The first month of life is extremely important for the baby, because it is during this period, which is also called naonatal, that the child’s body is formed. The baby faces a serious task — to adapt to the environment. How she succeeds depends on her health in the future.
Physical development of the infant
For the first 30 days after birth it grows by about 3 centimeters. The volume of her head and chest also increases by an average of 1.3-1.5 cm. And, of course, the toddler will gain additional weight. As a rule, we are talking about 600 grams. Just do not panic if in your case there is not 600 g, but a little less or a little more. This is purely such a guideline. Each child grows at their own pace. So, if the baby feels normal with a slightly different mass from the norm, has a good appetite and a healthy appearance, then everything is fine. As they say, Keep calm and carry on.
Movements
And who is it there that’s so funny with leg handles?! This is our baby. During the first month of his life, he has not yet coordinated his movements. But at the same time — such a strangeness — he already knows how to notify you about his well-being with the help of movements. Take this into consideration. A short dictionary for understanding the language of the baby’s movements: “Mom, it hurts me!” — the thumb on the handles pulls aside, bends the fingers on the legs; “Mom, my tummy is swollen!” he actively sorts through his legs; “Mom, I’m worried about my ear!” he turns his head hard.
In addition, you may notice that the child holds the arms bent at the elbows, the legs at the knees, and even constantly squeezes the cams. This is all normal. That’s how it should be. Scientifically, this is called physiological hypertonicity of the flexor muscles. In a couple of months it will pass.
The eyes of the child in the first month of development
Perhaps the strangest thing you learn about a baby during this period is that she cries without tears. They will appear in your crocodile in the third decade of the month. You can mark for yourself the day of the appearance of tears and announce this achievement of the baby of all your friends on the social network – you will collect a generous harvest of likes.
In general, the eyes of the child after birth are fully formed. But immature. Therefore, she sees, but not clearly, does not know how to focus her eyes on anything. It even happens that the eyeballs easily twitch from side to side. This phenomenon is called nystagmus. It sounds a bit scary, but there’s nothing wrong with that. As well as in strabismus, which at this age is observed in many babies. But if the toddler’s eyes turn sour in the morning, then in this case you should already consult a doctor. It is likely that this is how an eye infection manifests itself — and then it will be necessary to wash the eyes with chamomile decoction, tea. Or such symptoms may give obstruction of the lacrimal canal. In this case, the children’s optometrist will help.
Hearing a child in the first month of development
With hearing in a newborn baby, the situation is about the same as with vision, that is, it is, but not yet fully developed. Therefore, it turns out that the baby hears everything, but does not understand where the sound comes from. This is manifested in his rather funny behavior: as soon as he hears some harsh sound or voice of his mother, the child freezes and, like an Indian tracker, listens carefully to the environment. If your baby reacts in the same way to sound stimuli, then he hears — and this is good news.
The sense of smell of the child in the first month of development
And the sense of smell, like a dog… From birth, the baby is able to recognize his mother by smell. That is why experts advise young mothers not to abuse perfume, because the baby may be confused, decide that she has someone else’s aunt in front of her, and even refuse to feed. Do you need this? Of course not. Therefore, be careful with pungent odors.
Also note that during this period, babies have frequent rhinitis. As a rule, there are no snots as such yet — the mucous membrane simply swells. But this can also prevent the cub from distinguishing their mother by smell, which, again, can lead to problems with feeding. Therefore, in case of a cold, it is recommended to drip the nose with a solution of vasoconstrictor drops.
Feces
Attention! Attention! Achtung! If you are now eating or drinking your favorite smoothies, or fragrant coffee, then put them aside, because now we will depict children’s “surprises” in all colors. Well, you got it. Postponed? Then we continue.
To paraphrase the classics, what the baby poops depends on what he eats. If your doll is breastfed, then her feces will be soft, gruel-like, somewhat sour in smell, yellow-golden in color. Normally, the child walks in a large way from 3 to 7 times a day, that is, about the same as the feeding sessions.
If the number of feces is more than 7, or even seven, but they are liquid, contain mucus or fragments of undigested food that looks like grains of white color, then this is a reason to consult a district doctor.
As for the nature of the feces of children who are artificially fed, they are somewhat thicker, viscous, even similar in consistency to putty, have a light yellow or brownish color, the smell is sharp, unpleasant, give rot. Defecation in such babies occurs only 1-3 times a day.
It happens that a child is fed special mixtures adapted specifically for it. In this case, its feces will be similar to those observed in children during breastfeeding (see above).
If an infant defecates only once every two days, then this rather eloquently indicates that he has constipation or constipation.
Urination
In the first days, the newborn walks in a small way only 2-4 times a day. But do not rush to rejoice that you will be able to save on diapers, because already on the fifth or sixth day the toddler will urinate 20-25 times a day. So far, his excretory system is adapting to new conditions of existence.
Another sign of this process may be the appearance of red spots, as if from rusty water, on diapers after urination. It is secreted by urate salts as a result of uric acid infarction of the kidneys. Although it sounds scary, this is quite an ordinary process, and in a few days the baby’s urine will become transparent.
What you need to pay attention to is when the baby urinates only 6 times at the end of the first week of life, or less. This may be a signal that he is not getting enough milk.
Baby’s sleep in the first month of development
The baby sleeps, and the body grows. Sleep is extremely important for the normal development of the child. Therefore, it is necessary to do everything possible so that the baby gets enough sleep properly. As a rule, most children born in physiological childbirth sleep well. However, after the first week of life, their sleep becomes not so deep and alternates with periods of wakefulness. Here it is very important to understand the biorhythms of the baby and adapt to them, and to feed, bathe, swaddle in the intervals between the usual periods of sleep. As experts say, it is better that the child misses feeding than to knock down his inner clock. It is very important!
And in order for the child to sleep well, you need to take care of creating comfortable conditions for him. Start with the room where the baby sleeps. It should be well ventilated, but so that it is free from drafts, sound stimuli like radio, TV, computer or something. It is also not recommended to put a crib next to the stove, battery, various heaters. Because at this age, the children’s body is not yet able to regulate the processes of heat transfer, so the baby can overheat a lot, and even get stressed from the action of elevated temperature (heat shock).
It is better to cover the baby with a woolen blanket. Down — only while walking outside during the winter months. The covered crib should be a mattress on which the cerata is placed, and on top of it is a sheet. The baby does not need a pillow and is even contraindicated. On the one hand, the pillow is dangerous for the child, because it can get allergic to fluff, and even worse — to suffocate. On the other hand, without a pillow, the baby forms normal bends of the spine.
It should also be remembered that the baby should lie in the crib on its side. From time to time it should be turned over to the other side.
It’s great if you have the opportunity to go out with your baby to the park so that he can sleep in the fresh air. In extreme cases, a balcony or veranda will do, or at least open the window in the room where the matsopa sleeps.
During sleep, a newborn may sneeze, yawn, shudder — these are all completely normal reactions that should not cause you excitement.
Baby’s nose
The baby’s nose must be periodically cleaned, otherwise its nasal passages may clog, it will become difficult for the baby to breathe, and this can even lead to the fact that the child refuses to breastfeed. In order not to bring to such a scenario, the baby’s nose should be inspected before each feeding. And if mucus or skin is noticeable in the nasal passages, then you need to take a sterile cotton swab, moisten it in a saline solution previously purchased at the pharmacy and carefully, in a circular motion, remove everything superfluous from the spout.
Skin
In newborns, the skin has fewer sebaceous glands to produce fat, and therefore is drier and less protected from irritation and infection. In this case, the baby’s skin is often in contact with urine, feces, soap during bathing, diapers during wiping. It is not surprising that sooner or later red spots, depravity, diaper rash appear on it.
For the most part, redness appears in the folds of the neck, behind the ears, under the armpits, in the genital area. What to do in this situation? It is necessary to gently wash the places of redness with water without soap, dry, and then lubricate the skin with a means of diaper rash.
Perhaps it is unnecessary to remind that the hygiene of the baby needs special attention. After each bowel movement, it should be washed with water and baby soap. And if, God forbid, any eruption on the buttocks or around the genitals does not heal for a long time, immediately consult a doctor.
Cry of a child in the first month of development
What to do if a child screams? Feed? Shake? Run to the doctor? In principle, it is believed that every mother understands her child, so to speak, with half a cry. In fact, it turns out not quite so. Some mothers children’s “ueeee!” can be pretty puzzled.
Here it is worth knowing that screaming for a child is a completely natural thing. Children at this age can lend up to two hours a day. Then she shows so much that she is cheerful and in a good mood. Although, of course, there are exceptions. This is what the baby can tell you with a cry: a) “Mom, I’m hungry!” (make sure that the child receives enough milk); b) “Mom, I’m uncomfortable!” (it may be that you swaddled the child too tightly or he has a wet diaper, or you should change his position in the crib, etc.); c) “Mom, something is evil to me” (pain in the tummy, runny nose, diaper rash).
Reassure a child can satisfy his needs.
A monotonous, weak or, conversely, very loud cry may indicate brain disorders in a baby, while he himself remains flabby, and does not calm down even after he was picked up and given a tit.
Belching and vomiting
The physiology of the newborn is such that it is easier for him to return food than to swallow it, roughly speaking. That is, the children’s stomach has weak muscles of the entrance section and is quite well developed in the output section. Therefore, belching, and even vomiting, is quite common among such dolls, especially among boys.
A bit of theory. Belching is when air comes out through the baby’s mouth with a small amount of milk that has not been digested (occurs mostly within an hour after feeding). Vomiting is the release through the mouth of a greater amount of vomiting than when belching, which has the appearance of boiled milk (occurs more than an hour after feeding).
As a rule, such “accidents” occur in the baby due to overfeeding, too tight swaddling, and even the nervousness of the mother or the tense atmosphere in the family. In principle, they are not something extraordinary that would require going to the doctor. As already mentioned, this is the specificity of children’s physiology.
Another thing is when belching or vomiting is a signal of illness like meningitis, acute dyspepsia, intoxication, or something else. Here you will definitely need to consult a pediatrician.
Life hacking. To make the baby regurgitate less, put it on your stomach before eating, so that, thus, air comes out of the stomach. And after feeding, take it in your arms, gently lean your tummy against you and walk a little until you hear air come out through your mouth.
Baby navel care
As a rule, the umbilical cord stump disappears by 5-7 days. During this period, it is important to take care of the navel correctly so that it does not become infected, because it can lead to inflammation (omphalitis), or even to the appearance of septic conditions, when the infection spreads throughout the body, the pathogen enters the bloodstream and vital organs.
To prevent this, carefully monitor the condition of the navel, whether bloody or other types of excretion ooze from it. Pay attention also to the condition of the skin around the navel. If everything is in order and nothing suspicious is noticeable, then the navel can be treated with a 2% solution of brilliant green. If the navel is “weeping”, then in this case it is treated with a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide, and subsequently with a 2% solution of brilliant green. In any case, you should first consult with your doctor.
Umbilical hernia
It is worth knowing that in newborns the navel may bulge, and this is normal. He will get involved already at 2-3 years of life. In the meantime, he’s sticking out to himself. As a rule, no more than 0.5 cm.
The navel protrudes from the ring where the umbilical vessels used to pass, and now this space is filled with the contents of the intestinal loops. They literally push the navel out. If the umbilical ring is large, then the navel can protrude by 1 cm or more. It, as in the first case, will close, but not in one or two months, but in a year or two, or even in three years.
What to do? Massage the tummy. The movements should be clockwise. It is also useful to put the baby on the stomach between feedings. What you do not need to do is bandage the baby’s belly, seal the navel with a plaster, and even more so invest a coin in it, as some grandmothers advise. The latter is simply savagery. So you will not only not help the baby, but also put him at risk of infection of the navel.
Precinct doctor
In this article, we gave a lot of advice, but remember that after all, the best adviser is not the Internet, but your district doctor. Especially when it comes to the health of the newborn. Therefore, in all incomprehensible situations, contact your pediatrician. Feel free to ask him stupid, as you think, questions. There are no stupid questions if they relate to your child’s development. In order not to forget anything, get yourself a notebook and write down in it everything that causes you questions or doubts. If necessary, voice them in front of your doctor.
Finally, we will give another advice: do not often change the pediatrician — it is better that one doctor watches your baby all this period, because this is how he will know everything that is necessary about him.
Anton Buzko
