How to Treat a Newborn?
As a rule, being alone with the baby at home for the first time can bewilder young parents. They don’t know how to treat a baby without causing any harm to them.
All parents are afraid of hurting their child, to break something accidentally, to drop them, to overheat, to supercool, and so on.
Here are some necessary points that all parents should follow to treat a baby with care:
- Wash the baby's face in the morning. Wash their genitals during the day. Bathe your baby in the evening. You can wash your baby with warm water.
Of course, always test the water before washing your baby by hand or lowering any part of their body into the water.
- Touching your elbow into the water serves as a good gauge of the water temperature. Use a soft cloth or your clean hand for the bathing. After the washing, dry their face and body with a soft cloth or towel.
- Water temperature for washing should be 36-37.5C. Washing should last around 5-7 minutes. It’s better to do it before bedtime and evening feeding. You can start bathing your baby a week after birth.
- It doesn’t matter how long diapers remain clean on the baby, but you have to change them regularly. One of the healthiest habits for a baby is washing the baby between the diaper changing. Do it with your clean hand under a stream of warm water. Then dry the baby's bottom with a terry towel and powder sprinkles on the body with special talcum powder.
- Be sure that the baby's nose and ears are clean for the child’s health and safety. Use cotton swabs to clean it.
- To prevent the baby from scratching themselves, put on "scratches." Starting from the second week after birth, you can start cutting their nails a bit. It’s better to cut them more often and not too short.
More Ideas to treat a baby with care
- Apply the alcohol-containing solution on the umbilical wound daily (for example, 1-2% solution of "brilliant green"). Do this twice a day - after bathing and during morning toilette. Don’t worry it’s for your child’s health. It won’t hurt your little one because there are no nerve endings on the umbilical wound.
- The best temperature in the room is 22-23C degrees. Ventilate the room regularly. And keep an eye on the moisture level (you can buy a special humidifier or hang wet towels on the radiator during the heat.)
- Talk to your baby often. Let them get used to your voice. Hang a couple of colorful toys over the bed. At least, one of them should be black-and-white (newborns perceive contrasting combinations better.)
- To avoid overheating, don't put too many clothes on the baby. Clothing should be sufficient for them to keep their natural thermoregulation. The best formula is “as for yourself but + 1 more layer.”
Keep calm and don’t be afraid of anything. And very soon, your cute baby will start smiling at you!
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