Newborn Care
Your Newborn Baby
Within the first two to three days or her life, your newborn may lose up to ten percent of her birth weight. But not to worry! You will be scheduled for a newborn visit with your pediatrician before you even leave the hospital. During this appointment your baby will be carefully weighed to ensure he or she is not losing too much weight. As a matter of fact, your newborn will probably have gained back her birth weight by the eleventh day. Once your baby is two weeks old, she will begin gaining about an ounce a day.
A newborn’s length averages between 20 inches for boys and 19 3/4 for girls. By the end of the first month, your newborn may have reached up to 21.5 inches if he is a boy and 21 inches if she is a girl. Of course, all babies are different. Some will be born below the average and some above!
The first few weeks are going to be like a storm. There will be quiet calms and seemingly fierce wind gusts. A newborn will sleep about sixteen hours a day, with moments of alert wakefulness in-between. During these waking moments, your newborn will stare at your face or light. But don’t expect those sleeping hours to be at night! There will be times the house is quiet and still during the day and times when the house is a flurry of activity at night. From diaper changes to breast or bottle feeding, there will be little sleep for the adults. So your mother was right when she told you, “Sleep when the baby sleeps.” It is the only way to keep both your health and your sanity during this newborn whirlwind.
Newborns generally respond through involuntary reflexes. The first you will most likely see will be the root reflex. This occurs when you gently stroke the side of your newborn’s mouth or cheek and he turns his head to root. This is a natural reflex that will help your baby to nurse immediately after his birth. Also related is the sucking reflex. Your baby will begin to suck when the roof of his mouth is touched with the breast or bottle. Your newborn’s sucking reflex begins at about 36 weeks, so if your baby is premature, this may not be fully developed yet.
Have you noticed that when you stroke your baby’s palm, he will grasp your hand? This is the grasp reflex. And when you brush the sole of his feet, he will move his big toe toward the top of his foot while the remaining toes fan out. This is a demonstration of the Babinski reflex.
If your newborn hears a loud noise or observes a quick movement, she will most likely startle, which is the Moro reflex. Her head may move back while her arms and legs thrust out and back in again, possibly while she is crying.
If you hold your baby upright while her feet touch a hard surface, she may appear to step or dance. These movements stem from the step reflex. And finally, watch your baby get ready to fence with the tonic neck reflex! If your baby’s head gently turns to one side, the arm on that same side will stretch out while the opposite arm bends at the elbow. You may have heard this referred to the “fencing” reflex.
A newborn does not have the ability to hold up his own head, so keep it supported at all times. Even the slightest jarring may cause damage to your baby’s brain, so keep your baby safe and never shake him or her! His eyes may seem a bit uncoordinated and he may appear cross-eyed. His movements might be erratic, particularly if he is startled. Your newborn will probably suck on his hand as well.
Your baby’s umbilical stump should be kept dry and clean. New mother’s were once advised to use rubbing alcohol on the baby’s umbilical stump to keep it clean and dry. This is currently under some debate. Your pediatrician will tell you his or her preferred method for cleaning. Roll your baby’s diaper down past the stump to keep it exposed to air rather than your baby’s urine. Newborn diapers usually have a place cut out of the front to keep the stump exposed to air. The umbilical stump will dry and fall off on it’s own between ten to twenty days. It is suggested that you sponge bathe your baby until the umbilical stump has fallen off.
