You and Your Newborn Baby: a guide to the first months after birth

 

Regardless of whether labor is long or short, whether it is hard or easy whether a baby is born vaginally or by cesarean, most parents recall the first hours and days after birth as crystal-clear images surrounded by haze. It is in this haze that you first take in your baby and make a giant leap from pregnancy to parenting.

Despite all the anticipatory parenting done before conception and during pregnancy, despite weeks of feeling movement within and fantasizing about your baby, despite months of having strange dreams, worrisome thoughts, and musings about what kind of parent you will be, the first time you hold your baby in your arms and call yourself mother or father, mama or papa, mommy or daddy, an awareness floods over you that life will never be the same again. Another human being is now dependent upon you for survival. More than anything else, you want to be the best parent possible.

Comforting a crying baby

All babies cry. It's just that some do it more than others, some do it a lot more than others - and a lusty-lunged few do it so much, you're driven to tears yourself.
Experts - and smug mums whose babies barely even whimper - will tell you that your baby's crying because it's the only way he can let you know that something's up. And, as soon as you sort it, the crying will stop.
Sometimes, it just ain't that easy to work what that 'something' might be. Is it tiredness? Wind? Colic? And by the time you have worked it out, your baby may well have screamed himself into such a state that no amount of something solutions will do.
What you need at this point (apart from a big hug) is some tried-and-trusted advice from mums who've been there and borne the hollering brunt before you - mums who can tell your run-of-the-mill crying jag from your full-on bout of colic, and pull some ace comforting tricks from up their parenting sleeves. And, since that's what Mumsnet does best, here you are...

Six tips to help manage baby sniffles

BLOCKED NOSE: Babies prefer breathing through their nose so it is important to help keep it clear.

The colder months can be worrying for parents when their baby suffers a blocked nose from a cough or cold.
As babies prefer breathing through their nose, it is important to help keep it clear, especially when they are feeding or sleeping ­- when they struggle to breathe they can often feel uncomfortable and restless. Your baby is also too young to be able to blow their own nose. 
Here are some tips to help ease cold symptoms so you and your child can rest a little easier.
1. Raise the head of the bed
Try slightly elevating the head of the bed by placing a pillow underneath the top of the mattress. The slight incline makes blood flow away from the head, reducing inflammation of the nasal passages.

FEEDING TIPS FROM BIRTH TO 12 MONTHS

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FOOD FOR BABY’S FIRST YEAR

These are general guidelines for feeding healthy babies.  Feed your baby only one new food per week. Then you can find out if your baby has a problem with the new food.  Talk with the nutritionist or health care provider for more information on feeding your baby.

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Birth To 6 Months

• Pediatricians recommend babies be breastfed until 1 year of age or older
• If you are thinking about giving infant formula (artificial baby milk) to your breastfed baby, talk with the nutritionist or health care provider.
• Babies who are not breastfed need iron-fortified infant formula until they are 1 year old. 

Eating tips for children (1) - babies

Summary

Babies can start eating solid foods from about six months. Breast milk (or infant formula) remains a baby's main source of nutrition for their first year. First foods for babies can include infant cereal, mashed or pureed fruit or vegetables and well-cooked meats, lentils or beans. Babies should not drink cows milk until they are twelve months old.

Babies grow quickly in the first year of life, so they need plenty of energy (kilojoules) and nutrients. A child’s growth isn’t always steady and even, which means that appetite and hunger can be unpredictable.

The amounts of foods eaten by your baby and their interest in food may be a little different from day to day. This is normal and shouldn’t cause any concerns if your baby is growing well.

Introduce solids at about six months of age

Breast milk is an important food for babies until at least 12 months of age, or longer if the mum and baby desire. Infant formula is important until 12 months. By about six months of age, a baby’s iron stores are low and extra foods will be needed to maintain healthy growth and prevent nutritional problems such as iron deficiency. Start to introduce solids around six months of age – when your baby starts showing interest in food.