7 Things to Know About Newborn Care

As new parents, you want to give and do everything possible for your newborn. However, with no prior experience, taking care of a newborn all by yourself can be daunting. If you are feeling nervous and lost, these basic newborn care tips can help make you feel more confident in caring for your little one. Let’s get started!

Sleep Routine & Safety

Baby Sleep - PEM Confinement

Newborns sleep a lot, and by the time they reach three months old, most of them can sleep for six to eight hours through the night. Meanwhile, you can try to establish a day and night sleeping schedule for your newborn. 

To help your newborn get sufficient feed and nutrients to grow, try not to let him snooze longer than three hours during the daytime without a feed. On the other hand, once your newborn has regained the weight he lost, you may let him sleep as long as he wants throughout the night. 

That said, every mother and newborn’s condition is different, and understanding newborn sleep routine is key to helping your child sleep better. If you have doubts and concerns about your newborn’s sleeping routine, the best source of advice is from your paediatrician.

Regarding sleep safety, do not let your newborn sleep in the same bed with you to avoid the risk of suffocation. To ease night feedings and attend to your baby quickly during the night, you can place your baby’s cot beside your bed in the same room, and be sure not to put any hazardous items such as blankets, soft toys and pillows in the cot. This is helpful in preventing your baby from falling off their bed. For further comfort in bed, you can opt to swaddle your baby as well. While swaddling is good for your baby, do keep in mind that some babies might feel fussy about it. Should this happen, you can simply nurse them to bed or place them in a baby cot.

It is wise to move them into a room or place that is distraction-free, dimmed or away from the lights and with a suitable temperature as well. A room that is sound or noise-free would help your baby sleep better. Since your baby’s hearing is almost perfectly developed by now, they are very sensitive to loud sounds, and this will upset them and keep them from going to bed. For example, doorbells and phone calls.

Moreover, sleeping in a bright room is not an efficient way to put your baby to sleep as the environment is non-conducive for your child to do so. Exposing your body to light before or during bedtime can make it difficult for you to fall asleep due to the lack of sleep-inducing melatonin produced by your brain. 

Care for the Umbilical Cord

Care for the Umbilical Cord - PEM Confinement

During the first few days in life, newborn babies come with a small stump on their belly button — that’s the stump of the umbilical cord, and it requires delicate care to prevent infections. 

But what’s an umbilical cord, and where exactly does it come from? During your pregnancy, the umbilical cord is a tube-like structure that carries food and oxygen from you to your baby. The umbilical cord also transfers waste products away from the baby so that your body can remove them. After your baby is born, the doctors will clamp and cut the cord, with a small stump left on your baby’s belly. 

Over the days, as the stump dries out, its colour may turn from the initial yellow to brown, grey, or even purplish. The umbilical cord can take up to 21 days to fall off, and before that happens, all you need to do is keep it clean and dry.

Especially when bathing your newborn, try to keep the umbilical cord as dry as possible. Also, don’t put the cord inside your baby’s diaper to prevent it from retaining moisture. What you can do here is fold the diapers below the cord or look for newborn diapers with a cut-out area dedicated to the cord.

Skincare

Baby Skincare - PEM Confinement

Newborns’ skin is soft and smooth, but they are also highly prone to common newborn skin irritations like baby acne, rashes, chafing and dryness. Luckily, there are now many baby products available in the market to help protect your baby’s skin.

When choosing baby skin care products, take note of the list of ingredients — go for products that are free from fragrance, paraben and other harsh chemicals that could irritate your baby’s skin. Meanwhile, keep your baby’s skincare routine simple. Avoid using too many products too frequently, and pay attention to your baby’s reaction when you use new products on them.

Scalp Care

Baby Scalp Care - PEM Confinement

One of the most delicate parts of a newborn baby is its scalp, not to mention that newborns have skull bones that are yet to develop fully, making this area even more fragile. Two of the most common newborn scalp conditions are dry scalp and cradle cap, which usually go away on their own after the first few weeks. That said, if you notice your baby’s scalp becoming red or irritated, remember to go to your pediatrician immediately.

A dry scalp in babies often appears as white flakes on their scalps. However, this is not exactly because the scalp is dry  — the flakes are actually old skin that is being shed. You might be tempted to use oils, lotions or petroleum jelly on your baby’s scalp, but these products may actually worsen the condition as they make it harder for the dry flakes to fall off. Therefore, the best way is to wash your baby’s hair with a gentle baby shampoo and brush the hair gently as normal.

On the other hand, cradle cap is a common newborn scalp condition that appears as thick yellowish or white scales on the scalp. Just like a dry scalp, using oils or lotions on the affected area may worsen the condition. To treat the cradle cap, use a gentle baby shampoo dedicated to improving the cradle cap, and use a soft brush to remove the scales gently afterwards.

Bathing Your Baby

Bath time is one of the best ways to establish an intimate bond and a stronger relationship with your little darling. On top of that, bathing your child helps engage their senses as well. The best baby bath for newborn relaxes your baby and prepares them for a good sleep. When bathing your child, it is not enough to use only water as a cleanser. Water alone is not sufficient to help you remove fat-soluble impurities left under diapers and clothes.

How do you bathe your baby, then? For a start, you can gently place your baby in a baby bathtub. Ensure the warm water in the container is only a few inches high. The temperature of your baby’s bathwater should be around 32℃ to 37℃ for the best comfort. When bathing, use one arm to support your baby’s back, neck or bottoms, this will keep your baby safe and secured as you bathe them.

For more options on baby-bath-related products, you might want to give MumChecked a visit! They have plenty of baby bathing products for your baby’s comfort and convenience. Have fun shopping!

Feeding

Baby Feeding - PEM Confinement

One of the no-brainer newborn care guidance to know if your baby is hungry, upset or uncomfortable is when they are crying. Crying is your newborn’s main mode of communication, and it is the most effective way to get your attention. With that said, is there any unique way to feed your baby? What are the things you need to know before you feed your baby?

As your baby’s tummy is still small, he can only have a small amount of milk during each feed, and he will need it again after a few hours. During the initial days, your newborn may require a feed every two to three hours.

As a general guide, during the first few days after your baby is born, he will need less than 40ml of milk per feed, depending on your doctor’s guidance. After the first week, feed your around 60ml to 90ml of milk every 3 to 4 hours. By the time your newborn is one month to three months old, you can increase the amount to around 120ml to 150ml per feed every four to six hours. This quantity may vary depending on you and your baby’s condition, as well as whether you’re feeding breast milk or formula milk. To get the most accurate feeding quantity and frequency for your newborn, get advice from your pediatrician or lactation consultant.

It is wise to stick to breast milk or formula during the initial stages of your baby’s growth. After all, your little bundle of joy is still too young to consume any solid foods. Therefore, you will need to familiarise yourself with lactogenic ingredients in your daily meals to boost your milk supply and nutritional quality. For instance, lactogenic ingredients such as garlic help improve the odour of your breast milk and, in turn, encourage your baby to stay latched on longer! 

Keep in mind to always feed your baby when they demand it. Some of the most obvious visual cues are your baby being excited at the sight of food, putting hands in their mouth, rooting when they are close to your breasts or moving closer to your breasts to feed. Your newborn needs about 8 to 12 servings of your breast milk per day, so do feed them until they are satisfied!

Soothing Your Crying Baby

Your baby’s cry can become stressful when you are unsure how to comfort them. A crying baby can be soothed easily if you recognise the causes or factors behind it. An efficient way to recognise these factors is to pay attention to them when your baby cries. Are they hungry? Distracted? Upset? Uncomfortable? Maybe your baby is just in need of your attention. By tending to your baby when they are crying, you can comfort them and recognise the cause properly.

Sometimes, your baby might be throwing a tantrum or crying because they are having wind or colic. To treat this, you can apply ointments on your baby when you massage them. This will help them remove wind retention in their body and make them feel more comfortable. Try not to overfeed your baby as it will bring discomfort to your baby as well. You can try switching on a playlist of calming sounds to help soothe your baby and keep them relaxed. You might want to give one of these tips a run soon!

Get Trusted Newborn Care Day & Night with PEM

Juggling between postpartum recovery and taking care of a newborn can be very challenging for new parents. At PEM Confinement Nanny Agency, our experienced and well-trained SG confinement nanny is here to give you and your newborn the best care at home.

Our confinement nanny duties include newborn care such as feeding, changing diapers, cleaning, updating the baby’s daily log and night feeding, and confinement guide and care for the mother. To support you in your postpartum recovery, our confinement nanny will prepare nourishing confinement meals, herbal tonics and herbal bath water for you daily. Need help with breastfeeding? No worries! PEM confinement nannies will assist you by providing guidance and help in breastfeeding your newborn, too.

Learn more about PEM SG confinement nanny service now!

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  • PEM Confinement Nanny Agency

    We are a group of frontliners and support team members who are passionate about sharing our knowledge and experience in confinement care. Representing the largest confinement nanny agency in Singapore which has served over 250,000 mothers in over 30 years, we are all about sharing useful and insightful information based on our experience to help new parents navigate this exciting chapter of their life better.