5 Mistakes New Parents Make with Newborns Babies Plus Good Advises
Are you expecting a baby? A first time parent? For new parents, having a baby is both a gratifying and nerve wracking experience. You thank heavens and all the Gods for the little bundle of joy but at the same time you are scared to death that you might do something wrong with you cute little baby.
Here are 5 things that you must be aware of with regards to your baby’s health and safety. These 5 Must Do’s came from expert pediatricians interviewed by CNN (see credit link below).
- Not Waking (and Feeding) the Baby Every 4 hours – Every new parent should take note of this advise and put it on the top of their ‘Parenting Tip’ list. You should feed your baby every four hours regardless if it’s daytime or night time. Remember, sleepless nights are to be expected for caring that sweet little angel. Don’t be glad when you’re baby sleeps all night long and flaunt, “‘The first night home from the hospital she slept all the way through the night!’” Dr. ance Goodman, a pediatrician in Boca Raton, Florida will tell you “She’s not supposed to be doing that!’ “Our pediatricians’ advise: Parents need to wake up their babies to eat every four hours. With a few rare exceptions, newborns should not sleep through the night for the first two weeks of life.Why do we need to wake up babies for their milk or feeding time? Babies who go too long without eating could become dehydrated. Plus, sleeping eight hours at a stretch might be a sign of severe jaundice. Sleeping all night could also mean that the baby is week, lethargic and can’t arouse himself to feed. This should be checked by a Pediatrician.So when is it OK to let your baby sleep through the night? “At the two-week checkup, if your baby is gaining weight and sleeping through the night, hallelujah! Go enjoy it!” says Dr. Ari Brown, author of “Baby 411″ and a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
- Not Feeding When Hungry – Reading the first fact may and could confuse a new parent. If the baby is crying and hungry, the mother errr.. parent should feed him. The ‘feed the baby every four hour’ is a schedule but it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t feed the baby if he’s hungry after 2 hours from feeding him.Pediatricians say new parents sometimes make the mistake of wanting baby to eat on a strict schedule. The doctors say as long as a newborn is eating at least every four hours, they should keep whatever schedule they want.”A baby is smarter than any grown-up,” says Dr. Robin Madden, a pediatrician in Silver Spring, Maryland. “Whether breast-fed or bottle-fed, they know when they’re hungry and they know when they’re full.”
- Taking Baby to Crowded Places – Don’t do it. Do not take a baby in too crowded places, specially public places. Who knows how many, or what kinds of germs are all flying around the area.Exposing a baby to lots of germy people is a problem for two reasons. One, he could get a life-threatening bacterial infection. Two, even if he gets a fever from a virus (which is less dangerous), doctors will still have to hospitalize him to make sure it’s not something more serious.
- Don’t Confine Baby at Home – Again this may sound conflicting on the previous tip or advise, but there is also a bad thing in confining your baby in the house for a long period of time. Like they say, everything in excess is bad for you.How much is too much?According to the expert Pediatrician, it is a mistake to stay home 24-7 for six weeks with your newborn. They recommend parents to take their newborns for walks outside. They also tell them if they need to take the baby to the grocery store, to pick a time when it will be less crowded.
- Trust Your Inner Voice – This means trusting your motherly (or fatherly) instincts. A book about new fathers-to-be (The New Father’s Panic Book by Gene Williams) mention there that there is such a thing as motherly instincts that shows even before the baby is born. One such example is the ‘nesting’ stage of pregnancy.Pediatricians said too many new parents don’t trust their inner voice. It’s all about listening to yourself and trusting yourself.
I hope that this advises for new parents and parents expecting to have a baby.
To to wrap things up, here are three more mistakes parents of newborns make, according to our experts :
- They put their babies to sleep on their sides or stomachs.
- They don’t vaccinate their babies even though the pediatric academy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and virtually every scientific organization recommends it.
- They don’t bring a baby with a fever to see the pediatrician. Any newborn with a fever needs to be evaluated by a doctor
Hope this article helps those parents that are looking for answers, tips and advises. If there’s something on your mind, please do put it the comments below.
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