Newborn Care Tips

It's not easy for a new parent to be certain when an infant is ill.   Health care workers are so used to requests for information that a parent's genuine concern can sometimes be treated too casually.   It's enough to make a mama doubt her own instincts.

It will come as a relief to know that there IS a way to objectively measure a baby's health.

WEEK ONE
From the start, newborns will need to nurse for no less than 15 minutes, 8 times per day during the first week of life. You should be able to hear the baby swallowing milk.   Baby's first bowel movement will be a black paste called muconium. You should see it progress from greenish-black to a brown soft play-dough consistency.   The color will appear yellow by the 4th or 5th day.  Wet diapers will appear by the second day.   By the end of this week, the frequency of wet diapers will increase to 2 or 3 per day.

A baby that is not doing well will also give hints to his condition during the first week.   There is reason to be concerned if a baby has a weak sucking reflex, little or no desire to nurse and cannot sustain a feeding for at least 15 minutes, 8 times per day.   Something is likely wrong if there is a clicking sound when a baby nurses, the cheeks dimple when the baby sucks, or the baby falls asleep before nursing for 15 minutes.   It is outside of a healthy range if the baby's stools haven't changed and there is no urination two days after the birth.  If these symptoms are observed for two days in a row, seek medical assistance.

THE FIRST FOUR WEEKS
A healthy baby will continue to have healthy signs for the next month.   The second to fourth week, babies continue to have two to four yellow stools and nurse eight times per day.   Track your baby's wet diapers. You should see between six and eight of them each day with clear urine, not yellow.  The baby's suck will gain in strength; You should see some milk at feeding and hear your baby swallowing.  The baby should increase in weight and alertness.

Take special note of anything out of the ordinary: infrequent feedings, small stools or missed stools, decreased urination or bright yellow urine.   You should be able to measure an increase in your baby's weight and length.  Should the baby have a weak or tired sucking reflex, if you can't hear swallowing, if the baby becomes sluggish, slow to respond or refuses to sleep between feedings, these are all indications that something is not right.   If you observe these behaviors for more than two days in a row, contact a health provider for assistance.

WEEKS FIVE THROUGH TEN
In the second month of life, a baby might reduce the number of feedings to seven times per day.   As your little one grows, he can take larger feedings.   Bowel movements will continue to change and will settle into a pattern of either several small stools in a day or a large bowel movement every 2 days.  This isn't unusual in breastfed babies as they assimilate much of the milk.  The wet diapers (6-8 per day) will continue in frequency, but check to be sure the urine isn't a yellow concentrate.   Expect increased alertness, strengthened suck, audible swallows and a little milk dribbling at feeding time.

During the 5 to 10 week mark a baby that doesn't nurse at least seven times a day and produce the right amount of wet diapers (without dark yellow color) should be watched carefully.   Length and weight should increase for baby. Weak, tired sucking without an audible swallow indicates the baby is not getting proper nourishment.  Should the baby become sluggish, slow to respond and be unable to sleep between feedings, seek medical assistance in rectifying this problem.   If you see these things for two days in a row, something is not right with your baby.

MONITORING YOUR BABY
Remembering how often and when a baby ate can be a challenge when you are well-rested.   It can be overwhelming to expect a new mother to know this with reduced sleep.  One solution is to keep a pencil and a notebook near the sleeping baby.   At each feeding or changing, jot down the time and any other notes.   One example of an entry might be: "10:00 a.m. - BIG BM, brownish green, nursed 30 minutes."  It may help you to start a new page each day with the date written at the top.

Should you need to confer with your doctor, you'll be able to reference your notes for detailed information.   This is also a good bonding tool for a new mama.   By looking over her list, even a weary mama can tell at a glance if the crying is due to hunger (too long between feedings) or constipation (hasn't moved his bowels).  This helps mama learn the different sounds of her baby's cries.  This goes a LONG ways towards helping a new mama learn to trust her instincts when it comes to her baby.

However, older mamas give sage advice when it comes to newborns and new mamas.   The first few weeks are to be enjoyed to their fullest.  Don't worry about filling your day with anything more than getting to know this new little one.   They aren't little for long.

Interested in more child training tips? No Greater Joy is a ministry dedicated to helping parents bring up children they enjoy. They have written a bestseller called To Train Up A Child that has helped thousands.