CARE OF NEW BORN BABY

 The care of your newborn baby will be messy. Here are a few tips from experienced parents to help make life easier.

Breastfeeding and Nursing

It has been first week of new born baby. Newbie finally growing better and need breast feedings. Even though nature has done a pretty good job of provided that you and your baby with the right tools, in the beginning it's almost guaranteed to be harder than you expected. From sore nipples to tough latch-ones, feeding and nursing can seem irresistible. "Think of ways to ensure success before you even give birth," suggests Stacey Brosnan, a lactation consultant in New York City. Talk with friends who had a good nursing experience, ask baby's pediatrician for a lactation consultant's number, or attend a La Leche League (nursing support group) meeting. At home, you'll want to drop everything to feed the baby the moment she cries for you. But Heather O'Donnell, a mom in New York City, suggests taking care of you first. "Get a glass of water and a book or publication to read." And, because breastfeeding can take a while, she says, go for toilet first!". If your breasts are distended or you have blocked ducts a heating pad or a warm, wet washcloth works, but a flax pillow (often sold with natural beauty products) is even better. "Heat it in the microwave, and conform it to your breast," says Laura Kriska, a mom in Brooklyn, New York. If your breasts are sore after nursing, try a cold pack. Amy Hooker, a San Diego mom, says, "A bag of icy peas worked really well for me." If you want baby to eventually take a bottle, introduce it after breastfeeding is established but before the 3-month mark. Many experts say 6 to 8 weeks is good, but "we started each of our kids on one bottle a day at 3 weeks," says Jill Sizemore, a mom in Pendleton, Indiana.

Sleeping and Soothing

If your baby isn't eating, he's most likely sleeping. Newborns log as many as 16 hours of sleep a day but only in short bursts. The result: You'll feel on constant alert and more exhausted than you ever thought possible. Even the best of us can come to resent the severe sleep scarcity. There's only one goal right now: Care for your baby. "You are not going to get a full night's sleep, so you can either be tired and angry or just tired," says Vicki Lansky, author of Getting Your Child to Sleep...and Back to Sleep (Book Peddlers). "Just tired is easier." One night it's Mom's turn to rock the crabby baby, the next it's Dad's turn. Amy Reichard and her husband, Richard, parents in Denver, worked out a system for the weekends, when Richard was off from work. "I'd be up with the baby at night but got to sleep in. Richard did all the morning care and then got to nap later." The old saying "Sleep when your baby sleeps" really is the best advice. "Take naps together and go to bed early," says Sarah Clark, a mom in Washington, D.C. Do whatever it takes: Nurse or swing baby to sleep; let your newborn fall asleep on your chest or in the car seat. "Don't worry about bad habits yet. It's about survival!" says Jean Farnham, a Los Angeles mom. It's often hard to decipher exactly what baby wants in the first murky weeks. You'll learn, of course, by trial and error. "The key to soothing fussy infants is to mimic the womb. Swaddling, shushing, and swinging, as well as allowing babies to suck and holding them on their sides, may trigger a calming reflex," says Harvey Karp, MD, creator of The Happiest Baby on the Block books, videos, and DVDs. Forget the dubious theory that music makes a baby smarter, and concentrate on the fact that it's likely to calm him. "The Baby Einstein tapes saved us," says Kim Rich, a mom in Anchorage, Alaska. Alexandra Komisaruk, a mom in Los Angeles, found that diaper changes triggered a meltdown. "I made warm wipes using paper towels and a pump able thermos of warm water," she says. You can also buy an electric wipe warmer for a sensitive baby. "Doing deep knee bends and lunges while holding my daughter calmed her down," says Emily Earle, a mom in Brooklyn, New York. "And the upside was, I got my legs back in shape!" If all else fails, and baby's umbilical cord stub has fallen off try a warm bath together. "You'll relax, too, and a relaxed mommy can calm a baby," says Emily Franklin, a Boston mom.

Read More

Pregnancy Tips

Make sure that you get in all the nutrients that your stiff needs during your pregnancy, you have to to eat a mixture of foods from all the major food groups: Carbohydrate-rich foods are an significant source of energy for you and your emergent baby. And any pregnant woman will tell you the energy that lasts the whole day, and avoid the energy slumps, moodiness and headaches that come with low blood sugar. The whole-grain products are all high in fibre, which can help to ward off constipation. Protein-rich foods supply the building blocks that are used to create your baby’s body. During the second half of your pregnancy, when baby is growing fast, you will need to eat more protein than previously; and if you are carrying twins you will need even more protein. Most animal foods are rich in protein, including meat, poultry, fish, eggs, milk and dairy products. You should try to include some form of protein with every meal. Fruits and vegetables are essential for your own health more than anything else. Getting your five-a-day will help to keep your resistant system strong and your colon happy. A balanced meal carrying protein, fruit or vegetable and a bit of vigorous fat will ensure that you get in a good mixture of nutrients.

Requirements, Energy, appetite supplements and weight

During the early days, your energy necessities stay more or less the same. Many women also struggle with nausea and food aversions during this time. During the middle months, however, you need to take in more energy to help your baby grow up. You may also notice an increase in your hunger, and you should start to put on weight at a rate of 1-2 kg per month. All of this is usual and healthy; pregnancy is definitely not the time to attempt a weight-loss diet! Some nutrients are required in such large amounts during pregnancy that it is nearly impossible to get enough from your diet only, so it is suitable to supplement them. The two most significant nutrients to supplement are folic acid (folate) and iron. Folic acid is significant in the early months to ensure that the baby’s brain and spinal cord increase properly, and it is important during the rest of the pregnancy to support growth. Iron is needed to generate extra red blood cells, both for yourself and your baby. The least supplements that you should be taking is folic acid (preferably starting even before commencement) and iron from the middle months on-wards. However, there are many studies that show a collective multivitamin-mineral supplement gives the best possible outcomes for both mom and baby, so the best is to take a pregnancy-specific multivitamin. If you suffer with nausea you may want to attach to folic acid in the early months, since multivitamins can make the nausea bad. You should start taking a multivitamin no later than the middle months.

Things to be avoided

There are a few things that are absolute dangerous for your baby that you should avoid or limit during pregnancy: No amount of alcohol is known to be safe for the developing fetus. If you haven’t quite yet, now is the time. Caffeine should be restricted to no more than two cups of tea, coffee or cola drinks a day. Rooibos tea is caffeine free, so you can drink that as much as you want. Medicine, including any herbal or traditional remedies, should be discussed with your healthcare source. Even something as simple as a headache tablet can be harmful at certain times during pregnancy. Your baby’s health starts accurate here, with every bite you put in your mouth. Choose the healthiest options to give your baby the best possible start in life.

The Last month

It is  almost over. In just a few weeks, you are finally going to meet the baby you have talked to and dreamed about. But be prepared, the last month of pregnancy is often the most puzzling for hoping fathers. At times you may be almost overcome with excitement and anticipation. At other times you may be feeling so scared and trapped that you want to run away. In short, all the feelings good and bad that you have practiced over the last eight months are back. Here are a few of the ambiguous emotional stages you may find physically going through during the final stages of the pregnancy On the one hand, you may be feeling confident about your readiness to be a dad. On the other hand, you may be worried and unsure about whether you’ll be able to handle your dual roles as husband and father. All you’ll probably want to do at the end of the day is go home and relax. But with your partner less and less able to handle physical tasks, you may be greeted at the door with a list of chores that need to be done. You and your partner may be feeling an exceptionally strong emotional bond with each other. At the same time, your sex life may have completely disappeared. As your partner gets more and more uncomfortable, she may feel less and less like going out with friends, so the two of you have to enjoy some quiet, private time before the baby comes. But it may also be an unwelcome opportunity to get on each others nerves. By this time your attention and that of your friends and family is focused straight on your partner and the baby. Since you are the person she’s closest to and sees most often, your partner is going to be more and more dependent on you not only to help her physically, but to get her through the last-month of pregnancy emotional ups and downs.

Read More