The first month of a baby’s life is magical and hectic at the same time. In the first month of a newborn’s life, it is necessary to learn how to feed, put to sleep and understand its constant requirements. And the beginning of a newborn’s life is especially densely saturated with them.
The first days of a newborn are quite simple. All that really matters to him is to eat every few hours, sleep well and often, have a dry diaper, and get lots of love. But for you, as a new parent, caring for a new baby can seem much more difficult. Therefore, focus only on the main points and basic needs of the child.
Child development 1 month of life
Your newborn does little more than eat, sleep, and cry. You will discover how your baby reacts to things like light, noise, and touch. You will see that your senses are working hard.
Vision in the first month of a child’s life
Your baby sees things best at a distance of 20 - 25 cm. This is the ideal distance for looking closely into the eyes of mom or dad.
Their eyes are especially sensitive to bright light, so babies are more likely to open their eyes in low light.
Don't worry if your child sometimes squints or rolls his eyes. This is normal until your child's vision improves and the eye muscles become stronger.
Let your child look at many attractive things. People's faces, contrasting patterns, bright colors, movements - these are what newborns like most. Black and white photographs or toys will keep your child interested longer than objects or paintings with many similar colors.
The child must be able to follow slow movements of a face or object.
What can a baby hear before 1 month?
The child heard sounds while still in the womb. The mother's heartbeat, the gurgling of her digestive system, and even the sounds of her voice are part of the baby's world before birth.
When your baby is born, the sounds of the world around you are loud and clear. A child may be startled by the unexpected barking of a nearby dog or calmed by the gentle whirring of a hairdryer.
Pay attention to how the newborn reacts to the voice. The voices of people, especially parents, are a child’s favorite “music.” If your baby is crying in the cradle, see how quickly your approaching voice calms him down.
Taste and olfactory sensations of a newborn in the first month
Babies have a sense of taste and smell and will be attracted to sweet tastes rather than bitter ones. For example, a newborn will prefer to suckle on a bottle of sweetened water, but will turn away or cry if given something bitter or sour to taste. Likewise, newborns will be drawn to smells they prefer and will turn away from smells they dislike.
Research has shown that mom's diet affects taste. These first aromas will help shape taste preferences later. For example, a child whose mother ate spicy foods while breastfeeding will most likely be favorable towards spicy foods.
Touch is important for a newborn. With every touch, the newborn learns about life and its surroundings.
In the womb, babies are kept warm and protected, but after birth they feel cold, heat, and hard seams of clothing for the first time.
Make sure your newborn finds the outside world a calming place. Provide plenty of comfortable clothing and soft blankets, gentle kisses, caresses, and comforting hugs.
From the moment they are born, babies begin to respond to the world around them. Their reactions to a mother's hug or a loud noise are examples of normal child development.
Doctors use these factors to determine whether development is progressing as expected. There is a wide range of what is considered normal, so some children acquire skills earlier or later than others.
What should a baby be able to do at 1 month of age?
Newborn behavior
- Turns head towards parents' voice or other sounds.
- Cries to communicate the need to be held or fed, changed diapers or put to bed.
- Stops crying when his desire is satisfied (the child was picked up, fed or put to bed).
Motor and physical development of a child in the first month
From the very beginning, the child has a set of reflexes designed to protect him and provide the necessary help, even if parental instincts have not yet taken effect.
These early reflexes include the searching reflex, which helps locate the breast or feeding bottle, the sucking reflex (helps with eating), the grasping reflex (the one that causes your finger to clench when placed in your baby's palm), and the Moro reflex (a nervous response that he experiences when he is scared).
You can try testing your child's reflexes, but remember that your results may vary and will likely be less reliable than a doctor's test.
Emotional and social development of a child up to 1 month of life
- calms down from the voice and touch of the parents;
- can concentrate briefly.
Cognitive skills (thinking and learning)
- Looks at faces.
- Watches the parents' facial expressions.
Caring for a newborn in the first month of life
If you haven't spent much time around newborns, their fragility can be daunting.
Rules for caring for a child in the first month of life
- Be sure to wash your hands before handling your baby. Newborns do not yet have strong immunity, so they are susceptible to infection. Make sure that everyone who interacts with the child has clean hands;
- Be careful to support your baby's head and neck when carrying him or putting him in the crib;
- Don't shake your newborn, whether in play or frustration. Severe shaking can cause intracranial bleeding and even death. If you need to wake up your baby, don't do it by shaking the baby. Instead, tickle your baby's feet or gently stroke his cheek;
- You must make sure that the baby in the carrier, stroller or car seat is properly secured. Limit any activity that may be too rough or vigorous for your baby.
Remember that a 1 month old newborn is not prepared for rough play such as shaking or tossing.
How to care for a newborn in the first month?
Caring for a newborn at home includes feeding, changing a diaper, changing clothes, caring for the umbilical wound, trimming nails, bathing, and putting to bed.
Feeding a newborn
The mother decides whether to breastfeed or bottle her newborn in the first month.
You may be confused about how often to do this. It is generally recommended that this is done every time he seems hungry. The baby may give signs by crying, fist-sucking, or smacking sounds.
A newborn baby needs to be fed every 2 to 3 hours. If you are breastfeeding, allow your baby to nurse for about 10 to 15 minutes on each breast. If you are formula feeding, give about 60 - 90 milliliters at each feeding. For each individual baby, you can individually calculate the one-time volume of the mixture.
When feeding with formula, you can easily control the amount of food. But if you are breastfeeding a baby, it will be a little more difficult. If the baby seems satisfied, has about six wet diapers and bowel movements several times a day, the baby sleeps well and is gaining weight well, then there is no shortage of food.
Before changing a diaper, make sure that all supplies are within reach so that you do not have to leave your baby alone on the changing table.
To change a diaper you need:
- clean diaper;
- if the baby has a rash;
- a container filled with warm water;
- clean cloth, wet wipes or cotton pads.
After each bowel movement, or if the diaper is wet, place the baby on his back and remove the dirty diaper. Using water, cotton pads and wipes, gently wipe the baby's genitals. When changing a boy's diaper, do so with caution, as exposure to air can trigger urination.
When drying a girl, wipe the perineum from the labia to the butt to avoid urinary tract infections. Apply ointment to prevent and treat rashes.
Always wash your hands thoroughly before and after changing a diaper.
Diaper rash is a common problem. As a rule, it is red and raised. After a few days it will disappear with bathing in warm water, using diaper cream and a short amount of time spent without it. Most rashes occur because the skin is sensitive and irritated by a wet diaper.
To prevent or treat diaper rash, try a number of ways:
- Change your baby's diaper often and as soon as possible after a bowel movement.
- After washing, apply barrier cream. Zinc creams are preferable because they form a moisture barrier.
- Leave your baby without a diaper for a while. This gives the skin the opportunity to take an air bath.
If the diaper rash continues for more than 3 days or seems to get worse, contact your doctor. The rash may be caused by a fungal infection that requires medication.
Cloth
You will change your baby many times a day.
Here Some tips to help make work more enjoyable - for the baby and for you:
- start with comfortable clothes. Look for stretchy fabrics; wide necks; loose sleeves, cuffs and ankles; buttons, snaps or zippers on the front of the garment rather than on the back. Lace may look adorable on your little girl, but it can be scratchy or even tangle your little one's fingers, so save it for special occasions;
- Attach a bib if your baby spits up regularly. After all, it is much easier to replace than clothes.
Caring for the umbilical wound and circumcision
Taking care of the umbilical wound is very important. Experts suggest wiping the area with alcohol until the umbilical cord dries and falls off.
The baby's navel area should not be immersed in water until the umbilical cord has fallen and the area has healed.
Consult your doctor if the navel area becomes red, smells unpleasant, or has discharge.
If a boy is circumcised, immediately after the procedure the head of the penis is covered with gauze coated with Vaseline to prevent the wound from sticking to the diaper. After changing the diaper, carefully wipe the head with clean warm water, then apply Vaseline. Redness or irritation of the penis should heal in a few days, but if the redness, swelling, or pus-filled blisters worsen, contact your doctor immediately.
Nails grow before the baby is born, so you can get a manicure in the first week of life. This procedure should be carried out every 2 - 3 days in the first month, until the nails harden and stop growing so quickly.
When trimming, hold your child's finger by pressing the fingertip down and away from the nail. Gently trim your nails, following the natural curve of the nail. Make sure you don't cut it too low or make sudden movements. While holding your tiny toes, trim your nails straight without rounding to the edges. Remember that toenails grow slower and therefore require less maintenance.
Although you won't feel very well, try not to worry if you hurt your baby. This happens to all well-meaning moms. Apply pressure to the wound with a soft, clean, lint-free cloth or gauze pad, and the bleeding will soon stop.
Bathing Basics
You should rub your baby with a soft sponge until the umbilical cord falls off and the belly button is completely healed (1 to 4 weeks).
Prepare the following items before bathing a child:
- clean soft washcloth;
- mild baby soap and unscented shampoo;
- soft brush for scalp massage;
- towel or blanket;
- clean diaper;
- fresh clothes.
Rubdown
To do this, choose a flat, safe surface in a warm room. Fill a sink, if nearby, or a bowl with warm water. Undress your child and wrap him in a towel. Wipe your baby's eyes with clean cotton balls soaked in water. Movements should be directed from the inner corner to the outer.
Use a separate cotton ball for each eye. Wipe your baby's ears and nose with a damp cloth. Then blot the cloth again and, using a little soap, gently wash your face and pat dry.
Then lather up some baby shampoo and gently wash your baby's hair. Try to wash off the foam as thoroughly as possible. Gently wipe the body with a damp cloth, especially paying attention to the armpit folds, areas around the neck, behind the ears and in the genital area. Then you need to dry your skin, put on a diaper and clothes.
When your baby is ready to take a bath, the first baths should be short.
An infant bath will be added to the accessories listed above. A baby bathtub is a plastic tub that fits in a large bathtub. This is the best size for babies and makes bathing easier.
Make sure that the water in the bath is no more than 5 - 7 cm deep. Undress your baby in a warm room, then immediately place him in water to prevent chills. Slowly lower the baby up to his chest into the bath, holding his head with one hand.
Wash your face and hair with a washcloth. Gently massage your scalp with your fingertips or a soft baby brush.
When you rinse shampoo or soap from your baby's head, place your hand on the forehead so that the foam flows to the sides and does not get soap into the eyes.
Gently wash the rest of your baby's body with water.
Throughout the bath, constantly pour water over the child so that he does not catch a cold. After bathing, immediately wrap your baby in a towel, making sure it covers his head.
A baby towel with a hood is great for keeping a freshly washed baby warm.
When bathing your child, never leave him alone. If you need to leave the bathroom, wrap your baby in a towel and take him with you.
Sleep Basics
A newborn who seems to need you every minute of the day actually sleeps for about 16 hours or more. Newborns typically sleep for 2 to 4 hours. Don't expect him to sleep through the night. Babies' digestive systems are so small that they need food every few hours, and babies must wake up if they haven't been fed within 4 hours.
Place your baby on their back or side to sleep to reduce the risk. Also, remove all fluffy items, comforters, sheepskins, stuffed animals and pillows from the bed to make sure your baby doesn't get tangled in them and become suffocated.
Also, in order to prevent one-sided flattening of the head, be sure to alternate the position of the baby every night.
For many newborns, days and nights are “confused.” They tend to be awake at night and sleep more during the day. One way to help them is to keep nighttime agitation to a minimum. Keep the light low when using a night light. Talk and play with your baby throughout the day. When your baby wakes up during the day, try to keep him up a little longer by talking and playing.
Encouraging your newborn to learn
As parents care for their newborn, he learns to recognize touch, the sound of voices and the sight of faces.
In the first weeks you can start several simple, age-appropriate toys that develop hearing, vision and tactile sensations.
- Rattles.
- Kids toys.
- Musical toys.
- Unbreakable bed mirrors.
Try toys and mobiles with contrasting colors and patterns. Strong contrasts (such as red, white and black), curves and symmetry stimulate baby's vision development. As vision improves and children gain more control over their movements, they will increasingly interact with their environment.
While the focus these days is naturally on keeping baby healthy, it becomes much more difficult if mom doesn't stay healthy herself. So make your health a priority in the first month after giving birth. A short fifteen-minute nap will allow you to renew yourself a little.
Keep a supply of easily accessible but nutritious foods such as cheese sticks, hard-boiled eggs, yogurt, cottage cheese, fruits and prepared vegetables so that you can eat frequently. Know that your nutritional needs will be higher if you breastfeed.
Feeding
When the baby turns 1 month old, he needs to be fed at least 6 times a day. Try not to control feeding times too strictly; let your baby determine how much and how often he wants to eat.
Allow your 1 month old baby to sleep enough, be sensitive to his signals.
Even at this early stage, try to put your baby in his crib when he is tired but not yet asleep. Most young babies go to bed soon after feeding and their sleep window can be very short.
Behavior
You may see early smiles when your newborn is a month old. But most likely this will be due to their reflexes, and not to their reaction. Closer to six weeks, the child will give a true smile. Many children develop colic at the age of 1 month.
Motor skills of a child at 1 month
A 1 month old baby will be stronger than a newborn. He may be able to lift his head for short periods of time when holding himself upright or lying on his stomach. He might even be able to turn it from side to side. But you will still need to provide him with support.
Your baby also becomes more expressive and may start cooing when he sees family. Be sure to respond to his efforts to encourage these communication skills.
How to develop a baby at 1 month?
- Ensure that your baby is placed on his tummy every day. This will help develop muscles in the neck and upper torso;
- turn on music and try not to filter your child’s world. While it may be tempting to tiptoe around the house when your baby is sleeping, this will cause your baby to become sensitive to environmental noise. Babies who come into families with many young children do not respond to household noise and learn to adapt because they have to.
All children are unique and go through developmental milestones at their own pace. Recommendations for development simply show what the baby can realize. And if not at the moment, then in the very near future.
If you have questions or concerns, ask your doctor for possible solutions to help you and your baby grow together.
In this article:
When a newborn baby appears in the house, concern for his health and care comes to the fore.
If we are talking about a girl, proper hygiene procedures are especially important. This helps prevent all kinds of diseases that often arise due to a careless attitude to hygiene. Newborn girls, due to their physiological characteristics, require more careful care, unlike boys.
Basic rules of intimate hygiene
Caring for “particularly delicate” places requires a number of mandatory rules:
- Mom should first wash her hands thoroughly with soap.
- Washing is carried out in the direction from front to back, from the pubis to the anus. In this case, the girl should be held face up, while the boy is usually held face down.
- This hygienic procedure should be carried out every morning after waking up and in the evening before going to bed. To avoid such a disease as vulvovaginitis, it is necessary to wash the girl after each act of defecation, when changing the diaper.
- After washing, you should not immediately dress your baby. You need to let her lie there without a diaper for a few minutes so that her skin can breathe a little.
- It is recommended to use only clean water, or with the addition of chamomile extract. But soap should only be used for severe contamination, and it can only be baby soap.
- A newborn girl must have her own towel and soap.
- You should not use a washcloth when washing. This can damage the delicate skin of the genitals.
- After this procedure, you need to carefully blot the girl’s external genitalia with a napkin and lubricate her with baby cream.
In the first days after birth
Many parents are concerned about the presence of a light gray coating on the girl’s labia. This is a kind of original lubricant that is gradually absorbed into the skin. If there is too much plaque, it can provoke the proliferation of microorganisms that cause inflammation. In this case, it should be removed very carefully using cotton swabs moistened with warm water.
Bathing
As soon as the umbilical wound is dry, you can start bathing the baby. For the first six months of the bath’s life, it is recommended to do this daily, for the next six months every other day, then even less often. You can bathe your baby at any time, but evening bathing before the last feeding is optimal.
A clean baby bath, scalded with boiling water, with a diaper placed on the bottom, is filled with warm water. The temperature is controlled by a special thermometer and should be 36.5-37.5 degrees.
The air temperature in the bathing room is maintained at least 20 degrees. Detergents (and this must be baby soap or special foam for children) should be used a maximum of once a week.
To carry out the bathing procedure, 5 minutes are enough. With your left hand, supporting the child in the water by the shoulders, with your right hand, carefully, with gentle movements, you need to wash the head and torso, especially all the folds, folds, genitals, and palms. After this, rinse with clean water from a ladle prepared in advance, dry with a soft towel or diaper and lubricate the folds using baby cream or sterilized oil.
How to properly clean your ears
When bathing, it is important to prevent water from getting into the ears. You need to thoroughly blot your ears with a napkin or soft towel. The skin behind the ears requires special care. To avoid diaper rash, you should lubricate it with baby cream. To clean the external auditory canal, it is recommended to use cotton swabs, and you should not do this deeply, so as not to injure the delicate skin, especially the eardrum, which is located quite close in newborns. Only the wax that is in the auricle is removed very carefully. A separate flagellum is used for each ear.
Marigold
Caring for the nails of a newborn girl involves timely nail trimming. This must be done extremely carefully, as this is a very thin and delicate fabric. Moreover, all manicure accessories for the little princess must be individual; no one else should use them.
After each use, scissors and tweezers must be thoroughly washed in soapy water. The basic rule that must be followed when cutting nails is that on the hands the nails must be “rounded”, and on the feet they must be cut in a straight line, i.e. straight, to prevent ingrown nail plates. The best time to take care of your nails is when your baby is fast asleep.
How to properly clean your baby's nose
Caring for a newborn girl's nose must be done daily. After all, the baby does not know how to blow her nose, and dust particles and dried droplets of regurgitated milk that settle and accumulate in the nasal passages make breathing very difficult, causing anxiety and making breathing difficult.
For processing you will need twisted cotton wool. First, a flagellum soaked in cosmetic oil is used to gently rotate the nasal passage to soften the crusts. A dry flagellum is then used to remove these crusts from the nasal passages. Do not use cotton swabs for this under any circumstances, as there is a high probability of damaging the very delicate mucous membrane of the baby’s nose. You should also avoid using all kinds of children's nasal aspirators, which can disrupt the microflora, which can lead to serious health problems in the future.
Mammary glands - what to look for
Often young mothers are alarmed by swelling in the area of the baby’s mammary glands. Under no circumstances should these swellings be squeezed or kneaded. All this can provoke an inflammatory process and suppuration. You just need to keep this area clean. This usually goes away within a few days. If inflammation does occur, you should immediately consult a doctor.
It is important to remember that the state of her health in the future largely depends on how competently the little princess is cared for.
Doctor Komarovsky talks about hygiene for girls
After arriving from the hospital, first-time mothers do not always know how to care for a newborn girl. To help them, we will consider in detail all the nuances and pitfalls that accompany this difficult period.
Caring for your baby involves the following:
- ear cleaning,
- nose hygiene,
- nail cutting,
- navel treatment,
- face cleaning,
- baby bathing,
- intimate hygiene.
Ears
There is often an opinion that earwax is not dirt because it protects the child's body. Indeed, sulfur performs certain useful functions:
- protects ears from drying out,
- does not allow dust and water to enter the skull,
- protects the body from the penetration of bacteria.
It is not recommended to clean out the wax too hard. Only particles that have left the ear canal, that is, located in the concha of the ear, should be removed. When processing, a separate flagellum must be used for each ear. It is not advisable for parents to use cotton swabs. They only push the sulfur inside, causing it to accumulate and then cause plugs.
When bathing, it is allowed to rinse children's ears with water. When water has flowed inside the ear, you need to blot it with a towel. Make sure there are no drafts in the room. It is also necessary to properly care for the skin around the ears. It should be washed when bathing, then lubricated with any baby oil. This is especially true if there are crusts. Soothing decoctions will save you from diaper rash. They are prepared using herbs as well as zinc cream.
Spout
Be sure to monitor the condition of the girl’s nose. It is necessary to prevent the appearance of crusts and snot in it, which prevents you from breathing fully. If your nose is full of something, you need to clean it daily. To remove crusts, you should soften them with vegetable oil, having previously sterilized it.
Treating the nose with cotton swabs is unacceptable. If they have limiters, then it will be difficult to get to the required place, and without them there is a danger of damage to the nasal mucosa.
Because of this, it is better to prepare cotton flagella in advance. They can be safely inserted into the nostrils and gently rotated there, completely clearing out any accumulated snot. It is often not recommended to use aspirators for children, as they can disrupt the microflora and damage the inside of the nose.
Nails
Newborns have fairly soft nails. Because of this, it is convenient to cut them off when the baby has lived through the first month of life. At this point, the nails will have hardened a little. To perform the procedure, be sure to buy children's scissors with rounded tips. You can use children's tweezers. When starting to cut, first treat the tool with alcohol.
Be sure to round the corners of the nails remaining on the handles, but on the toes they should be left straight. This will prevent your nails from growing into your skin. It is recommended to cut newborns' nails weekly. The procedure should begin when the baby is completely calm.
Newborn hands also require care. Dirt often accumulates on them, and diaper rash occurs, since children tend to clench their fingers into a fist. This should be prevented by frequent rinsing. By following all the recommendations, mothers will see that the nail care process will be a pleasant experience.
Navel
Usually, mothers are discharged from the maternity hospital after the umbilical cord dries out. However, this does not mean that this place has completely healed. In the very first month of a child’s life, it is necessary to treat the umbilical cord daily, since there is always a risk of releasing a small amount of ichor, some redness and even suppuration of this place.
To properly treat the navel, you need cotton pads, brilliant green and peroxide. The last one is to protect the wound from the penetration of microbes, after which it is necessary to dry the area with a dry stick and lubricate it with brilliant green. The whole procedure will take the mother less than a minute and should be performed twice a day. When the wound begins to ooze, redness occurs - be sure to point this out to your local pediatrician. It is likely that an infection has occurred, so the use of healing drugs will be required.
Face
Already in the very first days of a child’s life, the baby must be accustomed to such a procedure as morning toilet. Although the child usually sleeps a lot throughout his first month, a routine should be developed. Morning ablution will help with this.
It is necessary to prepare cotton swabs, as well as cooled water after boiling. Gently wipe children's eyes, moving from their outer corners towards the bridge of the nose, then wipe the entire face. Napkins should not be used for hygiene procedures, as they are only used for emergency situations.
For the entire first month of your child’s life, do not perform oral hygiene on your baby. However, if a girl has thrush, she will have to periodically treat her tongue and the entire cavity with soda swabs. To prepare the solution, add 1 tbsp. l. soda in 200 ml of boiled water and perform the treatment a couple of times a day.
Bathing
The girl must always be washed after defecation, but we must not forget about morning and evening bathing in the very first days. The baby should be washed, holding it vertically above the basin. Then the baby’s labia will not get dirty with fecal residues. Also, in the process of washing girls, you should follow the rule - movements are performed from the pubis towards the tailbone, and not vice versa. It is not recommended to always use only foam or baby soap, otherwise the delicate skin will dry out. After washing, be sure to powder all folds with powder or lubricate them with baby cream.
For bathing, water is heated to the child’s body temperature by pouring it into a special bath. You also need to prepare a clean cloth or small sponge in advance. When the umbilical wound has not yet completely healed, the bathing procedure should be performed only with boiled water. Before washing, rinse the bath with soda solution or pour boiling water over it.
Bathing a newborn throughout the first month is performed using a decoction of the string or a light solution of manganese permanganate. This way, the baby’s skin will be able to quickly adapt to new living conditions. The duration of the first bath should not be delayed - three minutes is enough. Later, add a minute to the procedure each time. After completing the bathing properly, wrap the girl in a towel, carefully blotting her skin.
Intimate hygiene
The structure of children's genital organs and the presence of mucous membranes determine the possibility of infections entering them. Quite frequent companions of the very first days of a child’s life are redness of the perineum and the appearance of irritation in this area. Because of this, care for a newborn girl, performed in the very first month, must be especially thorough. After completing the water procedure, be sure to give your baby an air bath. It is undesirable to overuse soap, since it can provoke a pathology such as fusion of the inner labia in a girl.
After the maternity hospital, a dense coating with a light tint is sometimes present on the surface of the labia. This is what the original lubricant looks like. When there is little of it, it is quickly washed off during water procedures. But sometimes the situation forces you to remove this lubricant. To do this, you need to correctly treat the entire problem area with a slightly moistened cotton swab. There are times when this procedure must be repeated several times.
Girls' intimate hygiene and soap are mutually exclusive concepts. It is quite enough to use soap for only one wash in the first days of nightly bathing. Then you are allowed to use the simplest “baby soap”.
All other procedures must be performed with plain water. This is due to the fact that since the mucous membrane of a newborn is extremely delicate, repeated exposure to soap can cause irritation. By the way, you should absolutely not pour any substance like foam into the water when swimming.
It is best to lather the girl at the end of the water procedure, and then quickly rinse off the foam. After washing the girl, you need to wipe it carefully; just blot the genitals with a clean and certainly dry towel. It is strictly forbidden to wipe this area.
The towel must be clean and cannot be used by anyone else. First, blot the surface of the labia with a towel, then the area around them, and finally the anus.
The worries of pregnancy and childbirth are over. Having undergone the last instruction in the hospital before discharge, mother and daughter find themselves at home alone with all the questions and everyday problems of caring for a newborn girl. How to solve them in the first month of a baby’s life and not be afraid of difficulties? Let's answer the most basic of them.
Daily hygiene
It is better to do morning procedures closer to the second feeding, while the daughter is not yet hungry, in order to avoid crying. When she is hungry, she will not tolerate them well, demanding food. Morning procedures consist of several stages:
- Washing your face.
- Washing.
- Lubrication.
- Treatment of the umbilical wound.
Face wash
Under no circumstances should you splash water on a girl’s face. This will cause a negative reaction and fear towards the procedure itself. To do this, use a damp soft cloth and warm water.
Wipe each eye with a separate cotton swab from the outer corner to the bridge of the nose.
The ears are wiped with a damp cloth. Clean the ear canals very carefully with plastic-based cotton pads, avoiding penetrating deeply so as not to damage the thin membrane.
The nasal passages are cleaned with a cotton wool moistened with baby oil. When moving to the other nostril, change it to a new one. If there is a lot of discharge and it is difficult for the baby to breathe, then a small rubber syringe with a soft tip is used to suction it. To do this, first release the air from it, squeezing it in your hands, then lightly inject it into your nose.
Slowly unclench your hand. A stream of air sucks all the secretions inside. The contents are released into a cup of water, rinsing the tip. The same operation is performed with the other nasal passage. In this case, you can use baby drops with sea water - they are sold in pharmacies.
There is no need to wipe the mouth of a healthy girl, since the mucous membrane is very delicate. Sometimes, children develop a white coating on their lips, tongue and gums, caused by thrush. You should consult a doctor who will prescribe appropriate treatment.
Washing
A newborn girl's external genitalia are very tender and easily injured. Therefore, careless care of this area can cause inflammatory diseases. To avoid this, you should follow some rules:
- wash only under a gentle stream of water, and not in a basin;
- the direction of movements from front to back, slightly opening the labia majora, to avoid the accumulation of feces and urine residues there;
- all movements are smooth and gentle, so as not to injure the mucous membrane;
- water within 35–37°C, not higher.
Until your baby's umbilical wound completely heals, use special soft diapers with a cutout for the navel to avoid chafing. After changing the diaper, wash your butt with water so that urine residue does not irritate the delicate skin.
The structural features of the girl’s genital organs are the close location of the anus and vagina. To prevent contaminated water from getting on the genitals, the child is washed under a gentle stream of water from front to back, carefully holding his back down. In no case is it the other way around. Make sure that the stream of water does not injure the delicate body. Do not use soap - wash with clean water. In general, frequent use of soap for young children will only do harm. It is enough that you bathe your baby twice a week with baby soap and regularly change her into clean clothes.
After the water procedure, the skin is dried with a soft cloth on a changing table and the daughter is allowed to lie down for a few minutes without clothes. At this time, other measures to care for the girl are carried out, necessary after washing.
Lubrication
The baby's skin is especially sensitive to irritation in the first months. You should often lubricate the folds under the knees, in the groin area, under the armpits, and on the neck with baby oil. If the skin is a little moisturized, then use talc-based baby powder.
Treatment of the umbilical wound
This is one of the most important procedures in care. The umbilical wound of a newborn heals only by 7–14 days of life. For it to be successful, you need to treat it with hydrogen peroxide 2 times a day and lubricate it with cotton swabs dipped in an alcohol solution of brilliant green (green paint). The procedure is carried out until complete healing.
If parents notice swelling, redness or pus discharge from the wound, they should immediately inform the doctor. Its inflammation is serious and requires immediate treatment.
Caring for a newborn girl is no more difficult than caring for a boy, but it has its own characteristics due to the different structure of the genital organs. The main thing for a mother is not to panic in any situation and solve all problems that arise as they arise. Children's consultation specialists and a visiting nurse, who will visit you every day in the first days, will help with this.
The fears of labor pain and the agonizing anticipation of meeting your baby are already behind us. Now she is snoring sweetly in her arms, and the young mother has a lot of questions. After all, caring for newborn girls is not an easy task.
Today, it is common for mothers and babies to stay together immediately after childbirth. In this case, nurse-midwives show the basics of caring for a baby. But, having arrived home, difficulties and doubts about the correctness of actions invariably arise. We will tell you how to care for a newborn girl, taking into account all the nuances and features.
Washing a newborn girl
After each bowel movement, after removing feces with a napkin, you need to wash the baby under running water. To do this, comfortably hold the baby in your arms and direct the stream of water from front to back to prevent infection from the butt. Never wipe the inside of a girl's labia. This can also lead to genitourinary infections and microflora disruption.
Do not use soap every day; it dries out delicate skin and can even cause irritation. If it is impossible to wash under the tap, use damp cotton swabs.
After discharge from the hospital, pay attention to the genitals of the newborn girl. There will be a white coating on them (residues of the original lubricant) that must be removed. This must be done gradually, as it is quite dense. Cleaning everything up at once will be difficult and unpleasant for the child. Cleanse with cotton swabs soaked in warm boiled water. This plaque will be removed in the form of small pellets and will disappear completely in 2-3 procedures.
The basis of caring for newborn girls is hygiene
Hygiene for a newborn girl is very important. Every morning you need to wash your baby. Prepare sterile cotton balls and flagella, a soft towel, a cup of warm boiled water (32-33°C), baby oil. Gently clean the eyes with cotton balls, using a separate ball for each.
Using flagella moistened with oil or water, clean each nostril without going too deep. This procedure is necessary every day, because crusts form in the nose, preventing the baby from breathing normally. Ears are cleaned in the same way, but not more than once a week. It is highly undesirable to clean your ears with cotton swabs, as they can easily damage the mucous membrane.
Also, don't forget to wash. This important procedure guarantees your daughter's health.
Bathing a newborn girl
You can bathe your baby on the first day after discharge. But if the umbilical wound has not healed, it is better to replace it with wiping with a damp towel, avoiding getting the navel wet. If the wound is dry, feel free to bathe it.
When it comes to bathing, caring for a girl is not much different from... 
It is best to use a small baby bath, at first - with boiled water no more than 37 degrees. You can brew herbs and add them to water several times a week. Use chamomile, string and other herbs that can be bathed in. You can buy a special collection at the pharmacy for bathing infants.
Use bubble bath or baby soap no more than 3 times a week. During the bathing process, thoroughly clean all the girl’s folds on the neck, armpits, and legs. Also gently wash the folds between the labia majora and minora.
Caring for newborn girls involves, first of all, careful care of the baby’s genitals. It is very important to change the diaper in a timely manner, maintain cleanliness and, at the same time, not overdo it. Because excessively frequent washing with detergents dries out children's skin and can lead to synechia - fusion of the labia.
An important role in caring for newborn babies is played by the selection of children's cosmetics. Choose them according to the principle - the fewer additives, the better. This way you will ensure the safety of the girl’s health and minimize the risk of allergies.
Enjoy your days with your little daughter!
