A baby brings in love, innocence, happiness, and contentment to the family. But, the initial six months of a baby’s life are very crucial. The new mom spends countless sleepless nights just to ensure that her little one is properly fed and resting well! Here are some great baby care tips for first-time moms to make them feel confident about caring for their new-born.
Motherhood is a beautiful but challenging chapter of life. Baby care is all about understanding the needs of your baby regarding feeding, burping, diapering, sleeping and so much more. In the beginning, even a new mom is naïve and is learning and growing with the baby. With so many queries that need to be answered, a new mom always seeks guidance from experienced moms and experts. This article is for all the new moms who need tips to take care of their little ones effectively and efficiently to make their life easy and enjoy motherhood.
Challenges Faced By a New Mom & How to Overcome?
Someone has rightly said, "The moment a baby is born, a mother is born!" Along with the beautiful experience of motherhood, there are certain definite challenges that a new mom has to face such as:
- Childbirth is the birth of a mother herself and she is drained of all the physical energy
- A mother is waking up multiple times during the night to feed the baby
- Mother's body goes into recovery mode post-delivery
- The feeling of being overwhelmed by the responsibilities takes over the mind
- Managing the baby along with housework is tedious
Life around you is changing. You are now responsible both for you and your baby and to keep your little one happy and satisfied, you need to be happy and satisfied too. You should learn to take care of yourself along with your baby. If you are healthy, then only you can make your baby healthy. Some points that you should care about for yourself are:
- Take proper nutritive diet to regain strength and agility
- Adequate rest is imperative
- Relax and do not overstress
- Pamper yourself from time to time
- Talk to your spouse and family about challenges and seek their support and help
Just stay positive and enjoy with the baby. This will also fasten up your recovery!
The 16 Important Baby Care Tips for New Moms
These baby care tips for new moms are from experienced mothers. These will surely guide you in caring for your new-born in a planned manner and ease most of the challenges.
1. Breast-Feeding the Baby
Here is one of the most important baby care tips for new moms. Breast-feeding forms an essential feature for the growth of a baby. A baby is dependent only on the mother's milk for the first 6 months of life. A mother should take a light, healthy, and balanced diet consisting more of proteins, iron, and fiber. The baby should be fed every 3 hours for at least 20-30 minutes and latching should be effective.
Some babies even find it difficult to latch during the initial days or you may also suffer sore nipples. For that, you can use breast shields to help the process. If the situation worsens, you should consult lactation experts.
2. Holding the Baby Right
Well, don’t be afraid of holding your baby but remember to hold it in the correct position. A newborn's neck muscles are not fully developed. So, always support the head whenever you pick up your new-born. While you carry the baby, also support the head against your shoulder with your opposite hand.
3. Burping and Spitting
After the feed, you must burp the baby by gently patting on the back for around 5-10 minutes to get rid of any gas. Sometimes even after proper burping, a baby may spit up some milk. This is normal and not a cause of worry. However, during this time, make sure that you hold the baby gently and carefully in the upright position.
4. Baby Sleep
This is a vital element as babies spend most of their early time sleeping. Having a deep and peaceful sleep is core to a baby's development as growth spurts take place during the sleep. The mom should sleep along with the baby so that her sleep also gets complete and she remains active and fresh all day long.
5. A Newborn's Bedding
It is one of the major factors in providing a sound and uninterrupted sleep to the baby. The baby's bed and cot should be comfortable and of adequate size. The blankets, swaddle and the pillow should be extra soft, comfortable, and cozy keeping in mind the baby's super sensitive skin.
6. Clothing a Baby
This should be according to the baby's age and weather conditions. Baby clothes generally come in sizes of 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months, and so on. In summers, the fabric should be cotton, light, and airy. Rompers, half-sleeve shirts, and bottoms prove very comfortable. In winters, the fabric should be warm and fleece clothes go perfectly well. Warmers, bodysuits, onesies are preferable. Caps, mittens, and socks should be included.
7. Baby's Home Environment
This element is fundamental to the baby's care. The atmosphere of the house should be peaceful, soothing, clean, noiseless, calm, and hygienic. If the ambiance is warm and cozy, the baby will also sleep well. As the baby grows and starts to crawl, it is essential to baby proof the house.
8. Diapering & Rashes
This is an indispensable need of the baby. In the beginning, the baby wets the diaper or nappy many times a day and cries for a change immediately. So diapers or nappies should be comfortable and soft. The absorption power should be good and the size according to age. Giving diaper free time during the day is also mandatory.
Also, you should be prepared for diaper/nappy rashes (red spots in the diaper area) in your new-born. If you observe any signs of rashes in the diaper area, apply an effective and safe zinc-oxide based cream on the area. You should also try and keep your baby’s diaper area dry.
9. Baby Colic & Gas
Every parent is aware that how gas or colic can make an otherwise happy baby, extremely irritable and cranky with continuous crying. You can relieve a baby from abdominal pain due to colic by giving a massage on the belly, burping the baby, folding the legs in a cycling position, or giving medicine prescribed by your pediatrician. Elders also recommend applying some asafoetida (hing) paste around the baby's belly button in a circular motion.
10. Sunlight Exposure
Exposing the baby to the early morning sunlight daily is beneficial. Natural Vitamin D gets available to the baby which is good for the bones and overall health.
11. Massaging & Bathing
There are exceptional benefits of oiling and massaging the baby's body before or after the bath. It not only relaxes the baby but also aids in good blood circulation, strong bones, and sound sleep. The baby feels nurtured and the mother-baby bond strengthens.
It is also recommended that you should bathe your baby from Day I. You should select mild baby bathing products as per your baby's skin. The baby bath regime should include basic products like a baby soap/head-toe wash, a bath tub/a bath chair, massage oil, face cream, and a gentle body moisturizer.
12. Baby Gear
These are a few things that can be purchased according to the budget. Investment in quality and comfortable baby gear like a baby stroller, baby carrier, car seat, high chair, rocker, and walker can be made as it aids a new mom to efficiently enable the baby to grow and learn.
13. Time-Table and Routine
Understanding the routine of the baby allows the mom to chart out a time-table for waking up, feeding, and sleeping the baby. Effective time management brings discipline that ultimately allows some free time for the mom. You must find some 'me time' just for yourself where you can refresh, rejuvenate and re-energize.
14. Choosing the Right Products
You should always choose safe, mild, and gentle products for your baby. Before buying a product, always make it a habit to read the ingredients list. The baby product should be free from harmful chemicals like sulfates, parabens, colors, scents, etc. as these can cause skin irritation and allergies. The products should be made of as much organic and natural ingredients as possible.
15. Soothing a Baby
Babies can only communicate their needs by crying. But with some observation, you may be able to understand the reason why your new-born is crying. There may be several reasons for it like, the baby is hungry, soiled diapers, the baby is tired, feeling cold, and many more. Once you get to know the reason, you may be able to soothe the baby. You may try to warm things up, swaddling, singing tunes, change a diaper, or rocking them.
16. Trim the Nails
You must cut your nails short after you have a baby. A baby’s skin is extremely delicate and you may never want your baby to get hurt due to those long nails. You should also cut your baby’s nails at regular intervals to prevent scratching of the face.
Baby care is all about giving unconditional love to your baby. Spending quality time improves bonding. Remember, when it comes to baby care, only a mom knows the best for her baby. Listen to everyone but follow your own heart and instincts! Most importantly, learn to embrace the chaos too. Behind a healthy and happy baby, there is a loving and happy mom!
We hope our list of baby care tips for new moms serves as a guide to you and helps you in making your life with your little one happy and contended.
About The Author
NewMumLife Team
NewMumLife is a parenting website for moms, dads and child care. We aim to offer a place to connect parents and parents-to-be for all types of parenting advice and suggestions to the questions they normally face. Our content is for the parents and by the parents where they share their personal experiences to benefit our parenting community.