Parenting Newborn - Is There Any Rule Book to Follow

You got a baby! Feels fantastic, right? Now think it from the other way round – the kid got you! Scary? Anxious? Nervous?

Don't be! It's a precious moment in everyone's life. We want you to cherish every bit of it. However, it's a bit challenging for the new parents to welcome a new person in their life in today's rushed life. It's not unusual for them to lack a balance in life. Further, with COVID-19 hitting us hard, it's difficult for everyone to deal with the new normal lifestyle.

Gone are the days of age-old parenting when you could leave your child in the care of your old parents or cook and keep an eye on the baby at once. Nowadays, you have to pay your full concentration on the baby as well as your protection.

Here we are with an extensive guide on parenting newborn in contemporary times. Read it to the end, and feel free to share your thoughts with us.

1. Start breastfeeding at an early stage of life

According to studies, mothers' breast milk has the best nutrients and boosted their immune system. That's what can protect your babe against the pandemic outbreak. Even if your baby is not ready to latch on yet, squeeze the yellow colostrums directly into his/her mouth. This is a precursor to the actual breast milk. Though this tastes meh (no wonder kids hate it), it contains all the immunity-boosting vital nutrients. Start breastfeeding early to incorporate all the nutrients in his/her body.

2. Dress them right

A cute outfit is irresistible – we admit. However, today's situation demands more than that. Since they cannot protect themselves, make sure you are covering them enough. Try to limit their exposure to the external environment as it increases risks. However, while returning home from the hospital or visiting the doctor for regular vaccinations, make sure to cover the babe with adequate clothing. Cover them with a mask and shield. However, the masks we adults use are not ideal for the babies. Since they can take a limited amount of oxygen, making them wear heavy masks will only increase their troubles. It can strain their lungs and cause serious breathing troubles.

These days, there are several cute and practical masks are available for babies. These also got shields attached. These ensure better air transmission, and the babe won't face any trouble.

3. Limit guests

With a newborn around, it's only standard for your friends and family to come and visit the babe frequently. And that is extremely dangerous both for the baby and the guests. Since everyone needs to limit outer exposure, the guests must stay back home as much as possible. The situation is even scarier for your child due to his/ her lack of immunity. This is why the newborns get vaccines for various diseases at a regular interval.

Since we are not yet entirely accustomed to the hygiene practices, you may not always know who is carrying the germs. And since it's a highly contaminating disease, you or your child may catch it without any notice. Worse still, studies are revealing that people these days are suffering from COVID tiredness. They are getting tired of practicing a hygienic lifestyle, wearing masks, maintaining social distancing. Ideally, it's important to change clothes and completely sanitizing oneself after coming from outside. However, that's not practical for your guests. And once they are at your home, you cannot resist them from visiting the child and taking him/her on the lap.

It's not possible to determine who is a COVID patient since some can be asymptomatic. Others can be suffering from viral cold and so on. No matter what it is, it would help if you did not expose your child to it. Children tend to put their fingers in mouth, and it's not possible for you to constantly look after them. Now imagine a guest (carrying the infectious disease) visiting the place and touching your child. And the babe invariably puts her finger into the mouth.

Scary? It sure is given that the nostrils and mouth are the two potential gateways of the disease!

We know it's harsh but true! It's okay to be rude when it comes to your baby's health. And in the contemporary situation, everyone will understand the concern.

In case you cannot avoid your closest people visiting the place, make sure to arrange for proper sanitization like wearing masks, using sanitizer, etc. before visiting the baby.

4. Don't let the helpers enter your child's room

We have already discussed how you should restrict the visitors, but what about the helpers or maids? In today's rushed lifestyle, you may not do away without a helping hand. When a baby is at home, you must give the most of your time to the kid. A helping hand is essential to reduce your workload.

However, make sure not to let the helping hand enter the child's room. Everyone can't arrange for a helping hand for 24/7. You don't know what hygiene practices they follow at home. So it's better to let them work on the household tasks while you take care of the baby all by yourself.

When you seek to engage a helping hand, contact a reliable center near your place. Many of the centers (that are still operating) have adopted hygiene routines in the new-normal situation. Check if these places are safe enough, whether they have an arrangement for a regular thermal check-up and sanitization. This will somewhat increase safety.

5. Sanitize the car before taking your baby out

Taking safety is a must while bringing the babe to your home from the hospital for the first time or taking him to the doctor for vaccination. Make sure to sanitize the car seat before taking your baby out. Don't use a hand sanitizer.

There are several surface sanitizers available. Clean the car seats, head and hand rest, and windows and doors.

Suppose you don't have enough time for sanitizing the car yourself or don't want to take hassles. In that case, you may consult a sanitization center. The professionals will deeply sanitize the car.

6. Deep sanitize your place

Before bringing the child from the hospital, make sure to sanitize your entire house. The inexperienced individuals can't accomplish the tasks. So you better hire sanitization services. They will deeply sanitize your place and make it safe and sound.

Unfortunately, if your neighbor or anyone in your family gets sick, make sure to avail of such a service once they get better. Since the virus is highly infectious, it's important to take adequate measures to protect your child. However, make sure to keep your kid away from the spray as these have harmful chemicals. It would help if you also covered yourself adequately, especially the nose, mouth, eyes, and skin.

7. Bring a change in your baby's habit

Have you spent some time with your kids? Then you must know, all the babies have some peculiar common habits. Regardless of country, religion, ethnicity, and race, this commonality exists among all the babies. One of these is giggling at random things – super cute! Another is feeling sleepy most of the time – convenient! However, not all habits are cute or nice. One of the dangerous habits is sucking fingers or putting everything in the mouth.

The babies cannot understand things on their own or be won over with logic. It would help if you guided them, more so in today's time. Talk to your pediatrician about this. Every child is interested in different things. Keep them hooked to that. Don't, we repeat, don't let them suck their fingers or put everything in the mouth.

8. Clean up the baby

Keeping a baby clean is one way to make them comfortable and healthy.

However, kids need more attention while cleaning. Since they don't know what's what, they often end up with water inside their nose or ears. In serious cases, this can even lead to deafness or lung disease. Hence, it's important to follow the right methods while cleaning your child.

Below, we will outline a few doctors' prescribed steps to clean up your babe. Follow this from the next time:

· Face

Baby acne is a common thing and mostly harmless. However, you sure don' want to see a newborn with a blotchy and red face? Further, sometimes these can last for a lifetime and produce scars. Avoid these by using mild baby soap.

Since the children's skin is sensitive, it's better to consult your doctor if they prefer to advise medicated soap. Before applying any commercial product, always seek assistance from the doctor. Use these only if they permit. Otherwise, these products may not suit your cutie's skin and make it harsh.

Before purchasing any skin product, always keep an eye on the ingredient list. The last thing you want is to close the kid's pores with harsh chemicals. These may even lead to skin cancer or harmful acne problem. Steer clear of anything packed with acids. These are good for aging skin but not for children. Also, don't apply your face wash or shampoo on the child and purchase their products separately. Since children's skin and hair are much softer than those of the adults, they need special care.

If you see any product is causing acne or blemishes on the babe's skin, stop using the products immediately. It may so happen that the products are not suitable for their skin.

· Eyes

Blocked tear duct may cause crusting in the eye or yellowish discharge. It can last for a few months. Though these are not usually harmful, we advise you to consult a doctor. You cannot take any risk with a child, right! However, if possible, try to convey the doctor's situation instead of taking the babe to the clinic. This will limit his or her exposure.

Here's a quick tip for you. You may use a cotton ball to deal with this issue. Dip it into warm water and moisten it. Then squeeze and drain the excess water and gently wipe the child's eyes, especially the corners. Make sure that the water is not hot; otherwise, their sensitive and soft skin will burn. Also, be gentle while wiping and don't rub. Keep them preoccupied with their favorite toys so that they don't move your hands too much. It may cause serious accidents and damage their eyes permanently. So be very careful about your movement around the babe.

Nose

The narrow nasal passage of the babies is filled with mucus. This may be troublesome for them, especially during sleeping. We recommend you to unclog the nostrils. You may insert a saline solution and clean it with a nose bud.

However, make sure to talk to the doctors before purchasing anything for the baby. You never know which medication contains which element, and you may end up affecting the kid's health.

Scalp

Wash your babe's hair with a mild shampoo no more than thrice a week. Don't brush immediately after applying the shampoo as it will cause massive hair fall.

The hair roots remain soft after a shower and tend to fall if you brush right after the bath. Whenever you are brushing their hair, pay attention to brush softly, and don't be rigorous. It will scratch their scalp.

Also, whenever you are purchasing something for the baby, make sure to use products dedicated to the babes. And we are not only talking about commercial products but also about hairbrush or toothbrush. These are delicately made so as not to affect the soft skin of the babies. Instead of using your hairbrush to comb your child's hair, purchase a comb for the baby.

Nails

Though the babies' nails are soft, understand these are only softer than the adult's nails. At the face of the soft and supple skin of the kids, the nails are indeed harsher. So they can end up scratching their sensitive skin and bleed. Use blunt nose scissors or baby nail clippers for cutting their nails. Also, ensure to clip it right after the shower as the nails are soft at that time. You can also try to clip the nails when they are asleep, and their fingers are relaxed. Otherwise, they may move their hands too much, and you can find it difficult to clip the nails.

Bottom

Sensitive skin plus moisture retention in the babe's bottom cause diaper rash. If you want to deal with it, the first hack is to change diapers frequently. We often find new parents arguing about changing a baby's diaper while the kid is wearing one diaper all day long. Indeed there are several long protecting diapers available on the web, and you can purchase these. However, make sure to change it frequently to ensure the optimum comfort of the kids.

Rinse the bottom with lukewarm water after changing the diaper every single time. Please don't rush to make her wear yet another diaper instantly. Take some time to apply moisturizer and blot dry. Also, instead of using wipes that may irritate their skin, you may use soft towels to pat dry. Use petroleum jelly or other medicated products to keep the bottom smooth and soft and supple. Though diaper rashes are not severe, they may irritate and spoil your baby's mood.

Whenever you are removing a used diaper, make sure to throw it in a diaper dustbin and not an ordinary one. Diaper bins are explicitly made to throw diapers. If you throw away the diapers here and there (even in the regular dustbin), it will cause a foul smell and spread diseases. You may have noted that the regular bins are used more than diaper bins. So stop getting exposed to the diapers as these are harmful to everyone's health.

Feet

The dirtiest organ (right after the bottom) is our foot. Babies tend to rub their feet and then put the hand in their mouths or eat with the same hands. They don't have any sense, but you do! So it would help if you washed their feet from time to time.

However, many children tend to catch a cold with excessive use of water. That's the last thing you want, especially in today's vulnerable time. So make sure to use lukewarm water. Also, you may use sanitized wipes to clean their feet.

9. Disinfect the surfaces

All the baby's room items, including the furniture, walls, cradle, showpieces, picture frames, etc. must be disinfected. Spray sanitizer and clean these regularly. Make sure to keep the baby in a different room when you sanitize or even for some time after you are done.

Wrapping up

Following these tips will surely help you smoothen up your experience with your newborn. Enjoy the special time to the most.

Do you have any more advice for our readers? Go on, feel free to share your thoughts below. Essential Baby List, Baby List, Baby Essentials List, Baby Essentials