The first week of a newborn's life: what do parents need to know?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

In the last trimester of pregnancy, most of the worries of the expectant mother relate to the upcoming birth. Many try during this time to acquire a dowry for the crumbs, so that after his birth they do not delegate this duty to the newly-made father. But almost none of the future parents think about the features of the first week of a newborn's life. And therefore they are unprepared for this period, which pediatricians consider to be the most important for the baby. Moreover, relatives are always ready to share their ideas about what you need to know about the first week of a newborn's life. Not always their advice turns out to be correct, and their experience is not always suitable for your baby. All this leads to an increase in the nervousness of the young mother, which affects the emotional state of the baby. To avoid such conditions, you need to learn as much as possible about the first week of life.newborn. In the article we will consider various aspects related to this topic.

Collecting the dowry

Of course, experienced moms do it in advance. After all, no one knows better than a mother what to buy for a newborn. Usually a shopping trip lasts for several months, so it is best to do it in the second trimester of pregnancy, when the woman’s physical condition favors long walks in shopping centers, and the purchase of cute baby things cheers up and sets in a positive way.

However, most of the expectant mothers firmly believe in the sign that until the baby is born, no things can be purchased for him. In this regard, all the hassle of buying a dowry falls on the shoulders of the young father. And he, as usual, buys a lot of unnecessary things in a children's store and spends almost the entire family budget on it. At the same time, dads tend to forget about important little things, which makes women nervous and quarrel with their inattentive missus.

Therefore, try to make a list according to which the father of the baby could purchase all the necessary things. Do not make it too long, it is better to include only the most necessary things in the first week of a newborn's life. Then you can go to the store together and buy what you like. So, what to buy for a newborn?

The answer to this question directly depends on what time of the year the baby will be born. We will try to give generalized information in the article. Based on it, each mother will be able to make her ownown list. Let's look at the basic list of things:

• Diapers. Most of the parents think about this subject in the first place. Disposable diapers today allow parents to raise their babies in more comfortable conditions than grandparents had to do. For the first time, one pack of diapers from any manufacturer will be enough. You should not listen to the comments of girlfriends and relatives, telling that one company is much better than another. All manufacturers produce a quality product that meets all Russian standards. However, only in the process of use will you understand which brand of diapers is right for your baby. Usually each crumb by one and a half months lets parents know what she likes. But the size of diapers is worth thinking about in more detail. Usually, even at the stage of pregnancy, the mother is informed about whether the baby will be large. If you plan to give birth to a small toddler with a weight within the normal range, then buy a pack of diapers labeled "newborn". But for a hero, it is better to take those that are designed for a weight of three to six kilograms.
• Diapers. This subject has recently caused a lot of controversy among moms and pediatricians. Many people completely refuse swaddling and consider it a relic of the past, while others, on the contrary, support the methods of our grandmothers and cannot imagine the first weeks of a newborn's life without diapers. In any case, take care of purchasing thin and warm diapers made of baize or flannel. They will be useful to you in the process of caring for the baby, and besides, they can betake on a scheduled visit to the pediatrician. In addition, on a walk, most mothers prefer to swaddle their baby so that he sleeps more peacefully. Therefore, buy five thin and warm diapers in the store.
• Dummy. At first, many mothers are literally saved by a nipple from the seemingly unreasonable whims of a baby. In the store, choose the smallest size latex or silicone pacifier. Then it will have to be changed, since the nipple should grow as the crumbs grow up.
• Caps and hats. Be sure to purchase a hat for a newborn, it is put on the baby immediately after birth so that he does not freeze. The cap should be the smallest size. In the first month of life, the baby will need bonnets with strings that can be worn at home and during a walk. If your baby is winter, then take care of a warm hat. Just give preference to knitted patterns.
• Undershirts, blouses and sliders. There are not many of these things, but often parents are mistaken in size. For the first month, you will need five rompers, three vests or blouses for a newborn and five blouses for a slightly larger home.
• Socks. Today, in the maternity hospital, they are allowed and even strongly recommended to put on socks for the crumbs. They need to be taken with you. You must have at least three pairs of socks in stock.
• Suits for a walk. Usually relatives give young parents a large number of all kinds of elegant suits. It’s a pity, but more than half of them will be put on by the baby once, and from others it will grow at once. That's whybuy no more than one or two suits - warm or thin depending on the season.
• Crib and bedding sets. Choosing a crib for a baby is very difficult, so mothers spend quite a lot of time on it. Think about it before you give birth by purchasing a baby mattress and three sets of bed linen.
• Cosmetic accessories. This phrase usually refers to cotton pads, sticks with a stopper, baby cream, small scissors with rounded ends, and so on.

In our list, we did not include a stroller, bottles, swings and other devices for the crumbs. The thing is that in the first week you will not need a stroller. Therefore, you can choose it after the birth of the baby. You can leave it in the care of grandmothers and spend the free time on a fun shopping trip with your husband. Believe me, it will seem like a real holiday to you. As for other items, their advance purchase often does not justify itself. Only in the process of caring for a newborn in the first week of his life will you understand what exactly you are missing.

First days at the hospital

So, behind the painful hours of pain and waiting. You look at your little one and experience an indescribable range of emotions. Believe me, the baby is also not easy, because from the moment he is born, he enters the neonatal stage, which is considered the most difficult for him.

The baby spent all nine months in very comfortable conditions. Every second he felt the beating of his mother's heart and heremotional state, he was always warm, and the food came through the umbilical cord, without causing any disturbance. But after a tiring journey through the birth canal for your baby, everything changes dramatically. After all, now he must adapt to the new conditions of existence and know his needs, which will not be easy for him.

When a happy mother with a baby is discharged from the hospital, few people think about the fact that several days of his independent life are behind him. Moreover, during this time, the baby managed to enter the period of adaptation, and his development and he alth were assessed on a special scale. We'll talk about that.

In the fifties of the last century, anesthesiologist Victoria Apgar introduced a special scale for evaluating newborns. A team of doctors taking delivery, led by a pediatrician, evaluates the following parameters of a newly born man on a ten-point scale:

• breath;
• reflexes;
• skin color;
• movement and muscle tone;
• heart rate;
• facial expressions.

Assessment takes place immediately after the baby's first cry and again five minutes later. As a result, an average figure is displayed, indicating the level of physical development of the crumbs. When a young mother is discharged from the hospital with her treasure, the Apgar scores are necessarily included in the package of accompanying documents and then transferred to the pediatrician at the place of residence of the baby. It will be useful for parents to know what exactly the points indicated in the document mean:

• from seven to ten -no deviations;
• five to six points - the existence of minor he alth problems;
• three to four are serious deviations;
• zero to two - life threatening.

In the first days of life, the baby is very susceptible to all kinds of viruses and bacteria. Therefore, before being discharged home, he is given two vaccinations. They are very important for the he alth of the crumbs, and mothers should understand that it is not easy for their baby to survive. He may worry, lose sleep and act up. However, babies usually take the first vaccinations quite well and mothers do not have to be nervous about them at home.

Preparing for discharge

If the newborn is he althy and the mother feels satisfactory, then on the fifth day after birth they are discharged home. And this becomes a new stage in the life of the family. However, the discharge itself often turns into the first test for new parents and their next of kin.

The doctor always reports that the baby and his mother are preparing to go home at least a day in advance. Therefore, dad has time to prepare a kit for discharge from the maternity hospital for a boy or girl. It is best if the expectant mother prepared it in advance and told her husband about where he is. Otherwise, a dumbfounded man may pack things incorrectly and the solemn event will be spoiled.

In order to make it easier for the father, it is necessary to find out the rules of your maternity hospital regarding discharge even before the birth. Of course, in general they are identical, but there are certaindifferences. The set for discharge from the maternity hospital for a boy differs from a girl's one only in the color scheme. Although today, parents use not only the traditional pink and blue shades. Brown, beige, milky, green and yellow colors are in fashion. In stores you can find many options for kits made in these shades. But what is usually included in these kits?

A discharge set of clothes usually consists of an envelope with a beautiful bow, a bonnet, a vest and sliders. In addition to them, you will need to bring diapers, a warm and thin diaper to the hospital, as well as a blanket and a tight hat if the baby was born in winter.

Papa brings things on the day of discharge. They are waiting for the baby in a special room where the staff of the institution will put them on. Then the baby is handed over to the happy father and curious relatives.

Features of physical development in the first days of life

Outwardly, the baby does not change much in seven days. It retains some puffiness, and the skin may well have a bluish tint. Also, many babies have facial asymmetry, which usually resolves by a month.

The shape of the baby's skull is also far from correct. If the baby was born naturally, then, most likely, in the first week it will be a little elongated, with clear seams. In a situation where the baby walked with legs, the head is flattened. And with a caesarean section, it is close to correct.

In the first week of life, the skin can change its color several times. Normally they are reddish in color. It goes away on its own by about the tenth day. Often in the first week, even in the hospital, the skin becomes yellow. Breast jaundice occurs in many newborns and is not a cause for concern. In a minor form, it goes away on its own, and in other cases, doctors put the baby on a “tan” under an ultraviolet lamp. By the end of the first week of life, jaundice disappears in almost all babies.

The eyes of the crumbs should remain clean, and the mucosa should be pink. Often a whitish coating appears on it, indicating the development of thrush. In this case, parents need to pay special attention to caring for the baby.

The umbilical wound heals by the end of the first week, and the sweat glands begin to work very actively. During this period, parents can introduce the baby to water procedures. Usually, older relatives advise a young mother to bathe a newborn with chamomile. A decoction of this herb is considered ideal for the first baths, but modern pediatricians have their own view on this problem. They note that the skin of some babies is very delicate and thin, while others are prone to allergic reactions. Parents may not even know about this, so chamomile cannot be used for bathing newborns in the first month. The baby should be washed in ordinary or boiled water without soap and other cosmetics.

Changes in weight

Normal birth weight parameters range from 2 kilograms 600 grams to 4 kilograms 500 grams. However, be prepared for the fact that in the first days the baby can lose up to 300 grams of its original weight. This is due to the factthat his body actively removes excess fluid, and the diet has not yet been formed. The baby is only adapting to the absorption of milk, so it can be naughty and skip meals.

He alth crumbs pediatricians are closely associated with weight gain. In newborns, it is about 200 grams per week. However, do not forget that in the first days of life, babies lose precious grams. And only after the fifth day, you can again observe weight gain in newborns. In a he althy baby, it will be 20 grams per day.

By the way, there are no changes in growth for a week in infants. They begin to grow actively a little later.

Child nutrition

On the first day of a newborn at home, mothers first of all try to establish a diet, because the mood, sleep and development of the crumbs directly depend on this. Modern pediatrics actively promotes the on-demand feeding system. It consists in attaching the baby to the breast at the first cry. This technique is suitable for mothers who practice breastfeeding. If your baby is on artificial nutrition, then it would be better to feed him by the hour. In the first week of life, a baby usually asks for a bottle every three to four hours.

From the schedule of feeding a newborn in the first week depends on the further daily routine of him and the whole family, as parents have to fully adapt to the needs of a newly born little man.

Even while the baby is in the hospital, he begins to eat 200-300milliliters of milk formula per day, by the end of the week this amount increases to 400 milliliters.

Newborn routine: first week

Experienced mothers know how important it is to establish a daily routine and accustom the baby to a certain rhythm of life. If this is not done in the first days, then then mom and dad will not have time to take care of themselves, the house and banal communication with each other.

At the beginning of his life, the baby spends most of his time in a dream. How much does a newborn sleep in the first weeks? Usually a he althy baby sleeps an average of eighteen to twenty hours, periods of wakefulness are short and mostly filled with food intake. Breastfed babies wake up and demand food every two hours, while artificial babies wake up every three to four hours. After feeling full, they immediately fall asleep again.

By the end of the week, the baby may show interest in the world around him. He looks around the room, the bright objects hanging over the bed, the loved ones caring for him. At these moments, you need to talk with the baby as much as possible, tell him about what is happening around, sing songs and read poems. All this helps the baby to feel your love and develop faster.

If you quickly view one day from the life of a baby and his parents, it will become clear that it consists of feeding, changing diapers and sleeping. At night, the baby also wakes up for one or two feedings. Over time, the need for nighttime awakenings will disappear by itself.

Skills and skills crumbs

For many, a newborn's behavior in the first week may seem passive, but in fact, he is actively developing and constantly learning new things. By the end of the first seven days, the baby can already hold its head for several seconds and focus its gaze on bright objects. He reacts to light and darkness, and can also smile involuntarily. However, this smile only appears during sleep.

Often, parents notice that the baby perks up at their sight. Almost all babies in the first week are able to involuntarily close their hands with each other.

Baby reflexes

In the early days, the baby ensures its survival with various reflexes. They dictate certain behavior and reactions to him. For example, if you put the baby on his tummy, he will turn his head to the side to avoid breathing problems.

When frightened, the Moro reflex is triggered, which consists in arching the back and legs and arms spread out to the sides.

Sucking and grasping reflexes are important. The following reflexes should also be noted:

• Babinsky. With different pressure on the feet, the baby's fingers will bend and unbend.
• Supports. When trying to put the baby on a hard surface, he tries to take a step.
• Galanta. The gentle movement of the fingers along the child's spine leads to the arching of the entire body.
• Search engine. Stroking near the corner of the mouth causes the baby to turn towards the stimulus and deflect the tongue to the side. If you gently press on the middle of the upper lip, then the babyopens her mouth.

Newborn in the first week: care

Every mother tries to be the best, so she spends all her energy on caring for her baby. She needs to remember a few simple rules that will help her in the first week of her baby's life.

Gymnastics and massage can only be done on the fourteenth day. Bathing should be introduced into the daily routine after the healing of the umbilical wound. Usually this is the seventh or tenth day. Initially, the water should be boiled. Walking is allowed from the third week of life. But when the air temperature is above five degrees, the promenade on the balcony will not hurt the crumbs for no longer than fifteen minutes.

A newborn should never be overheated. Therefore, it is important to set a comfortable temperature in the apartment at about twenty-two degrees.

And remember that most of all in the first weeks of his life, the baby most of all needs love and communication with his parents. Often take it in your arms, cradle and sing songs. And then your baby will grow up a happy and he althy little man.