10 things you need to know about newborns

Hey readers,  

I remember having a newborn and feeling absolutely terrified beyond belief. So let me you 10 things that I didn't know before having a child that may be of enlightenment to you. 

 1. First poo. 

The first poo will surprise you. Firstly did you know Your baby's first poo is called meconium? This is sticky and greenish-black. Some babies may do this kind of poo during or after birth, or sometime in the first 48 hours. After a few days, the poo will change to a yellow or mustard colour.

 Meconium stools are quickly followed by transitional stools by the time your baby is three to five days old. These stools are a little looser, more greenish-brown in colour, and are the "transition" to regular milk stools on about day six. 

2. Babies look funny when they are born. 

Be warned that is not always cute when the babies are born. For example, their head may be elongated aka 'conehead' because, During delivery, your baby’s skull bones may have shifted and overlapped so that their head could fit through the birth canal. This is called moulding, and it will be particularly apparent if you had a very long labour.

 During delivery, pressure on your baby’s head from your uterus, pelvis, or vagina may have caused your baby’s head to swell, thus adding to the conehead appearance. Do not fear with time the swelling will go down as your baby's head will round itself out naturally. 

At birth, your baby’s eyes may be closed. This is because the bright lights of the birthing room are hard on their sensitive eyes. In a few minutes, they will open their eyes. 

You may notice sticky secretions coming from their eyes, and one of their eyes may appear to wander. This is normal. The secretions should disappear in a few weeks when your baby’s eyes start to make real tears. Their eyes should gradually stop wandering over the next few months.

At birth, your newborn baby’s skin may be covered with amniotic fluid, blood, and vernix, which is a white, cheesy material that protected your baby’s skin while in the womb. Much of the material coating your baby’s skin at birth may be wiped off before they are bundled up and presented to you. 

Your baby may also have some fine, downy hair called lanugo all over their body, especially if they were born prematurely. The lanugo will rub off and disappear after a week or two if they were full-term; if your baby was premature, the lanugo will take longer to completely disappear.

 If your baby has a bowel movement before they are born, they may be covered in meconium, a greenish-black tarry substance.

Your baby’s skin may be dry and flaky, and somewhat translucent. You may be able to see blood vessels in certain areas such as over their nose, eyelids, or neck. Their hands and feet may be bluish rather than pink, and they may be cool to touch. These are signs of an immature circulatory system, and they are all quite normal. Over time, these problems will fix themselves.

3.  Sleep. 

This is a painful one for any new mum or dad to have to fact and that is that babies do not sleep throughout the night. Of course, this is only temporary Generally, newborns sleep about 8 to 9 hours in the daytime and about 8 hours at night. But they may not sleep more than 1 to 2 hours at a time. Most babies don't start sleeping through the night (6 to 8 hours) without waking until they are about 3 months old, or until they weigh 12 to 13 pounds.

4. Babies can't see very far.

Babies are born with a full visual capacity to see objects and colours. However, newborns cannot see only objects 8-15 inches away very far. Newborns prefer to look at faces over other shapes and objects and at round shapes with light and dark borders (such as your adoring eyes).

5. You don't have to give the baby a bath every day.

Three times a week might be enough until your baby becomes more mobile. Bathing your baby too much can dry out your baby's skin.

If you're quick and thorough with diaper changes and burp cloths, you're already cleaning the parts that need attention the face, neck and diaper area. Between baths, you may also check the folds of your baby's skin, including thighs, groin, armpits and chin. If needed, clean these areas with a wet washcloth.

6. Skin may peel.

Is it normal for newborns' skin to peel? Yes, it's normal for newborns' skin to peel in the first two weeks after they are born. Your newborn is shedding its top layers of skin as they transition from the uterus into the outside world. Their skin is developing its own natural barrier.

7. Leave the umbilical cord stump alone.

Leaving the umbilical cord stump to heal on its own is the best thing to do. Keep an eye on it and make sure it's not getting infected but otherwise, let nature take its course.

8. It goes by quickly. 

It does go quickly even though at 2am evens like hell with the lack of sleep but don't feel guilty if you don't enjoy every second of it, just enjoy the moments. 

9. The first three months are the hardest.

The first three months are the hardest especially when you are a new parent and have no idea what you are doing. But do not worry with time you get more confident. You will get through this and if you feel scared just remember this too shall pass. 

10. Milestones. 

Milestones are important in some senses to get an idea but they're not there to tell you if your good parent or not. There used as indicators. Just remember all kids are different and they react differently to different situations what works for one child may be completely different for another. 

Cheers for reading  X