Baby Care Basics

Newborn Baby Care Basics

Updated on July 5, 2024

Are you a new parent worried about how to take care of your newborn baby? Nothing to worry much about this. But of course, you should learn a few newborn baby care basics to handle everything properly. This post is focused on newborn baby care basics which every parent should know.

Newborn Baby Care Basics

We all know becoming a parent is exciting and overwhelming. Months of waiting are over. For some couples, years of waiting is over. It is finally time to bring your newborn baby home from the hospital and take proper care unsupervised. Many first-time parents have many questions about newborn baby care. But with proper guidance and learning, it will become more natural.

Normal Newborn Baby Care Basics

As we all know that there are many young parents who have got only their first baby. So they want to know the basics of normal newborn care. I will keep it very brief.

Feeding – Newborn baby care basics

So first is the feeding part. That is as you all know breastfeeding is the best. So we all have to ensure that the child is given only breast milk and not anything else. That is the first thing. You may like to read The Importance Of Breastfeeding

How to ensure that the child gets adequate milk?

1. Keep the mother happy

The first thing is to keep the mother happy. The mother should not be stressed. She should be relaxed. Because if the mother is stressed or has some worries for any other reason the hormones which are needed to be released from the brain for milk production will not be released and the milk output will come down. This is the first thing.

2. Ensure the mother has a good diet

The second thing is you have to ensure that the mother has a good diet. So the mother has to eat a good diet. No need to restrict anything for the mother. Don’t think that if the mother eats some specific food the child will have a cold, the child will have jaundice, the child will have hot etc. Nothing like that. Mother can eat a normal diet, all vegetables, fruits, hot, sore, cold everything she can eat. In case the family is willing to give non-veg, the mother can eat non-veg too. There is no restriction as such.

3. Proper positioning of the baby when feeding

The third thing is the positioning of the baby when feeding. So mother ideally should keep the baby in a very comfortable position at an angle of 45 degrees ensuring that the baby’s mouth covers both the nipple and the areola of the breast. Keeping the baby’s mouth only on the nipple will not provide feeding adequately. It will lead to biting the nipple by the baby and causing pain and injury to the mother’s breast. So please ensure latching is proper. That is the baby latches onto the breast both the areola and the nipple. Usually, it takes a couple of days time. It won’t happen immediately. So once the delivery has happened, keep trying for the next two to three days and then once that interaction between the mother and the baby is successful, then you don’t have to worry. The feeding will be successful.

So first important thing is to ensure that breastfeeding starts and keep patience for the first two to three days take the help of lactation nurses or paediatrician doctors who can help you and guide you over breastfeeding.

Read The Importance Of Breastfeeding: Expert Advice, Nutrition & Benefits

Urine and motion – Newborn baby care basics

The second thing is urine and motion. So many parents ask this question my baby has not passed urine, my baby is passing more urine etc. So usually a baby will pass around six to eight times of urine in 24 hours and the motions can vary from once in three to four days to eight to ten to twelve times in a single day. So both ranges are normal. Some babies will have a little bit of vomiting. Again that is normal. So no need to worry. They may yawn a bit, they may have hiccups and they may do a little like this. These are all normal things. So you don’t have to worry about it.

Jaundice – Newborn baby care basics

What about jaundice in newborn babies?

All babies who are born will have jaundice to some extent. Only about 10 per cent of babies will need treatment in the form of phototherapy, that is we need to keep the baby in blue light. So no need to worry. As I said all babies will get jaundice, only 10 per cent of them need treatment and usually, jaundice will resolve in two to three weeks’ time. This is mainly because of the immaturity of the liver in newborn babies. It’s quite a common condition. No need to worry about such.

Care of umbilical cord – Newborn baby care basics

You would have noticed that your baby has got a small umbilical stump. I only suggest that you have to keep that umbilical stump and the umbilicus dry. So whenever you give bah to the baby ensure that it is dry by taking a neat cotton cloth and dabbing it dry. If you keep the umbilical cord and stump wet, then it can harbour the infection and have umbilical sepsis. So you just need to keep the cord dry.

Skincare – Newborn Baby Care Basics

How can you take skincare? You can give a bath to the baby immediately and then later once you go home also. And what I suggest is just go to any use multiple this all products of various companies. I would just say just use coconut oil or olive oil for the massage of the baby and then give a bath the baby with lukewarm water. You can use a basin and soaps and other things are ideally suggested after one month of age. So just do an oil massage and take a basin and then apply it on the body and with lukewarm water, you give a bath to the baby. And when you’re drying the baby don’t rub the baby’s skin because it will injure it. So what do you have to do? You have to dab the skin dry and you can use diapers whenever the baby passes motion you have to change them immediately and in case the baby is passing only urine maybe every six to eight hours you have to change the diaper.

This is about some of the basic facts and how to take care of your newborn baby 

Newborn Baby Care Basics

Baby Care Basics
Baby Care Basics

How To Hold A Newborn Baby – 5 Easy Baby Holds For New Parents 

Conclusion

Parenting is a blessing and gift from the almighty God. It is also a duty assigned to the parents to take proper care of their children to help them grow. Hope that the above helped you to learn normal newborn baby care basics. Your love, affection, and proper care are essential for your newborn baby to grow. Don’t forget to share the post with your friends, relatives and others who are searching for help to learn newborn baby care basics.

Could you learn a few newborn baby care basics?

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References & Credits:  Dr Hiremath Sagar, working as a Consultant Pediatrician and Pediatric Intensivist at Mazumdar Shaw Medical Center, Narayana Health City, Bengaluru. You can watch the video.

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