Hospital stay and going home

Getting enough sleep during the first months of your baby’s life means adjusting to your own new sleep habits and those of your baby. Here are a few things that might help with getting baby to sleep and to help you get sleep:

After the birth your body undergoes rapid physical and hormonal changes. Your caregivers will carefully check on your temperature, pulse, respiratory rate and blood pressure during the first hours and days after the birth. They will monitor the amount and character of bleeding, the position of the fundus and uterus, and the functioning of your bladder and bowel.

Check your basic progressive exercise programme with your caregiver.

A general physical and gynaecological examination is advised 4–6 weeks after delivery to assess your recovery and the return of your body to its non-pregnant state.

Thrush is a fungal infection and can be found in your baby’s mouth, nappy area or under the chin. The fungus lives on the skin and usually causes no harm, but when conditions are favourable, it thrives and causes havoc.

The normal temperature of a healthy infant varies between 36–37°C. A slight rise in temperature may be due to a cold or a mild digestive upset. The baby’s general appearance and behaviour is your guide.

A baby’s bowels usually work within the first 24 hours after birth. The first stool, meconium, is blackish-green and sticky, with no smell. The colour changes to yellowish-brown over the next few days. Green stools are not a problem unless the baby loses his appetite and develops a temperature with diarrhoea, or starts to vomit.

you have decided to bottle feed your baby

Your baby lifts his head up when lying on his tummy. His hands can grasp a small rattle, and he has started laughing.

A young baby’s skin passes through many phases, from clear to spotty (rash), to peach-like. This may be due to the transition from a protected environment in the womb to the outside world. Rashes are common and will go away in time.

Nestlé Start Strong Stay Strong aims to provide support to encourage your breastfeeding journey.

Your baby is discovering their emotions from birth.

Parent-infant interaction

Interaction with your baby begins before she is born. You usually feel life at about 20 weeks into pregnancy as light, fluttering sensations.

Baby is growing and getting excited about, well, just about everything. Especially playtime and all the things hands can touch. Hands are so fascinating! He reaches out for things, although he often overshoots the mark.

Possetting

Providing there is good weight gain, it is quite normal and common for newborn babies to bring up small amounts of milk after a feed. The valve at the top of the stomach is not fully developed and allows the return of a little milk – this stops as the valve develops. Possetting is normal up to the age of nine months.

Breastmilk is uniquely designed for each individual baby!

Apgar:
A system of evaluating a newborn’s physical condition by assigning a score (0,1, 2) to each of the following criteria:
heart rate; respiratory effort; muscle tone;response to stimuli; and skin colour.
The evaluation is performed at one minute and again at five minutes after birth.

He starts to roll over from his tummy onto his back.

First teeth! Consult your dentist about fluoride for your child’s teeth. Until a child learns to brush his teeth, the mother must clean them for him.