Baby Care Encyclopedia

Breast feeding is the best feeding method, although even a newborn can be well-nourished with formula feeding. If you wish to breast-feed, it's important to get a good start. (See "The basics of breast feeding" on page 14.) The sooner you begin, the better. The breast milk produced in the first few days after birth is a thin, watery substance called colostrums. It was once thought that this early milk didn't provide full nutrition. Now we know that the opposite is true: Nature designed this newborn food to have just the right balance of fluids and nutrients and to deliver protective immunity. Babies don't need a lot of nutrition in their first few days, but they do need water and, preferably, the antibodies from mother's immune system that only breast feeding can provide. After several days of nursing, regular breast milk usually comes in right on schedule, bringing the nutrients the baby needs to grow and develop. Whether you breast- or bottle-feed (or use a combination of both),...

As you look at your baby, here are some things you may observe: THE UMBILICAL CORD The baby's cord stump should wither and drop off by itself in ten days to a few weeks. Don't try to hurry the natural process. The nurse will show you how to clean carefully around the cord with a cotton ball dipped in alcohol. To protect the cord from friction, cut a notch in the waist of the diaper, fold the front of the diaper over so that it rides below the stump, or use newborn diapers with a space cut out in the front. Call the doctor if the stump bleeds more than a little, or if the surrounding skin becomes red or swollen, signifying a serious infection. SKIN COLOR At birth, babies are normally covered with a white, greasy substance called VERNIX. Some babies also have patches of downy body hair (usually on the back or shoulders), which may remain for a week or so. A healthy newborn's skin may be blotchy and red or mottled, due to blood circulation that is still a little sluggish. Many newb...

Your first few weeks with a new baby will be thrilling, tiring, and utterly novel. Nothing can quite prepare you for the changes, especially if you are first-time parents. After all, this baby has a unique temperament and set of preferences but since you are new to each other, there will be some trial and error as you both become acquainted. Add this to the physical and emotional stress of recovering from birth itself, and you've got quite a challenge! Before your baby settles into regular eating and sleep patterns, your life may seem quite chaotic. Lots of things happen during this adjustment period, and parents often worry about doing things right. If you find yourself needing advice, don't hesitate to call the pediatrician for reassurance. Babies do have different temperaments some easy, some more difficult. If you have a calm and even-tempered baby, the adjustment will be easier. If, on the other hand, your baby has a hard time adjusting to life outside the womb, this period m...

What an exciting and challenging time! If this is your first baby, you will embark on the reality of parenthood with virtually no experience and a thousand questions. After the first few months, the basics and rhythm of baby care will be second nature. More importantly, whether this is your first baby or your fifth, soon you will really get to know this unique new individual who has joined your family with a lusty howl. Life will progress, expanded by the joy and the ever-evolving experiences of parenthood. Every child develops at his own pace, reaching some milestones faster than the norm and others more slowly. But individual differences aside, it's safe to say that the first two to three months of life are a special time, during which babies undergo an important transition from the complete dependence of fetal life to more independent life in the outside environment. Because the baby's body systems need to mature, he will be completely dependent on you to meet all his needs, vir...