Caring For Your First Baby

My baby girl was born on midnight. The following day, before I went to pick up my wife and baby, my wife called. The conversation went something like this. She said go buy some infant formula milk. Why? I thought we agreed on breastfeeding. Go buy the milk.

Sometimes, the new mother doesn't produce breast milk until 3 to 5 days after the baby is born. It's just the way it is. Hence, the reason for infant formula. To encourage milk production, your baby has to suckle at her mother's breast. Which isn't as gentle as guys might think. The nipples are sensitive and might be sore. I guess it's part of the change the body undergo.

Another reason why you want to buy infant formula milk is this: Do you expect your wife to wake up every 2 hours to feed the baby? The both of you need to rest. We gave our baby breast milk in the day, and infant formula at night. Since our baby was already drinking infant formula, this worked out for us. But not all formulas are the same, and your baby might not be able to tolerate a certain brand but has no problem with another. We had to try a few before we found one that suited our baby. Your baby might exhibit discomfort, or her stool might indicate her intolerance to the milk.

New Dads, always burp your baby after feeding. Otherwise, your baby will throw up or be crying in discomfort. You don't want her to be puking milk if she's laying down on her back. Our baby had to be burped twice before she settled down. You just have to pay attention to how your baby is feeling. The only way she will tell you is by crying.

If your baby is breastfeed exclusively, you don't need to give her water. Strange I know. Every doctor and nurse I've met agrees on this. They even have posters around the clinic stating this. The best thing about breast feeding is the antibodies, vitamins and nutrients, and hydration the baby receives from the mother. It is easy for her to digest, and encourages bonding with the mother. Breast feeding helps the mother to shed the extra weight she put on during pregnancy.

The Tip is to breast feed and prepare some infant formula milk (just in case).

When your baby isn't sleeping, she is probably crying. At least, that is how it seem like. The problem is you don't know what is the matter with her. Is she hungry? Did she poop? Why is she uncomfortable?

I remember seeing on Oprah that you can actually tell what a baby needs by her cries. The author (doctor perhaps) actually conducted clinical studies and could tell what was the matter with a baby. Just by the sound of her cries. Now I can't remember who the lady was, or the name of her book. I sure wished I did. Perhaps if you know, you could leave a comment.

As I recall, there are four basic types of cries. Hunger. Wind. Poop. And I can't remember the last one. As all parents know, once you get the hang of this, your baby has different cries for different needs. Hunger is the easiest to figure out. You know when she will need to feed, and you just listen to the way she cries. Poop is easy to check for. Unless it's winter where you live.

Wind is more difficult. It is very uncomfortable for your baby, and I was never very good at figuring this out. My wife is better at this than me. As a guy, I just went through a mental checklist every time she cried.

1.) Is it feed time yet? Check the clock.
2.) Is it time for a diaper change? Look in her diaper.
3.) Does she has wind? Hold her in an upright position and attempt to burp here.
4.) Is she feeling hot or cold? Either adjust the air-con or blankets.
5.) Are her hands and feet cold? In a hot climate, this probably means tummy discomfort or wind.

When you baby cries unceasingly, and nothing you do can get her to stop, it may be colic. Colic is a condition when a baby cries uncontrollably throughout the day or night. Although she will still feed, she may also look to be in discomfort, or cry again after feeding. This normally happens in the early months of a baby's life. While this is non-threatening, it can cause a lot of stress for you.

The cause of colic is not known, and it is thought to be caused by a number of things. It could be caused excessive wind in her tummy.

• The infant formula you use


• The baby's digestive system


• The type of feeding bottle you use


• The baby's temperament


• The surrounding environment


• The lack of physical contact


• Discomfort from other parts of the body


• Just plain too much crying

Although there is no medication or cure for colic, but there ways to sooth your crying baby:

• Carry you baby in the upright position


• Keep in motion while singing or talking to your baby


• Take your baby for a walk


• Use a baby dummy


• Physical contact


• Distract or entertain her in other ways


• Soy infant products may be easier for her to digest


• Gripe water or similar product that helps with colic


• Baby massage

If your baby does not stop crying, do take her to a medical doctor just to be sure. Always ask the advice of a qualified practitioner, if you choose to use herbal or aromatherapy.

Many babies suffer from jaundice when they are born. Some, like ours, are mild cases. This is a discoloration of skin, turning the baby's skin yellow. It happens to a lot of full-term babies. Infant jaundice occurs because your baby's liver is not fuuly able to metabolize bilirubin, which forms when the body recycles red blood cells

Although it is not cause for alarm and will disappear after 2 weeks or so, close monitoring is recommended. For the first 2 weeks, I had to bring my baby girl to the hospital every 2 days for blood test. And of course, the way to do a blood test is to jab a needle into your baby and collect a sample. It is no big deal, but just one of the many things you have to do when a baby is born. Since our baby doesn't appreciate being jabbed, she screams and pisses all over the nurses.

But I have had friends whose baby had to be admitted for treatment, and it could take up to a month. Severe infant jaundice can lead to serious complications if left untreated. This happens because babies are born with a generous supply of red blood cells, which help transport oxygen. These red blood cells then breaks down, forming bilirubin. Bilirubin ends up in the liver, where it is processed before being eliminated from the body. But newborns have more bilirubin than their livers can handle, and the excess causes their skin and, sometimes, the whites of their eyes to turn yellow.

During the first month, the new mother traditionally undergoes confinement. This is also recommended by Chinese medicine practitioners, and other Asian cultures, including the Malays and Indonesians. Although as a modern family, we do not normally hold with traditions, some of the recommendations are commonsense. It is to give the mother time to recover from childbirth, and the baby time to build up her strength and immunity. Traditional massages are also recommended for women after childbirth, as it will assist the organs to go back to it's original position. Whether this is true or not, a massage is always welcomed. And being the new dad, I deserve a massage as well, every time my wife had one.

For Asian babies, once they are a month old, this is a time for celebrations. This represents the end of confinement, and Friends and relatives are invited to a dinner, and the new parents get to show off their baby.

Taking care of your first baby is exhausting. It helps if you have some family members to help out during the day. Your wife needs a day or two to recover, and you should be helping out in the few couple of days. Being depraved of sleep is no joke, and some people actually go over the edge. You want to get into a rhythm and adjust to your new life.

When your baby is born, she is going to be the center of your universe. Everything that you plan or do will be according to her schedule and needs. Even something as simple as going out to the mall is an exercise in logistics. Baby feed, water bottle, diapers, wet tissues, baby stroller.

Every conversation you have with your wife tends to be about the baby. Just finding time to go on a date with your wife is a special occasion.

It's a sad fact that you guys will have to give up a lot of your time. I am talking about making changes in your lifestyle. I stopped drinking alcoholic beverages when my baby was born. I was afraid the booze will relax me too much and I'll sleep through her cries. I had to cut back on working out and going on hikes because most of the time, it was just my wife and I who took care of my baby. That's why you see a lot of out of shape parents.

You have to get your priorities right. My priorities are my baby, my wife and my work. But that's just me, and it's different for everyone. Just do what you have to. All I'm saying is what works for me.

There are some things you need to know, such as during the pregnancy stage, mother and baby needs nutrients, healthy food, and an emotionally stable environment. The baby's brain starts forming as early as the first month of pregnancy, stimulation and interaction with your baby promotes brain development while she is in the womb. I used to growl to my wife's stomach while she was pregnant, it's my way of playing with the baby. I don't know but my baby knows how to growl at an early age.

When the baby is born, they pretty much just eat, sleep and cry. I think of a baby's sleeping time as processing time. That is when she processes all the sensory and audio information she collected while she was awake. While she is processing the information, she is also still recording sensory and audio data in the time that she is sleeping. The baby's brain is most sensitive to environment stimulation at this critical period of her life. I talk to her all the time, sing to her, put on some classical and instrumental music.

Brain cells need proper nutrition and stimulation to develop, this leads to better learning ability and memory function. That's why there is such a big deal and huge business in baby food and development. With the right nutrition and stimulation, you optimize learning ability and memory. Brain food equals brain power. Today's babies learn faster that the previous generation. This is in part due to better nutrition and the science of baby development. Not necessary smarter parents!

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