Baby Care

Posts Tagged ‘Newborns’

Although babies born in the warmer summer months are less likely to get coughs and sniffles in their first few weeks of life, special care needs to be taken in other areas to ensure that your baby is healthy and comfortable.

TOO HOT?

Newborn babies can’t tell you if they are too hot or cold, but there are ways to check. Place your hand across your baby’s back underneath their clothes, or on the back of their neck. They should feel warm, not hot or cold. Feeling a baby’s hands and feet is not an accurate way of telling whether they are cold or hot, as a baby’s hands and feet are usually slightly cooler than the rest of his or her body.

CLOTHING

As a general rule, your baby needs one more layer of clothing than you do. For example, if you are wearing a t-shirt, then your baby will need a singlet and t-shirt. In very hot weather, your baby may need less clothing. Cotton clothing is great for summer newborns, as it is light and breathes well.

SUN PROTECTION

Your newborn’s skin is soft and raw, and offers no protection from the sun. Use specially designed sun shades, or a cloth nappy or blanket over the car seat or pram to protect your baby from the sun when out and about. When at the beach or park, try to choose a shady area to sit, or take an umbrella or pop-up tent to offer your baby shade.

HYDRATION

If you are breastfeeding, then your breast milk contains both foremilk to quench your baby’s thirst, and hind milk which is your baby’s food. Your baby should not need any fluids other than breast milk, but you may need to give shorter feeds more frequently to keep your baby hydrated. If you are bottle-feeding, you may need to offer your baby cooled boiled water from a sterilized bottle or teaspoon to ensure that he or she has enough fluids in very hot weather.

SLEEP

On hot, sticky summer days and nights, you may find that your newborn has trouble settling to sleep. Open some windows in baby’s bedroom to keep the room cool, but be sure that baby’s cot or bassinette is not in a draft. If you can’t open windows, you could try using an electric fan in baby’s room, once again making sure that it does not create a draft on baby.
If you wrap your baby when he or she is sleeping, remove one layer of clothing before wrapping to ensure that your baby does not get too hot. Muslin is great for wrapping summer babies – it is very light and breathes well. Muslin wraps are available from baby stores, or you can buy plain muslin from a fabric store and make your own.

During the first few hours after the birth the child has a strong starvation and receives energy from its own cells. This is the conclusion of Japanese researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Medical Research.

The characteristics of metabolism of newborn my shat, the scientists found that in the first few hours after birth – when a newborn baby has not received food through the placenta and umbilical cord, but still does not drink milk – the rate of decay in the reactions of his organism increases in several times. Researchers failed to prove that this is due to activation of so-called autofagotsitoza – acquisitions of their own cells. During this process, cellular components break down into elements, especially simple carbohydrates and amino acids, which are spent on construction of new proteins and lipids, must be in the “unusual” conditions of the newborn.

“From what we observed in mice immediately after birth the newborn is in a position similar to strongest hunger – described in an interview” Air Force “Dr. Noboru Mizushima, the head of the study. – This state lasts from a few tens of minutes to several hours . We do not yet know whether the same thing with a newborn child, although it can be assumed that a phase autophagia occur all mammals. “

It should be noted that the results obtained by researchers are not only academic but also some practical value. It is possible that sooner or later, doctors learn to control the duration of the stage autophagia children (unless, of course, they have it) and thus, for example, reduce the chance of developing neonatal metabolic disorders.