Baby Care Feeding And Diapering

Feeding your newborn baby

• It’s a well known fact that breast feeding is the best form of nutrition for infants. Mother’s milk provides the best immunization to the newborn baby and protects it from all kinds of diseases.

• After six months or so, bottle feeding may be started. However, a lot of care is required when selecting the ready-to-use mixtures for bottle feeding and sterilizing the bottle. Before selecting the feeding formula you must consult your pediatrician. Before every feed, the bottle must be washed with boiling water in order to sterilize it.
• After every feed rest the baby against your shoulder until air is released from the baby’s stomach. You can gently rub the baby’s back to facilitate burping as this will get rid of trapped air within the baby’s stomach. This is an important aspect of infant and baby care.

Infant skin care

• For bathing your baby, tender baby soaps should be used as the baby’s skin is very delicate.
• A regular massage should be administered to the baby using special baby oil in order to keep the skin healthy and moist. Regular massage also helps in proper blood circulation and makes the bones stronger.

Diapering your newborn baby

• Do not use diapers 24 hours a day. Allow your baby to be without any diapers for a few hours everyday. The continuous use of diapers can cause rashes on your baby’s delicate skin.
• Keep the baby’s bottom clean and dry. Carry your baby out into the early morning or early evening sunshine once a day.

Making you newborn baby sleep

• Most newborn babies sleep for about 16 hours a day. They only sleep when they are tired. You cannot force a baby to sleep according to your wants. So instead of trying to get the baby to adjust to your sleeping patterns, you will have to temporarily adjust your sleep patterns to that of your newborn baby.
• Vaccination: Do consult your pediatrician for the vaccinations that are required to be given to the baby from time to time in order to protect him/her from various diseases and infections.
• Draw up a vaccination chart so that you can keep a track of the vaccines that need to be administered.

If your baby was born ahead of the given due date, you will have to speak to your doctor about premature baby care as they generally have weaker immune systems and require more attention.