Heading Home with Your Newborn

In The Motherhood today, 21 women came together to talk about caring for newborns.  We have gathered highlights of their collective wisdom in this post, but the entire Talk is chock full of great tips and newborn knowledge!

– How to Deal with Too Much Advice: “Eat the watermelon and spit out the seeds.” Take it all in, and choose what sounds best to you, then discard the rest. Every mother’s experience is different.

– Being Pregnant in a Noisy Environment: Although a baby’s hearing is developed by 28 weeks of age, they are protected from outside noise by your uterus, placenta, body, etc. The noise from your blood vessels is thought to be moderately loud and would also drown things out, so noise is not a problem before the baby is born.

– If You Have Pets: Be sure to have the dog get used to the baby’s blanket scent after baby is born. Keep baby and dog separated or supervised at all times in the first few days. As baby gets older, make sure he/she doesn’t get into the dog’s food or toys -they could be a choking hazard or create a fight for territory. Most dogs, however, are very protective of a new baby.

– When to Start Babies on Solid Food: At 4-6 months. Sooner than 4 months can be a choking hazard and may increase the risk of allergies. Much later than 6 months, and baby may reject new textures. Here is a great link with a readiness checklist about starting solid foods: http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/solids/solids-when.html

– How to Get Newborns to Sleep: Try not to take “no” too soon as an answer from the new baby. If he cries when you put him down in his crib/bassinet, that doesn’t mean you have to pick him up right away and hold him for the next three hours. Pick him up for a minute and keep putting him back down until he falls asleep. This investment will be well worth it.

– Where Babies Should Be Sleeping: Recent research suggests that it may not be safe to allow babies to sleep in non-crib/bassinet areas such as a swing or car seat for extended periods (more than about 30 min.) because the positioning may be awkward and lowers the oxygen they breathe in. Car seats/swings have not been tested for long-term sleep safety so the jury is still out, but it’s important to be cautious.

– Giving Baths: Babies only need to be bathed about once or twice a week – you can sponge-bathe problem areas such as the face, hands and diaper region at least once a day. Same goes for 2 year olds, 20 year olds, etc…. Unless there’s broken skin on the body, it’s unlikely that germs or dirt will cause major problems.

– Routinely Replacing Car Seats: Plastic really does break down. Since car seats are mostly plastic, they do expire and should be replaced periodically. Most people say they should be replaced every 7 years, but sun speeds up the breakdown process, so keep that in mind.

– Keeping Everything in Perspective: When you’re feeling overwhelmed, just remember that in five years, you won’t be able to tell who was given a pacifier or not, who co-slept or not … and so on. Every kid is different, and you just try things … what really matters is that care and love you will definitely know how to give!

A BIG thanks to Dr. Jennifer Shu and the fabulous Talk co-hosts:

AmberLynn

Beth Feldman, Role Mommy

Felicia Carter, Go Graham Go

Gwen Jimmere, The Gwen Show

Jessica McFadden, A Parent in Silver Spring

Joey Fortman, Real Mom in the Media

MommyB, MommyB Knows Best

Stephanie, The Blue Zoo

See the original Talk here: http://tmotherhood.wpengine.com/talk/show/id/62082