Newborn Baby Care: Your Baby Up To One Month Old

Bringing your newborn baby home is a huge moment in anyone’s life. From newborn to one month old baby, development of this little person is fascinating. In the early days you are getting used to being a mum, working out a routine and learning to recognise your baby’s needs. But after only a few days your baby will know you and by the end of this first month she might even be showing obvious signs of recognition reacting differently to you than she does to others. One month old baby development landmarks include lifting her head briefly when lying on her stomach, responding to sounds and focusing on a face. But mostly, in those early days, she will sleep and her regular short waking times will be taken up with feeding, changing and cleaning her to ensure she stays well and comfortable. Your newborn baby care routine will include caring for her: Face Newborns often have red, blotchy faces, but their skin settles down after a couple of weeks. Wash her face daily with lukewarm water. If she has a yellowish discharge or crusting on the eyelids she may have a blocked tear duct. Keep the area clean with a cotton ball moistened with clean warm water. Scalp Cradle cap is a common condition for newborns. It looks scaly and unpleasant, but your baby won’t feel anything. Your newborn baby care routine should include using a soft-bristle baby hairbrush or soft toothbrush to gently brush away the scales every day and washing baby’s hair with a baby shampoo up to three times a week. Rubbing a little olive or almond oil into the scalp can soften the scaly skin. Skin Red, itchy patches could be the inherited condition eczema or atopic dermatitis. Limit her bath to ten minutes using a mild, fragrance-free soap and lukewarm water. After gently patting dry her skin, apply a special hypoallergenic cream. Your baby may feel more comfortable in pure cotton clothing and could benefit from regular all over massages with natural olive or almond oil (take care to avoid the eye area). Bottom Nappy rash is caused by baby staying too long in wet nappies so change her nappies frequently and use baby wipes or warm water to remove all traces of urine, drying her bottom before putting a new nappy on. Barrier creams like petroleum jelly and white zinc oxide may help. Nails Babies have soft nails but can scratch themselves if the nail has a jagged edge. Use special baby nail clippers to cut them. Only ever cut the toenails if they are noticeably long. Umbilical Cord Keep the stump of the umbilical cord clean and dry and it will fall off within a couple of weeks. Give sponge baths until the stump falls away. Circumcision Clean his genital area daily with warm water and coat liberally with petroleum jelly to stop the healing penis from sticking to baby’s nappy.