Parenting Tips for New Parents

BEHAVIOR AND DEVELOPMENT

Your infant’s development depends heavily on interaction with you. You should spend as much time as you can holding, cuddling and talk to your baby. This facilitates bonding, learning and general neural development. Touch is very important. To save your own sanity, you should also nurture baby during the times when he or she is not hungry or sleepy or fussy. Make sure, too, to take some time for yourself. Schedule in naps for yourself during baby’s nap time if you can, and call upon trusted friends or family members to help baby sit so you that you can have ‘adult time’ at least once a week.

Some of the behavioral milestones to look for in infants at this age are:
1.    The first smile
2.    Beginning to recognize family voices.
3.    Begins to make small vocalizations
4.    Will briefly lift head when lying on stomach.

FEEDING

Babies at this age need only breast milk or iron-fortified formula. Always check with your physician before making any changes to your baby’s diet. Your infant’s eating habits will vary from day to day, but you should call your family doctor if your baby is losing weight or not eating at all. Feeding time should be a time of bonding for the whole family. This is where some of the closest bonding time occurs. Give your baby plenty of affection and touching during feeding time.

SLEEP

Babies should be put to sleep on their backs. Your baby will tend to sleep through the day, but it is normal for a baby to awake in the late afternoon and have a ‘fussy’ spell. This is another good time to nurture and soothe your baby. However, prepare yourself, too, for the possibility that your baby may be inconsolable. Sometimes the excess stimulus of the day simply needs to be ‘cried out’. Overall, it is best to hold and rock your baby until he is drowsy, then put him in his crib. Avoid rocking your baby to sleep, as this will train him not to go to sleep on his own.

These parenting tips are not difficult to remember. Try to view each parenting tips again and again and apply them as it will help you. If you continue to experience problems, discuss your concerns with others parents.

It is a good idea that is starting to take hold among new parents as of late in the neo-natal field. Along with the many other responsibilities involved in infant care, hospitals and pregnancy clinics are beginning to encourage new parents to give their newborn regular massages. By educating them about the advantages of this new practice, more parents are apt to use the technique.

Benefits of Infant Massage

Infant massage has many benefits and advantages and one of it is your baby’s sleep cycle. Infant massage helps teach your baby the way to relax. As with all things, babies have to learn the art of relaxation. Babies who are massaged often tend to sleep better and more restfully than babies who are not massaged.

Babies who are not routinely massaged often have a weaker immune system than babies who receive regular massages. But this is not the only benefit associated with this practice. Massaged babies also develop appropriately while being able to relieve intestinal and bowel discomfort. In contrast to babies who do not receive regular massages, they are also generally more perceptive to the world around them.

There are also psychological benefits to infant massage. Massage creates a bond between the parent and the baby that cannot be easily duplicated. Babies crave the touch of their parents, and the soothing movements of infant massage meet that psychological need. Psychologically, massaging a baby helps parents feel more confident in their skill with handling a baby. It also teaches the parents what their baby needs and what their different cues mean. Since massage helps sooth colicky, gassy babies, parents are more centered because they have something they can do to calm their otherwise inconsolable baby.

How and When to Massage your Baby?

Massaging a baby does not have to be complicated. Begin learning how to massage when your baby is already calm and relatively still. It is best to work on massage when baby is not hungry. Go to a warm room, and remove as much clothing as possible. Skin to skin contact is especially important to infants. Put a little baby lotion or oil on your hands, and rub them together to warm up the liquid. Stroke your baby from the center of the body towards the extremities. Remember to spend time on those adorable little feet! The first massage should only last a few minutes, perhaps five or less, but as you and your baby become more comfortable, start increasing the time of massage for as long as your baby enjoys the massage. You can do it after you have bath your baby.

Becoming comfortable in massaging your newborn is not a difficult thing to do. If done nightly, the baby begins to relax which, in turn, helps the baby go to sleep more quickly. Along with the connection it creates between parent and child, massaging your newborn will create a sense of trust on the infant’s part. In turn, you will soon treasure this bonding ritual between you and your baby.