Tips and Hints for Caring for a Newborn Baby

You planned the pregnancy to the day. You have your bags packed, your names picked out, and even your baby's coming home outfit in the bag. But what do you really know about bringing home your bundle of joy? A newborn baby is more than just a sweet-smelling bundle of warm love blowing milk bubbles while she sleeps. She has needs that she can only communicate with her tiny hums, cries, and body language. Here are a few things that you need to know about caring for a newborn baby.

Caring for a Newborn Baby: Feedings

Perhaps the most basic need of a newborn is eating. Whether you are planning to breast feed or bottle feed, you will need to plan on feeding your little angel every two or three hours from the time she begins her last feeding. Each feeding may last anywhere from a half hour to an hour. If you are keeping up with the math, that means that you might start your nighttime feeding at midnight, feed baby until 1:00 a.m., and be ready to feed baby again at 2:00 a.m., depending on her appetite. Breast fed babies will need to eat more often, since breast milk is easily digestible and leaves baby feeling full for shorter amounts of time. Bottle fed babies may only want fed every three or four hours, taking a few ounces at each feeding. Always have clean bottles ready, since your baby may want more or less frequent feedings depending on the day. We found that warming bottles was time consuming, and instead made bottles as we needed them using warm tap water.

Caring for a Newborn Baby: Changing a Diaper

Newborn babies eat, sleep, and make dirty diapers-sometimes all at the same time. Plan on changing your newborn baby at least once every few hours, up to twelve or more times a day. I found that changing mid-feeding was often the best way to approach the changing. A hungry newborn will often become too fussy during a diaper change to settle quickly and begin feeding, which only causes more anxiety for her and for her parents. By stopping mid-feeding to burp the baby and change the baby, you will find that your newborn is also more awake and alert enough to fully finish each feeding time.

To change a newborn, have all of your diapering supplies handy - diapers, wipes, creams, etc. Open the new diaper before removing the old one, and lay the new diaper under your baby in case she wets when you take off her diaper. When you remove baby's diaper, be sure to carefully clean a girl from front to back. If your baby boy had a circumcision, follow your doctor's instructions for care of the wound. If your baby is still passing meconium, you may want to apply pure olive oil or mineral oil to baby's skin to prevent the meconium from sticking. After cleaning your newborn, gently but firmly wrap the baby in the clean diaper. For little boys, be sure to point the penis down to avoid leaking out of the top front of the diaper.

Caring for a Newborn Baby: Burping

Feeding a baby and burping a baby go hand in hand. Every baby has a unique way of showing you that he needs to be burped. Generally, the baby may slow down the feeding, pull away from the nipple, or become fidgety or fussy.

Each baby also needs to be burped in the way he likes best. Some babies will be easily burped over the shoulder with a gentle pat on the back, some babies need their backs rubbed, and some babies prefer to be burped sitting up. For the latter method, mom or dad should hold the baby in a sitting position, with one hand supporting baby's chin in a comfortable position. Then rub or pat baby's back. My son loved this position, and also liked being placed on his tummy in my lap to be burped. The added pressure on his tummy seemed to do the trick.

Caring for a Newborn Baby: Bath Time

Your newborn will not have her first tub bath until her umbilical cord dries and falls off, which may be several weeks. Until then, you will need to master the art of the sponge bath. Assemble all of your necessary items, including water, baby soap, lotion, washcloth, and cotton balls. Wash your baby's eyes and face first using clean water and cotton balls. Then wet the washcloth, apply a small amount of soap, and clean baby's head, neck, hands and feet, legs and arms, and back and tummy. Finally, clean the diaper area, making sure that you have an extra washcloth or towel handy in case baby wets when you remove her diaper. Once baby is clean, gently pat her dry and apply lotion. Not every baby likes to be bathed, so you may need to be quick.