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1st Month Guide
1st Month Guide
 The
first month of your new baby’s life can be a trying time for
the parents, the new baby and anyone else in close proximity, such
as siblings or other relatives. Newborns bring a lot more activity
and noise than was there before their birth.
Knowing what to expect during this first month
of your baby’s life can not prevent any crying, or make things
any less hectic, but it can make you slightly more aware of what
to expect and give you some ideas for what to do in certain situations.
The following is a guide for the first month of
your new baby’s life. You will find the answer to nearly every
question you may think of or a solution for every situation you
may encounter during this month.
Physical Development and Appearance
During the first month, you may have a variety
of questions about what your baby’s appearance is, as well
as what his development is or should be. These are perfectly normal
things for a parent to be concerned with. Parents often worry about
their babies, and since they can’t tell you if anything is
wrong, a lot of this worry can stem strictly from baby’s physical
appearance.
When baby is first born, he will likely look a
little different than you first expected. Unlike on television,
babies are not born looking perfect. They can actually look pretty
strange sometimes. Many babies may be born with a cone head, or
a head that has a ridge near the top. While this appears painful,
it isn’t and it is simply due to the length of time your baby
stayed in the birth canal.
With their umbilical cord and swollen breasts,
and sometimes circumcision injury, babies can appear to be in very
questionable shape. But they are perfectly fine and they are normal.
The very activity of being born and completely changing atmospheres
the way newborns do can lead to the way that newborns often look.
Their skin is ultra-sensitive and often starts peeling soon after
being born. There are also many physical appearances, such as swollen
breasts, that are simply due to the leftover hormones from the mother.
This appearance, as well as others, may seem like cause for concern
for parents, but these are normal.
Newborn babies will use their natural sucking
reflex on a regular basis. To relax and comfort your baby, you can
give her a pacifier. While this does add something to the list of
things you will later have to break your baby from, it does help
babies adjust to the world around them with a little less stress.
In the beginning, your baby will not be able to
clearly see things far away. As your baby gets older, though, his
vision will get better and better. In the beginning, it is best
to not suddenly turn on bright lights because, while it won’t
harm your baby’s eyes, it can provide discomfort.
Newborn babies respond best to high-pitched speech
in the beginning. This is why it seems so natural for all visitors
to “coo” at the baby in such voices.
As baby begins to grow during her first month,
things will change quite a bit. Many babies will lose a little weight
in the very first week of being home, and then they will begin gaining
again, to usually reach back up to their birth weight by the third
week or so. Just as each baby weighs something different at birth,
each baby will lose and gain weight at a different rate.
The first month is not a time of many developments
physically, although many babies are able to raise their head up
and hold it for a few seconds by the end of the first month. Most
of the big physical developments will start during the second month
and up. As baby gets older, into toddlerhood, every month will provide
something new to watch them do. But, the first month moves a little
slower than this.
Care for Baby
While you will always care for your baby to the
best of your ability, it is important that you know of some of the
necessary needs that your baby may have during a particular month.
The first month is one of the most difficult, for several reasons.
For one, the parents are much more tired during this month than
in any of the months to follow. Another reason that the first month
is one of the hardest is that you do not yet know your baby. Your
baby has certain cries for certain things (i.e., one for hunger,
one for needing a diaper change), but has yet to develop them. Even
if he had them developed, you have yet to learn what they mean.
The first month can also seem like the most difficult just because
it is something new that you have yet to deal with before. Even
if this is your second or third baby, it still makes an addition
to the family that is new and is something you will have to learn
as you go.
Since this is such a difficult month, it helps
to know what type of care is necessary for a newborn. Much of the
care that a baby needs during their first month is very basic and
expected: they need to eat and they need to sleep and they need
diapers changed on a regular basis. But how often, how much is normal,
and how will you know if something isn’t quite right? This
is where it can be very helpful to at least have an idea of what
to expect during this first month in regards to what care your newborn
may need.
Some important points to be aware of about
care for a newborn during the first month are below:
- Umbilical cord care—this is something
that you will only have to concern yourself with during the first
two weeks, usually a little less. You have to take care of the
umbilical cord by keeping it clean and dry (this is best done
using alcohol swabs or alcohol on a Q-tip) and to make sure it
doesn’t get snagged on anything. While touching the umbilical
cord does not bother your baby, if it gets tugged on or snagged,
it can be uncomfortable.
- Skin care—because a baby’s skin
stays so moist while in the womb, it can become very dry shortly
after being out in the open air. Within a few days, many parents
will notice dry skin and peeling, often on baby’s feet and
hands as well as other parts of the body. If this happens, and
also as a preventative measure, you should apply lotion often
to your baby’s skin. During the first month, and especially
the first few weeks, it is best to not use traditional “baby”
lotion. While these types of lotions smell great and keep baby’s
skin soft, they do not provide the right moisture to completely
keep the skin from being dry. It is best to use lotions that are
specifically created to prevent or improve dry skin, and many
hospitals give a small tube of lotion to parents (it is never
actually “baby” lotion that hospitals send home with
you). If you use what the hospital gives you, and it seems to
be preventing dry skin and peeling, you may want to purchase more
so that you can continue to lotion your baby throughout the first
month. Baby’s sensitive skin also means that you should
only put on clothing that is made of soft materials (cotton is
the best), and that preferably has no tags to irritate your baby.
- Circumcision care—if your baby is circumcised,
it is very important that you take good care of this area for
two reasons: to prevent infection, and to cause as little pain
for your baby as possible. To accomplish this, you should always
clean your baby well at each diaper change, taking extra care
to not hurt the injury. It is best to then apply a very thick
coat of Vaseline, and sometimes apply gauze to it. This can keep
urine off the injury, which can prevent pain and infection.
- Head care—while it may seem that baby’s
head shouldn’t be of concern, there are issues that may
come up before baby is even a month old that you will need to
deal with. This includes, most prominently, cradle cap. Cradle
cap is a flaky scalp that can be itchy and bothersome to baby.
To prevent this, you should put lotion or baby oil in your baby’s
hair on a regular basis. If it develops anyway, you can loosen
the flakes with baby oil and use a stiff-bristled baby brush (still
very soft) to brush the flakes out. This is often a problem that
can continue for months. Another issue that relates to the care
of your newborn’s head is the soft spot. It is very important
for you to protect your newborn’s soft spot from any pressure.
As your baby grows, the soft spot will begin to close, and is
usually fully closed by the time a baby reaches a year old.
- Bathing—this is a part of your baby’s
care that is much different during the first month than any other
time. This is because of the umbilical cord. Since it needs to
dry out as much as possible so that it can fall off in a timely
manner, you will not want to submerse your baby into water until
it has already done so. Until that time, you will need to give
your baby sponge baths. Once the umbilical cord has fallen off,
you can begin to bathe him in a normal baby bathtub, taking special
care to make sure he is safe, properly supported, well-supervised,
and in water that is neither too hot or cold—in fact, room
temperature is perfect water for a baby of this age.
- Diapers—while you may know to expect
a lot of dirty diapers in your near future, you may not know what
to expect in terms of how much to change the baby, or anything
else. When a baby is less than a month old, the diaper changes
are very frequent. You will likely have to change a wet diaper
every time she wakes up, which is every couple of hours. Dirty
diapers aren’t as predictable. Some babies will have a dirty
diaper several times a day, while others will not go for a few
days (this is especially true with a breastfed baby—in fact,
most doctors say if a baby is breastfeeding, you shouldn’t
have to worry about how often they go, as long as the stool isn’t
hard).
In the beginning, babies have black stool, which can usually turn
a variety of colors as the baby gets older. Many newborns will
appear constipated by the way they strain to have a bowel movement.
Their faces often even turn dark red from pushing so hard. This
is nothing to worry about unless the stool is hard. If you would
like to make the process a little easier for your newborn, you
can do this by letting them lay on their back, and pushing their
feet up to bend their knees slightly. This can give your baby
a little leverage to work with. As your baby gets older, and her
muscles develop, it will be a less difficult task for her. To
prevent a painful diaper rash, you should apply a preventative
ointment such as Vaseline or diaper rash medication after every
change.
- Sleep—in the first four weeks of your
baby’s life, he will likely sleep for about 15 hours or
more a day. This time will not be mostly at night either. Instead,
it will be equally spread out throughout the day and the night.
While this may cause a lack of sleep for the parents, at least
you are given a chance to make up for it by sleeping during the
day when your baby does. You should also sleep your baby only
on his back or side to help prevent SIDS (Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome).
- Eating—usually newborn babies will eat
approximately every hour and a half to two hours. They often will
take about 1-2 ounces in a bottle, or about 10-20 minutes on the
breast. As your baby gets older, he will begin to wait longer
between feedings and he will begin to eat more at each feeding.
It is very important that newborns, especially after bottle-feeding,
be burped after eating (in the very beginning, you should likely
do this after every ounce). This can be done by lightly patting
your baby’s back. Burping your baby will expel air that
can collect within the baby’s stomach and cause gas pains.
Experiences
There are many things that you and your baby will
go through during the first month that aren’t always talked
about in advance. Some of these topics are not as rarely discussed,
but are still good information for any new parent to have:
- Doctor Visits—when you have a newborn,
you will quickly learn that doctor visits are the norm. Since
a newborn has yet to give any signs for any illnesses that they
may have, it is very important that you take your baby to all
scheduled doctor’s appointments. These appointments provide
blood tests, development tests, immunizations and other preventative
medicine techniques. Doctors want to be sure that your baby is
gaining weight properly and is generally healthy. The first doctor
visit your newborn will need is usually a visit at 2 weeks old.
They will sometimes draw blood from the baby’s heel at this
visit. There are also possibly shots that the baby may need to
receive during this visit.
- Toys for this age—there aren’t
a whole lot of toys that are really made for newborns. Even rattlers
can hurt a baby if they hit themselves in the head with it. With
this in mind, you should have soft animals, possibly rattling
stuffed toys, as well as other brightly colored soft toys. a mobile
is an excellent thing for a baby to look at while having diapers
changed and while laying in bed.
- New abilities—by the end of the first
month, babies can often hold their own head up for short periods
of time. They can possibly turn it from side to side to look around
while lying on the stomach. When your baby is on his back, if
you grab his hands and slowly raise him up, he will likely stiffen
his legs and stand with your support. Many babies love this at
around 4 weeks old. Just be sure to protect his head if he can’t
support it on his own yet.
- Parents—with newborns, parents often
can’t get enough. You are so excited to have this baby home
and with you that you wish she didn’t sleep so much! You
may also be very tired due to a lack of sleep at night. You should
try to take advantage of this time and sleep as much as you can
while the baby does, even if it is during the day. While this
may not completely catch you up on sleep, it can definitely help.
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