Nappies
Aquatopia Deluxe Safety Easy Bath Kneeler
Heather Welford
Nappy changing doesn't have to be a chore. It's not always quick or clean, but it's an opportunity for eye contact and chats with your baby, as well as part of essential care.
In this article
Nappy days are here
How to change your baby
Reusable vs disposable
Nappy days are here
As a rough guide, change your baby's nappy about as often as you feed him. If your baby is feeding very often, you don't need to change him every time, as small feeds don't generally warrant a nappy change.
The point of changing your baby's nappy is to protect his skin, which can become sore if it's allowed to stay in contact with wee or poo. So if you know your baby has had a poo, you'll want to change him as soon as you can, especially if his bottom is already a bit red or sore.
How to change your baby
* Lie your baby on his back - on any clean, safe (not high) warm surface
* Take off the used nappy and place out of reach
* Gently wipe your baby's nappy area using a baby wipe, or warm water with cloth or cotton wool
* Dry the area (not necessary if you've used a wipe)
* Lift your baby's legs up and place the clean nappy underneath his bottom
* If you're using a disposable, the edge with the tapes should be at the top about level with your baby's waist, and the absorbent side of the nappy should go against his skin
* If you're using a cloth nappy, the widest part should go under your baby's waist
* Bring the bottom edge of the nappy up between your baby's legs
* To adjust the fit, stick the tapes on the underneath side to the front of the nappy or use grips or pins to fasten a cloth nappy
* You may want to use a baby barrier cream to help prevent nappy rash - ask your midwife or health visitor about this
Reusable vs disposable
Reusable cloth nappies
These come as foldable, traditional terry towelling squares, which you then pin or clip to hold them on, or else pre-shaped nappies, which usually use built-in fastenings so there's no need for folding or pinning.
'Real' nappies come in a range of style and colours.
The preshaped ones tend to take longer to dry after washing, whereas the terry towelling ones unfold and dry quite quickly. Your baby may need to wear waterproof pants over the nappy to stop leakage through to his clothes.
The initial outlay can seem expensive, but this is considerably less than the cumulative cost of disposables over two-and-a-half years.
It's also kinder to the environment to opt for resuables - even when you factor in the washing. Once you've bought them, they can do for more than one child, and not having to buy nappies makes a real difference to the bulk of your weekly shop.
Disposable nappies
There are several brands that are constantly being redeveloped, to convince parents that this year's nappy is even better than last year's in terms of fit and absorbency. They're convenient, as there's no washing and drying.
Most parents use disposables because of this convenience factor, and parents who use reusable nappies most of the time may use disposables when away from home.
Some parents opt for reusables during the day and disposables at night.
Massage
Eileen Hayes
Used for healthy full-term babies, massage can be relaxing for both babies and parents.
Hands-on relaxation
Massage can:
* reduce crying and help relieve colic
* encourage better sleeping
* possibly help to boost the immune system
Make sure the room and your hands are warm. Gently stroke any part of your baby's body, using oil if you prefer (baby oil is OK, but don't use aromatherapy oils and avoid nut-based oils such as almond oil).
Never carry on if your baby isn't enjoying it or seems unwell.
Feeding
Feeding your baby can be very rewarding and a time to enjoy a real feeling of closeness. Babies get far more than just nutrition from a feed - they enjoy the cuddle, the comfort and the satisfaction of a full tummy.
In addition, feeding your baby has an impact on his health, not just in infancy but in the long term, too.
In the UK, most mums start off breastfeeding. Breastmilk supplies all the nutrients your baby needs for about first six months and it's the normal, physiological way to feed a human baby. Take the opportunity in pregnancy to talk about your feeding preferences and get the most up-to-date information you can.
Research shows that babies who aren't breastfed have a higher risk of infection, and are more likely to spend time in hospital during their first year. This difference does not depend on the social or economic status of the baby's family - the gaps in health persist even when these factors are taken into account.
But it's not enough to know that breastfeeding gives your baby a better start. Many mothers need help and support to breastfeed, and access to good information to overcome problems.
If you don't breastfeed, for whatever reason, then your baby will need infant formula milk.
Mixed feeding - giving your baby formula milk as well as breastfeeding - can be a way to maintain some breastfeeding if you return to work, or if breastfeeding alone isn't working out for you.
Because you need to breastfeed often to keep up a supply of milk, mixed feeding can lead to breastmilk production dwindling sooner than you wish. Talk to a breastfeeding counsellor, or other knowledgeable person, to help you work out a plan that suits you.
Breastfeeding
If everything's OK, your baby can start to breastfeed straight after birth.
It can take a little while for the two of you to feel you have your act together but, once you do, it's convenient and easy.
* All mothers produce breastmilk
* It's all your baby needs for the first six months
* It contains antibodies that help protect against infections
* Breastfed babies are at lower risk of conditions such as eczema, asthma and diabetes
* Breastmilk is convenient - it needs no preparation, and it's free
* Breastmilk is always the right temperature
K's Kids Jumbo Go Go Go
If you're unable to feed your baby (you may be going back to work or having a night out with friends) but want your baby still to have breastmilk you could express it and have a bottle prepared. This is a technique you can learn to do by hand or with a pump.
It can be stored in the fridge for between three and eight days, depending on the temperature of the fridge, or in the freezer for up to three months, see Expressing and Storing.
Breastfeeding needs no equipment but you might want to think about buying some of the following:
1. Nursing bras - to make 'access' easier, and to improve comfort and support
2. Breastpads - to absorb leaks in the early days/weeks; folded up cotton hankies do the job just as well
If you're going to offer breastmilk from a bottle you may consider the following:
1. A breastpump for expressing, although hand expressing only needs an ordinary sterilised household bowl
2. A bottle and teat to give expressed breastmilk
3. Sterilising equipment
4. At least six bottles and teats
Technique
Early feeds are a learning process for you and your baby. You may need guidance from a midwife or breastfeeding counsellor, and an experienced eye to help you avoid becoming sore. Well-positioned and attached babies shouldn't damage your nipples. There's no single right way to hold your baby, as long as you remember:
* Your baby shouldn't have to twist his body, turn or flex his head to come on to your breast
* Your baby needs to take your nipple far back into the top third of his mouth (otherwise his tongue will get in the way)
* His mouth needs to be wide open, with his tongue coming over the bottom gum and lip
* Pushing his head on to your breast can make him uncomfortable and resistant. Instead, bring him on when his mouth is at its widest point
* He has powerful instincts to get it 'right', and you can work with these
Follow what your baby wants to do. You'll get better and better at following his cues. He may want both breasts every time, and you can offer the second when it seems right - maybe when he wants to take a natural break.
Holding your baby so he can attach himself can be a comfortable and easy way to get things going. Lie back with your baby lengthwise down your body, just cuddling him gently. Newborn babies, with their powerful instincts and reflexes, can get themselves on to the breast with very little help.
It's also a good way to 'get back to basics' with a baby who's had a difficult birth, or who has been handled a lot.
Making milk
You already have colostrum (the first milk that your breasts produce) and some time between days two and five after the birth, your milk changes and becomes more copious. This is because prolactin, the milk-making hormone, has worked on your breasts as soon as the placenta was delivered.
If you don't breastfeed, production slows down and then stops.
You continue producing milk only if it's removed from your breasts - that's how your body knows your baby wants it.
There's no need to time breastfeeds, or schedule them
There's no need to time breastfeeds, or schedule them. In fact, if you do, you may end up with problems.
Babies don't need to be on the breast for a minimum or maximum time, either. Babies have individual needs, and mothers have individual milk storage capacity and responses. So responding to your baby is the best way of ensuring breastfeeding works out.
Breastfeeding after the early days
At first, you'll find your baby asks for feeds a lot and you may not be able to predict when he's likely to sleep. Sometimes you won't know when one feed flows into the next. Your baby may have ten to 15 feeds over 24 hours. This is the way your body adapts to producing the amount of milk your baby needs.
As time goes on, feeds are likely to become more predictable, though there may be occasional days when he enjoys a 'feed in' - that's normal.
It's fine for your breasts to feel softer after a few weeks - as though there's less milk there - it shows your breasts are producing what your baby needs.
How do I know it's going well?
* Your baby takes the breast without fighting or coming off and on
* He shows you he's contented after most feeds
* He's developing well and gaining weight
* He has several wet nappies a day, and does soft yellow poos
* Your breasts and nipples aren't sore
At first, most breastfed babies poo at least twice a day. Then, after a few weeks, they may go several days between each poo - that's normal, as is frequent pooing, too. Long gaps in between poos doesn't mean your baby has constipation.
Comforters, soothers and dummies
Claire Halsey
Many children gain comfort from a dummy, blanket or favourite toy and it can help with settling at night, or getting over a difficult experience.
In this article
Dummies
Comfort toy or blanket
Comfort habits
Reducing thumb sucking
Tears before bedtime
These objects take on the same soothing powers as you have for your child and are as hard to part with as letting you go.
Dummies are particularly powerful soothers as they allow your child to suckle, an activity they find very calming. Sucking is a very natural activity for a baby.
Children do grow out of using their comforters, and most toys and blankets do no harm unless they limit the play and learning opportunities your child has. For example, if your child is holding a toy and so can't do some play activities, try creative solutions such as using a special bag for the comfort object so his hands are kept free.
Dummies
Some research shows that using a dummy when a baby goes to sleep is associated with a reduction in the risk of cot death. But the research doesn't show 'cause and effect' and there are number of questions remaining.
If you decide to use a dummy, current advice from the Department of Health and the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths is to avoid using one for the first month if you're breastfeeding.
Prolonged dummy use and thumb sucking for long periods each day can affect speech and language development, and the teeth's alignment.
To avoid this, aim to discard the dummy before your child is one year old.
If your child is older and still using a dummy, think about devising a ritual where you and your child put all the dummies in the bin and your child gets something more 'grown up', such as a special cup or sports bottle as a reward.
Comfort toy or blanket
Don't be too worried about your child's attachment to a special toy or blanket, though it's worth having at least one duplicate for use in emergencies when the original can't be found.
If you get to a stage where you feel you want to help your child give up, try to do it gradually. A comfort blanket can gradually reduce in size, for instance, so it eventually becomes a little piece carried in a pocket or bag.
Comfort habits
Some children do develop unusual comfort habits, which work by keeping you near them and involve touch such as holding or stroking. These comforting activities are not a behavioural issue and usually break by themselves. Often, this happens when the parent involved is away from home and the child must accept others to soothe him, which can be distressing at first.
Another way to change this habit is to limit the amount of time your child can spend on a comfort activity. In particular, make the stroking/holding stop before he falls asleep, or the link between the habit and being soothed will be strengthened.
Reducing thumb sucking
This habit is especially difficult to limit, as the comfort object is available to your child at all times. Like much behaviour change, the most effective approach is to pay lots of attention to the behaviour you want and little or none to the behaviour you'd like to stop.
Ideas include praise, stickers and lots of hugs whenever you notice your child is not sucking his thumb. When he is, either ignore it or say, in a matter-of-fact tone, "that's not OK", and gently guide the thumb from your child's mouth. At the same time, try to divert his attention on to something else, such as a book or toy.
Tears before bedtime
However you manage the issue of the comforter, you can expect your baby or child to be a little harder to settle for a while. You may need to spend more time with him at bedtime, or when there has been an upset, because he will need extra reassurance.
You can also expect more tantrums and tears as your child expresses his frustration and tries to manage his feelings without a comforter. Your calming voice and your arms holding him safe will help with these feelings and reassure him he can cope.
Bathing
Heather Welford
Scared? You needn't be. If the idea of a slippery baby and a bath tub fills you with dread, then remember it gets easier as time goes on.
Splish splash
It's a question of building your confidence and being prepared:
It's not safe to leave a baby or toddler alone in water, even for a second
Have everything you need in advance - towel, toiletries, clean nappy, clothes. It's not safe to leave a baby or toddler alone in water, even for a second. If you've forgotten something, or if the phone rings, you must take your baby out of the water and wrap her in a towel to keep warm, then take her with you.
Put cold water in the tub first, and then hot. This reduces the chance of scalds. Test the water with your elbow (as hands can bear very high temperatures) before you put your baby in. It should feel comfortably warm.
Step-by-step bathing
* Undress your baby
* Lower your baby feet first into the water, supporting her head and neck at all times
* With your free hand, gently splash water over your baby's body
* Keep talking to your baby for reassurance and to let her know she's safe
* When you've finished, take your baby out, wrap her in a towel and then dress her
If your baby's upset, or clearly not enjoying the bath, stop and try again a few days later
What? No soap?
You can use a mild soap or a baby bath liquid. No soap is necessary for newborns.
Baby bath or big tub?
Baby baths are useful, as they can be moved to a warm part of your house, and need much less water than the 'adult' bath. You could use a clean washing-up bowl for a very young baby.
You can take your baby into the 'adult' bath with you, as long as the water isn't too hot, and there's someone around to hand her to you and take her out again.
Washing hair
If your baby has lots of hair, it helps to use a jug to rinse the water through. You can use a mild baby shampoo as it's good for the scalp, but soap will probably be enough until she's older. Be careful not to get the soap/shampoo in your baby's eyes - stinging eyes can put babies off bathtime.
When to bath?
Your baby doesn't need to bath in the first weeks
It's up to you. Your baby doesn't need to bath in the first weeks (see top and tail below), but it can be fun for both of you to do it every couple of days and can be the beginning of setting your baby's routine.
Later on, it can become part of your evening routine - it will help mark the change from daytime to bedtime.
Top and tail cleaning
Top and tailing is an alternative to bathing for your very young baby.
You need:
* Cotton wool swabs or two cloths
* Bowl of warm water
* Fresh nappy and clean clothes if necessary
* Bin or bucket for waste
Step-by-step top and tailing
* Undress your baby but leave the nappy on
* Wipe your baby's face, neck and ears with a damp cloth or damp cotton wool you've wet in the bowl and dry with cotton wool or the other cloth
* Wipe your baby's hands and under her arms in the same way
* Remove the nappy
* With a newborn, wash any discharge from the cord stump
* Wash her bottom and genitals well (wipe girls from front to back to avoid spreading germs from the bottom to the vagina) and dry
* Put on a clean nappy, and replace your baby's clothes
Remember, when you enjoy bathtime with your baby you are starting a tradition of closeness and fun at the end of the day which will last for many years.
