A Guide To Your New Family's First Weeks - Meriter Health Services

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Playing/Development Take time every day to enjoy and play with your baby. This can be a fun time for you and your baby, and can enhance your baby’s development. Playing with babies helps them gain weight faster, smile, roll over, crawl and walk sooner. Play with your baby when he is awake and quiet. When your baby’s attention is on you, he will turn toward you or an attracting object, stretch fingers and toes, and slow down his body actions. Soon your baby will smile or make happy sounds and let you know this time is enjoyable. Watch and listen to your baby—when he is ready to finish playing, you will see him yawn, look away or cry. Here are some key points to remember as you promote your baby’s healthy development. Keeping these in mind, you can raise healthy, happy children. • Be warm, loving and responsive. • Respond to your baby’s cues and clues. • Talk, read and sing to your baby. • Remember that your child is unique. • Take care of yourself. The Importance Of Tummy Time Babies spend so much time on their backs while sleeping and while in their car seats that they are at risk of developing flat heads and delaying neck muscle development. To help prevent this, start “tummy time” right away by placing your baby on his tummy often when he is awake. Do not delay. Some babies spend their tummy time while being held. Others are content to be flat on the floor. Some prefer to be propped on a pillow or boppy. If your baby is unhappy with tummy time, find ways to make it more interesting by adding colorful toys, music and other distractions. Touch Hugs, kisses, cuddling and holding are the best touches to your baby. Do not be afraid to do these things—you will not spoil your baby. Massage and stroke your infant. Your baby enjoys the skin-to-skin contact. You can do this during bath time or any time. Touch and stroke your baby’s skin with different textures or materials. Your baby will also like to suck on a finger, thumb, fist or pacifier. Motion Rocking, carrying and swinging feels good to babies. Take your baby for a ride in a carriage or stroller. The ride and the fresh air are good for both of you. These activities also encourage the development of balance. Hearing Guidelines of Hearing Development Hearing loss may happen as your baby grows. This checklist describes normal hearing development. Refer to this list to see how your baby is doing. Not all children will fit this list exactly. Contact your baby’s doctor if you have any concerns. At birth, babies: • Feel soothed by your voice. • Awaken at loud sounds. • Startle or cry at noises. At three months, babies: • Seem to recognize mother’s voice. • Stop playing and appear to listen to sounds or speech. • Smile when spoken to. • Try to turn toward the speaker. Vision Your baby likes to look at faces. Hold your baby so your face is close enough (10-12 inches) for eye-toeye contact. You can also hold your baby to a mirror. Babies like dark and light or black-and-white objects best because they offer a strong contrast. Bull’s-eyes, checkerboards, small stuffed toys and black-andwhite mobiles are all good sight stimulators; you can make them inexpensively. Smell Babies enjoy the smell of household cooking odors. They also enjoy the smells of your perfume and lotions. They soon know the smells of mom and dad. 54
Sibling Relationships Most families experience growing pains with the addition of a new baby. Your older children may need assurance that your baby is a family addition, not a replacement. Assure your children that there is plenty of love to go around and that each child is special. In The Hospital Hospital Visits Older siblings often want to be the first visitors to see the baby. Try to schedule the first visit without other visitors present, and when the child is well rested and fed. Keep your baby in the crib until the child is ready to meet her. This keeps mom’s arms ready for a big hug and greeting. Some families like the children to exchange a small gift. Base the length of the visit on the child’s behavior. Sibling visits are important, but set aside some time for just mom, dad and the new baby. At Home Baby’s Homecoming Some families make the trip home from the hospital a family event. Others prefer to have the older children wait at home for your baby to arrive. Mom’s arms should be free and ready to receive the older children. Visitors If possible, delay visitors for a few days to keep the family focused on each other. Children have enough trouble sharing their parent’s attention with the new baby. When visitors do arrive, encourage their attention toward the older children. It’s nice to let the older children introduce the baby to guests and open any baby gifts they might bring. Visitors sometimes help by bringing a special treat or gift for the older children. Helping Your Child Adjust To The Baby Parents need to let the sibling relationship develop at its own pace, while at the same time providing guidance and support for sibling bonds. Your older child may surprise you with behaviors you have never seen before. Some children have even asked their parents to “take the baby back to the hospital.” It is important to understand the developmental level of the older child. Try to look at the world and your new baby through that child’s eyes. Just because there is a new baby, you cannot expect older children to behave more maturely than their age allows. You should relate changing roles and responsibilities for older children to their age rather than because of a new baby. Resist making other major changes in your older children’s lives until they have had time to adjust to the new baby. Visit your local library or bookstore for books on child development and sibling relationships. Siblings And Safety Issues Children, especially toddlers and preschoolers, are not aware of safe behavior around babies. Parents must set rules and teach appropriate behaviors. Here are several ways to increase your children’s safety: • Monitor your older child and baby until you feel comfortable leaving them in a room alone together. • Teach your older child how to gently touch and cuddle your baby. • Remind your older child not to throw things around the baby, to keep small toys out of baby’s reach and never put things in the baby’s mouth. • Make sure your older child is seated when holding a baby. Do not let your child walk while carrying the baby. • Emphasize that the older child should always support your baby’s head. • Teach proper use and safety around baby equipment such as swings, strollers and bouncy seats. • Utilize audio monitors can be helpful for listening to sibling interactions. 55
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A Guide To Your New Family’s Firs
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If You’re Expecting.... We look f
Page 5 and 6: Nutrition and Feeding: Formula Feed
Page 7 and 8: Postpartum Medication Log and Infor
Page 9 and 10: Turn to this book and your doctor,
Page 11 and 12: • Your nurse will check on you ro
Page 13 and 14: Head The bones of your baby’s hea
Page 15 and 16: Mother Care The first weeks after g
Page 17 and 18: Postpartum Medication Information B
Page 19 and 20: Hemorrhoids Hemorrhoids are varicos
Page 21 and 22: Recovery From Cesarean Birth Becaus
Page 23 and 24: Nutrition and Feeding: Breastfeedin
Page 25 and 26: Helping Your Baby Latch to the Brea
Page 27 and 28: How Your Milk Changes Your body mak
Page 29 and 30: latching correctly, the easier and
Page 31 and 32: Expressing and Storing Breast Milk
Page 33 and 34: Lifestyle Issues Nutrition for Moth
Page 35 and 36: Nutrition and Feeding: Formula Feed
Page 37 and 38: During the first days of life, a ba
Page 39 and 40: Common Skin Conditions and Cord Car
Page 41 and 42: Caring for the Foreskin and Decidin
Page 43 and 44: the first few days of life, but can
Page 45 and 46: Tub Bath When the cord has fallen o
Page 47 and 48: Recognizing Illness Illness in a ne
Page 49 and 50: Why And When Do Babies Cry Crying i
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Page 53 and 54: Finding Childcare (The City of Madi
Page 55: To prevent flat head molding due to
Page 59 and 60: Baby Blues The most common, least s
Page 61 and 62: Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scal
Page 63 and 64: • Car seats should only be carrie
Page 65 and 66: Postpartum Medication Log To assist
Page 72 and 73: How Is Breastfeeding Going Answer t
Page 74 and 75: First Weeks Index 2010 Activity....
Page 76 and 77: Rooming In.........................
Page 78 and 79: Notes Use this section to take note
Page 80: The Birthing Center 202 S. Park Str
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A Guide To Your New Family's First Weeks - Meriter Health Services

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