Healthy Newborn Baby | Behaviors & Activities of A Newborn
A Healthy newborn baby is a gift from God. When you look at your newborn baby’s cute and sweet face, all the pain during the pregnancy period is worthwhile.
Now, all you would like to try to do is to actually look out of your little baby since small to create a robust and good foundation. Here are some tips for you if this is able to be the primary time you become a mummy.
First of all, breastfeeding is very important. A newborn child has a weak body for the first 6 months and he/she needs the mum’s antibody in order to boost the body’s immune system.
It is also advisable for you to take lots of nutritious food that contain calcium, protein, and carbohydrate so that the milk produced will be nutritious for your baby.
After 6 months to 1 year, you can gradually change from breastfeeding to normal powder milk.
Be extra cautious in choosing powder milk for your child as different levels of nutrients and proteins are introduced for the different age groups.
Another important tip is to have a good rest to take care of your infant. You will have to rearrange your schedule to suit your newborn baby.
For the first few weeks, you will be having difficult times taking care of your babies such as changing the diapers, breastfeeding, bathing, and others.
Related Articles
If you don’t have sufficient rest, you will end up feeling stressed and tired. So, it is great to take a nap when your baby is sleeping.
For the first 4-6 months, your sleeping time might change and sometimes you do have to be awake at midnight and sleep during the day.
A newborn baby has a weak body immune system and prone to get sick. Some people will think that crying is the only sign of sickness but this is not true.
Always check your infant’s body temperature to see if he/she is having a fever.
Besides that, if your baby’s appetite or behavior has changed, it is most likely that your baby is sick. These are the basic things that you should be aware of when taking care of your infant.
Now that you have known these basic tips, start preparing mentally and physically to ensure that your baby is growing in a healthy and happy environment.
With the arrival of a baby comes a plethora of responsibility in the life of the parents. From conception to delivery, you have no doubt read up on several tips on preparing for the baby.
But now that he is here everything is real and in your face. Your preparation and patience led up to this moment, and now you have a newborn baby in your hands.
A common concern shared by all of the parents is if the baby is healthy. Since first-time parents have no experience raising a child, they always have this fear inside them.
You have nothing to fear as we walk you step by step to recognize a healthy newborn baby and make sure your baby is well taken care of.
Do Not Fret
Most concerns that are found in first-time parents are simple matters. All it takes is just one anxious thought to send you spinning through endless worrying and tense nights.
We get it but if there is a problem worrying about it won’t fix things.
You need to accept the fact that a newborn baby brings a lot of changes in your life, and you need to sort through them to understand the difference between a standard variation and a problem.
Behaviors & Activities of A Healthy Newborn Baby
There are some signs that you can look out for that allows you to understand how healthy and happy your newborn is.
The baby responds to your sound and touch
When the baby is in the womb, they can hear the sound of their mother, and usually, yours is the first sound they hear when they come out. They know the tone of your voice instinctively.
One thing all babies do is that they cry. That is their way of letting you know when they need something.
When your baby calms down at your touch, sight, or even hearing your voice, you can take it as a sign that they are connecting with you.
This shows the emotional development of the baby and is a sign of good health.
Keep in mind, though that just your presence won’t make the baby stop crying if he is hungry or needs a diaper change.
Your baby is feeding and gaining weight
Make sure your baby is feeding sufficiently. The amount of milk that your newborn takes changes from time to time. To understand if he is getting enough, you need to check the diapers.
A healthy baby wets around 8-10 diapers daily. Do not force the baby to drink if he doesn’t want to at a sitting. A baby does not drink the same amount every time.
A baby gains weight significantly, especially in the early few weeks. A baby grows through several growth spurts slowdowns in the first few months.
Consult your pediatrician regularly to check if your baby is growing and gaining weight as he should.
There are some slowdowns to the weight gain, and if you see your baby stop gaining weight check-in with your doctor.
Your baby shows attention and quiet periods a few times daily
After the first few weeks of crying, feeding, and sleeping, you will see your baby slowly start controlling their eye movements.
They will learn to focus on objects in front of them, mostly your face. Your baby will study your face and track your movements.
These moments of focus show that the baby is starting to learn his surroundings. When they are quiet, they are trying to take note of their environment and people.
This is a good sign of the mental growth occurring inside your baby.
The baby looks for sound and tries to listen
This is a sign of the hearing development in your baby. The babies can hear from the moment they are born, but they cannot differentiate between the different noises that they hear.
After a few weeks, they learn that some sounds are less important, as the background sounds of a table fan.
When they hear new sounds or voices, they try to listen, and this ability continues to improve over time.
Any musical sound usually gets the attention of the baby. That is why you see babies smiling at musical sounds coming from toys.
They see colors and movements
Babies have poor eyesight at birth, which gradually improves over the following few months.
At the time of birth, they can see only about 8 to 12 inches away, which is the distance of the mother’s face while breastfeeding. This improves to about 18 inches by the end of the first month.
When the baby reaches around two months, they can track patterns and colors.
This is a sign of their developing eyesight. Bright colors usually catch their attention as they have poor color vision and depth perception.
He lifts his head briefly
By the end of the first month, your baby will be trying to hold his head up while he is laid on his tummy.
This shows the development of muscles in the babies’ bodies. The muscle strength of the baby keeps growing, and after around three months, they will do this with better control.
To help him in his muscle growth, make sure he is not confined to the crib only.
Lay him down on a soft-carpeted floor in front of you or strap him on the baby seat of your car as you take a drive. These activities can speed up the process of your babies’ muscle growth.
Regularities in sleep schedule
The early 2-3 weeks of the newborn baby is tough for the parents as the baby doesn’t follow any sleeping schedule.
They sleep most of the time and only wake up to feed in between. But as time progresses, the baby starts showing more calmness. This means that the nervous system of the baby is improving. Over time he will start sleeping through the night and show fewer fits of crying.
Rounding Up
The early few months of a newborn baby are often very troubling on the parents, especially when they don’t understand the different changes that the baby is going through.
We hope that this guide on a healthy newborn baby will help you navigate the realm of parenthood and get you on your way to becoming experts on baby care.
