First time mothers should pay particular attention to their feelings, some “baby blues” is to be expected with the hormone changes and it is important to realise that these feelings are quite normal and will fade over the first few weeks. However, if you feel that you are more depressed than you expected and these feelings persist for more than a few weeks you should discuss this with your doctor as you may be suffering from “postpartum depression” (sometimes called postnatal depression). Symptoms to be on the look out for include:

• Overwhelming feelings of sadness, depression and isolation.
• Feelings of guilt and worthlessness, thinking you don’t deserve a baby.
• Having extreme feelings towards your baby, ranging from lack of interest to obsession.

Coping with a newborn baby can be hard work, especially for first time mothers in the first few days at home. It takes time adjusting to your baby’s sleep routine. Having a baby is a wonderful and life changing experience, but it can also be a challenging one. To avoid or reduce the “baby blues”, try and get as much rest as possible, take a nap every time baby is asleep. Get friends and family to help with housework. Take advantage of any visitors by letting them look after baby for a little while why you take a bath or have a little personal time. Take it easy on yourself, don’t try and rush to get your life back to normal as quickly as possible. However don’t completely neglect exercise, when you feel up to it, start taking gentle walks with your baby, exercise, fresh air and simply getting out of the house will work wonders for both of you. Try to eat healthily, you need lots of nourishment as a new mother, especially if breastfeeding. Lots of fresh fruit and vegetables along with plenty of water is recommended. You may also find it helpful to meet up with other mothers and discuss how you are feeling, you may find that you are not alone and many of them also struggled to cope in those first few weeks.

Other common causes of crying include:

• being uncomfortable – a soiled nappy, itchy nappy rash or restrictive clothing can cause crying in many babies. Ensure that your baby’s nappy is always clean make sure clothing is comfortable and loose fitting.
• Being too hot or cold – try and keep a steady temperature in your home, some babies will cry when exposed to sudden temperature changes when they are being bathed or changed.
• Lack of attention or physical contact – some babies cry as they want almost constant reassurance and cuddles. It is important that you find the right balance in this situation as you don’t want your baby to come to expect cuddles any time of the day or night or you will never et any sleep!

Just in case you had not realised, with a newborn baby you can expect to be woken up at least twice during the night for the first few weeks (at least). No matter how many books you read, the best laid plans will likely fall apart in those early days. The main reasons for your baby not sleeping through the night initially is the fact that newborn babies stomachs can only hold around 2-3 hours worth of nutrition. For this reason alone, your sleep will be interrupted. It is important to be firm – without being cruel – from a very early age, that night time is for sleeping and not for cuddles or playing. This does not mean letting your baby cry all night or going hungry! It simply means trying to set some ground rules early on. Try leaving lights off at night, even when feeding and give your child less attention during the night, feeding is OK but cuddling, singing and entertaining the child are not. After first few weeks you can try keeping your baby awake a little longer and perhaps missing that late afternoon nap. This will encourage them to sleep better/longer at night.

You can also try feeding your baby more during the day which may help them to last longer through the night without getting hungry. Some baby’s will respond well to soft music or singing and will drift off to sleep, but others will find this stimulating and will just want more! It is important to be flexible with your baby and try different approaches until you find something that works.

If possible, the first feed should be given within a few hours of birth, however this is not always possible for a number of reasons so don’t get unduly worried if this is the case. Avoid giving the baby any pacifiers or water bottles in the early days of breastfeeding as this will confuse the baby.

Don’t try and rush breastfeeding, a baby can take 30 minutes or more on each breast, so make sure you are comfortable and relaxed. You can hold baby sitting upright in a cuddling position, or lying down on your side, whichever feels more comfortable. Make sure when you position baby the gums are on the the top of the areola rather than the nipple itself to reduce soreness.

There are no hard and fast rules about how often or how much you should feed your baby, just let the baby decide when feeding is required. Generally speaking babies will simply release the breast once they have had their fill.

It is extremely important for a breastfeeding mother to have a very healthy and balanced diet. A variety of foods are required during this period such as 5 portions a day of fruit and veg; rice, pasta or pulses for energy; wholemeal bread, vegetables, pulses, cereals and pastas for fibre (many mother suffer constipation and other bowel problems after childbirth); Proteins like lean meat, fish, eggs and poultry;two portions of fish per week (including some oily fish but no more than 2 portions); Dairy products such as cheese, milk and yoghurt for calcium.

Be very careful with consumption of caffeine and alcohol, the only safe amount of these is none at all! If you are a smoker (obviously it goes without saying you should give this up, if not for you then for your baby!) then you must wait at least an hour after your last cigarette before breastfeeding, if you don’t, the nicotine and other harmful chemicals will be passed to your baby via the breast milk.

Check this out too: Caring for newborn babies – Bathing and Changing

After the first few weeks baby will be ready for the first bath, use a small basin filled with lukewarm soapy water and place baby in the basin sitting upright, ensuring that the baby’s chest is well above water level. Then gently clean as you did with the sponge bath. You can now wash the baby’s hair once a week taking care to keep soapy water away from the eyes. When washing your baby’s ears, wash the outside only, never be tempted to clean inside the ears with a cotton bud as this can cause damage.

For changing your baby you should make up a pack containing all the essentials, such as nappies; changing tables; baby powder (talcum – non fragranced); rash ointments such as E45; Cotton balls; Baby wipes or cloths; Changing pads and towels.

When it comes to deciding which type of nappies to buy, most mothers choose disposable nappies due the convenience. However re-usable nappies can be a lot cheaper, but will mean you will be almost tied to your washing machine until baby is potty trained. As far as the baby’s health is concerned, there is no difference, it really is a matter of personal choice. To change your baby’s nappy, lay a fresh nappy on the changing table, place the baby on top of the nappy with tummy facing you, then gently unfasten soiled nappy and pull away from baby so that you can wash the genitals and buttocks with baby wipes or cotton balls and dry the area. Apply cream if necessary. The remove old nappy and wrap new nappy fastening tabs securely. Many babies will suffer nappy rash at some point no matter how thoroughly you clean and dry them, do not worry unduly or engage in self recrimination, simply apply rash cream to soothe the area and always ensure you thoroughly wash and dry the affected areas every change. Some mothers like to leave their baby’s without nappies for a while after removing the soiled one to help keep the skin dry and help heal the rash. However, if nappy rash persists for long periods or looks like it may be infected then consult your doctor.

Baby massage seems to offer a practical solution to problems with crying, sleeping, feeding and behaviour. Through massaging their babies, first time parents can gain confidence in handling them. Parents who used massage to soothe and calm their babies reported their children seemed happier, calmer, cried less and slept better. In the case of mothers suffering from postnatal depression there is growing research evidence that infant baby massage helps to establish the relationship between them and their babies.

There are many great books and guides for mother looking to learn baby massage and even baby massage courses run in many areas. It is worth bearing in mind however, that apart from a few safety essentials, there is no right or wrong way to massage your child. It is more about being together and enjoying the physical and emotional closeness of mother and baby.

Make sure the room is warm enough and the atmosphere is warm and relaxed. Note, if you are feeling stressed or anxious your baby will pick up on this so best to leave the massage for another time. There are no hard and fast rules in terms of the best time to massage your baby, but many mothers enjoy massaging their baby’s after bath time. Whilst massaging try and find a position where you can keep your back straight at all times.

The main safety essentials are to make sure you remove any jewellery that may damage babies sensitive skin (also ensure fingernails are trimmed). Use a hypo-allergenic oil or a natural oil to avoid allergic reactions. Do not use aromatherapy (essential) oils unless directed by a trained aromatherapist. You can check the suitability of oil by doing a small patch test, place a small amount of oil on the inside of your baby’s wrist and leave for 12-24 hours, paying special attention for the first 30 minutes in case of severe reaction. Finally oil can make the baby slippery so take special car when lifting after massage.

As always if you have any doubt as to whether or not to massage your child, seek advice from your doctor or a paediatrician.

Pregnancy Without Pounds

If you can decorate or know someone that can one can put diapers, baby bottles, booties, storks, little crying faces, pacificers and little sweaters. If you cannot decorate or know of any one who can you can just buy the plastic toppings for the cupcakes such as the booties, diapers, etc. You can also, before decorating the cupcakes place them on a large piece of cardboard and arrange them to make a shape of a diaper, baby bottle or booties and then ice them accordingly.

If you are playing games at the baby shower, you can always after the cupcake is cooked cut a hole into one of the cupcakes and place icing inside the hole, cover the hole back up and decorate. Whoever gets the cupcake with the icing inside wins a prize. You could also place a small plastic baby bottle or whatever you choose to top with cupcakes with inside the cupcake for a prize winner.

How To Make A Diaper Cake Video Instructions

Mothers are expected to love their babies straight away, and although most mothers find these feelings grow and become more intense, they may not be there at the start of motherhood. Instead, there’s a guilty feeling and sadness at feeling that way. Some experts say that there may be a hormonal cause to PND, and that women who suffer from it can be helped with hormone treatment. Mothers sometimes try to hide how they feel.
If you think that you may need help, speak to your health visitor, midwife or doctor.

It may be that the most important part of treatment for PND involves friendship and social support. However, not all experts agree about the implications of this. This involves talking to a therapist about the experience of being a mother and what went on in your own childhood and afterwards. Sometimes, motherhood touches parts of us that we had forgotten about, or hidden away.

Partners are especially important for women going though PND. Their love and encouragement are essential for recovery, and their instance on getting help may be the first step on that path. It happens to between 1 and 2 in every 100 new mothers.

Mothers with this illness can loose touch with reality at times. This is different from PND as it’s possible to hide the symptoms for a long time.
Psychiatric treatment is needed, and the mother may be admitted into hospital, perhaps with her baby if there are facilities for the baby to be cared for as well.

Going back to work requires some reorganisation and a change of priorities, and it’s sensible to consider all the options quite soon after your baby is born. Try to decide as a family what arrangements suit you best. You may, for example, have the option to return part-time or work from home some days, or your partner may decide to give up work to care for your baby, especially if you earn more money. If you both work full-time, you’ll have to arrange childcare and accept that on weekdays you’re only going to see your baby for a couple of hours in the morning and evening. This is never ideal or easy, but as long as you maintain your baby’s routine, and they have your undivided attention while you’re with them, they won’t suffer from having working parents.

The excitement of the birth is over and now you’re back home. But as new parents the chances are you’ll feel daunted by the sheer work involved in the day-to-day care of your baby. There are practical details to think about, such as making sure you’ve got all the equipment and clothes you need, what nappies to use, and how to keep your baby clean. And then there are the more serious questions like how to get breastfeeding established, how to pacify your crying baby, and how to cope with broken nights. As time passes, you’ll get to know your baby and their needs will become easier to predict and to cater for. It will still be hard work, but if you share the joys and burdens equally you’ll find the pleasure of watching your baby grow and develop makes it all worthwhile.

ADAPTING TO PARENTHOOD

As well as mastering the practical care of your newborn baby, you need to think about your lifestyle and your relationship so that you’re able to get the most out of being a parent and a family. Your baby will undoubtedly be your main priority and it’s easy to let them soak up all your emotional and physical energy. But to maximise the many joys of parenthood, it’s worth ensuring that you have time for each other and time for yourself. You are, after all, still individuals and still in a loving relationship and it would be wrong to think that your baby could fulfil all your needs.

How easily you adjust will depend on your individual circumstances: having a good and equal relationship with each other already and an adequate support network can make the transition to parenthood that much easier. If you have difficulty in adjusting at first, don’t worry – things will get easier. Parenthood is full of ups and downs, but if you work together to get the balance right, hopefully it will turn out to be all that you wanted it to be.

The excitement of the birth is over and now you’re back home. But as new parents the chances are you’ll feel daunted by the sheer work involved in the day-to-day care of your baby. There are practical details to think about, such as making sure you’ve got all the equipment and clothes you need, what nappies to use, and how to keep your baby clean. And then there are the more serious questions like how to get breastfeeding established, how to pacify your crying baby, and how to cope with broken nights. As time passes, you’ll get to know your baby and their needs will become easier to predict and to cater for. It will still be hard work, but if you share the joys and burdens equally you’ll find the pleasure of watching your baby grow and develop makes it all worthwhile.

ADAPTING TO PARENTHOOD

As well as mastering the practical care of your newborn baby, you need to think about your lifestyle and your relationship so that you’re able to get the most out of being a parent and a family. Your baby will undoubtedly be your main priority and it’s easy to let them soak up all your emotional and physical energy. But to maximise the many joys of parenthood, it’s worth ensuring that you have time for each other and time for yourself. You are, after all, still individuals and still in a loving relationship and it would be wrong to think that your baby could fulfil all your needs.

How easily you adjust will depend on your individual circumstances: having a good and equal relationship with each other already and an adequate support network can make the transition to parenthood that much easier. If you have difficulty in adjusting at first, don’t worry – things will get easier. Parenthood is full of ups and downs, but if you work together to get the balance right, hopefully it will turn out to be all that you wanted it to be.