a lot.
Vaccination
One of the most important thing which every parent should know is about vaccination. After birth, babies need Vaccination to get protected from various diseases and infections.
The first vaccination would be immediately after birth i.e., BCG.
After that, you'll have to follow a certain vaccination chart which has all the details about when and what vaccine needs to be given to the baby.
Vaccination sometimes becomes a nightmare for the parents as due to pain, the baby becomes fussy and cranky. But don't worry and just follow the doctor's advice. The very next day of vaccination, your baby would be in relief and so you.
No to water during the first 6 months
The first 6 months of babies are so important and utmost care should be taken at this time.
Do not give water to your baby until he completes 6 months.
Baby's water requirement is met by milk itself and does not require extra nourishment, other than milk.
Emotions
Parenting can bring about a range of emotions, from overwhelming love and joy to frustration and exhaustion. It's normal to experience a range of emotions during this time, and it's important to take care of your mental health.
Postpartum depression is a common condition that affects many new mothers. If you're experiencing symptoms such as feeling sad or hopeless, difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite, or loss of interest in activities, speak to your doctor. There is help available, and you don't have to suffer alone.
In conclusion, becoming a parent is an exciting and challenging journey that comes with its own set of unique experiences and challenges. By understanding and accepting these challenges, you can become a more confident and capable parent, and enjoy the many rewards that come with raising a child.
It's natural to feel anxious about handling a newborn baby, but in a few weeks, you'll develop a routine and be parenting like a pro, as if you were born to be parents.
Is there any secret of being a good parent? There isn't one. And if someone says yes, I am sure he has still not entered into this parenting club.
But I can assure you one thing, having a baby is a blissful feeling and the amount of joy and happy moments which a baby brings to you life, has no substitute. You will forget all your pain, sacrifice just looking at the cutest smile of your baby. Babies are truly angelic and mood booster.
So ending my note and wishing you a happy and wonderful parenting journey.
Signing off!
Thanks for reading!!
Love and Peace!
Thank you for your kind words!!
Thanks for sharing such great content with us that is loaded with fruitful information. I'll surely bookmark your site for future read. Thanks again.
I Still remember the day of my Son's first vaccination. He still has a big mark of BCG Like as the below image
Anyway, keep up the good work! I always forget about vaccination schedule. you can write about it in future.