Organic Baby Blog – News & Tips on Organic Parenting

Caring for Your Newborn Baby

July 14th, 2010 by

Your newborn baby will seem fragile at first, but is actually quite tough. It is natural to be worried about how to pick your new baby up and hold him without hurting him in any way. Before you pick up your baby make sure that you have his head and neck supported with one hand, then slide the other hand underneath his back and bottom to support the lower part of his body before lifting. Hold your baby firmly against you, either cradled against your chest with one arm still supporting the head and the other holding the bottom and lower back, or cradled in your arms with your baby’s head King in the crook of one arm while your other arm supports his back and legs. Always keep any movements gentle so that you don’t hurt or frighten your baby.

The Newborn Baby at Delivery

Your baby will also be weighed and measured by the doctor and will probably receive the first of three doses of vitamin K, by mouth, to prevent a rare bleeding illness which occasionally affects newborn babies. A second dose is given at 10 days and a third at six weeks. Vitamin K is given by injection to very premature babies or those who have had a traumatic birth.

After the birth, the umbilical cord will be cut and a plastic clamp placed about l-2cm from the infant’s body. Over the next few days the cord will shrivel up and after about a week it will drop off com­pletely. During this time the area around the cord should be kept dry and clean to avoid the risk of infection. Try to let the air get to the healing navel as much as possible so that moisture from wet nappies doesn’t affect it.

Some babies are born with a lot of hair, others arrive almost bald. Any first hair that a baby has will rub off within a couple of months, but this will be replaced with new hair growth. The new hair may be a different color.

Most white babies are born with eyes that appear to be blue-grey in color. This is because melanin, the body’s natural pigment, is not present in the eyes until some weeks afterbirth. Babies with brown or black skins may have brown eyes at birth. If your baby’s eyes are going to change color this will gradually happen over a period of weeks or even months.

Tags: newborn