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Ovi, my baby girl, was 3 days old when we came home with her. Although a soundly sleeping baby is a beautiful sight and a huge hooray moment for new mothers, I was equally ecstatic when she was awake. She would always be awake for 3 hours to 4 hours and then sleep for 2 hours (sometimes less and sometimes more).
During the day her regular bath time was 11am as I would have a nanny come in to bathe her the traditional way.
She would then sleep for 2 -3 hours, in this time , I use to take my bath and do other routines like having an early lunch, medicines, wash clothes and by the time I would decide to sleep beside her, she would wake up. Maybe it was the mommy smell or something she would always wake up the minute I sat beside her. So sleeping when the baby sleeps was not always something I could do. We would have sleepless nights and daytime was hectic too.
But we gave the chaos in the first week of handling the baby a thought and prepared a chart and few things that were helpful for us in baby management. Here are a few helpful tips:
1. Feeding routine (includes tracking of medicines and poop)
Our baby was on top feed for almost a month after birth, and from the 2nd month onwards I started breastfeeding her.
In the first month, my husband and I prepared a chart wherein, we could track when was the last time she was given her top feed and how much milk did she consume. Much like the chart below. (Pic from pinterest).
You can download this chart from this link :
We put this chart up in our bedroom, and this helped us heaps to track her feeding timings. This was especially helpful during night time as the baby would easily wake up for milk more than three times.
Incase I would be sleeping, post feed, hubby would write down on the chart, the time and amount of milk baby had consumed. On her next call, I would wake up and it was easier for me to see when was the last time the baby was given milk and the amount she consumed.
This chart was a winner as we also noted down the time she had her medicines, and tracked her poop, I know that’s quite detailed but you could always just have a feeding chart.
2. Bath routine
Born in the month of January, the weather would be quite cool or downright chilly in the evenings sometimes.
We would bathe our newborn with hot water in the noon time usually and second bath with hot water in the evenings. This kept the baby clean as well as fresh throughout the cold month of January and February.
Bathing in the noon and in the evenings prepared the baby for a good nap. Also the pre-bath ritual of massage is a great way to get some good blood circulation for babies as they are sleeping on their backs for the first 3 months.
Post bath application of a good cream especially made for babies should be used. We used Johnson& Johnson and Chicco all the way and were very happy with the results. For the pre-bath massage we used Johnson and Sebamed oil, which was amazing and had a lovely fragrance.
3. Care routine
Care routine for babies should include the following:
Moisturisation no matter which month of the year, its key to good health of your newborn as it promotes good blood circulation and regrowth of new skin cells when massaged and protects delicate skin of the baby
Cleaning and wiping down gently parts of the baby which may accumulate grime or residue of soap, such as folds of the skin near the neck, behind the ear and private parts.
Cutting of nails or trimming is very important too as the baby may end up hurting themselves incase they scratch their skin.
Soft spots on the baby’s head or the skull in general should always be protected, taken utmost care of and covered. Try covering the ears of the baby when sleeping under the fan or aircon. Application of oil on the soft spots helps formation of skull over it.
Use baby Q tips to clean ears atleast once in 10 days.
Avoid loud noises near the baby and promote play of soothing music around the baby as it helps the baby relax and feel someone is always nearby.
Day and night difference for your baby was not possible in your womb, but once out into this world, we need to show them the difference, hence, try making baby use to a sleep routine wherein the lights are dim and go off smoothly and in the mornings they need to see the sunshine.
These routines are great for your baby as it was for our little one, as they help rearrange their body clock to suit the day and night difference once they are out of your womb. Also it helps greatly in the overall wellbeing of the baby. Incase you liked this article please like and share.