Your Baby and You: Week Eight
YOUR BABY
Behavioural Development: White noise
Does your baby miraculously quieten if you turn on the hair dryer or stand near the running washing machine? White noise officially refers to a noise that contains sound across all frequencies (change the frequency on your FM radio to in between stations and you'll get this noise). Other examples include the hairdryer, the vacuum cleaner or an electric fan. Babies often find this noise calming because the combination of different sounds in one noise drowns out other sounds and helps them to relax. Recordings of such sounds are available (sometimes for free) online, try one next time you can't get your little one to calm down!
Communication: Getting chatty
Has your baby started to coo? Cooing is an early form of talking, and you may even find you are able to have 'conversations' with your baby - where you both take it in turns to make sounds. This is another delightful stage of development and the interaction is a great way to bond with your baby.
Feeding: When to introduce a bottle
If your baby has not yet had a bottle, it might be helpful to try and start introducing one now. It could be formula or expressed breast milk, but some parents find that if they leave it too long to introduce a bottle that they encounter more resistance when they come to make the transition.
Tips for Introducing a Bottle
- Use expressed milk to begin with, even if you intend to move on to formula whilst they get used to the bottle
- If your baby rejects formula, continue using breast milk and mix in increasing volumes of formula at each feed
- Get Dad or another person to give the first bottle feeds, sometimes babies are more difficult to bottle feed if the familiar source of their usual feeds is close on hand!
- Try offering the bottle at different times, sometimes being hungry isn't optimal because they might get too frustrated, so it may help to offer it half an hour before their usual feed
- Experiment with different teat flows
Care Advice: Understanding growth charts
Your health visitor will encourage you to plot your baby's weight on a growth chart - there is usually one in their personal health record (often called the red book). The lines plotted on the chart are referred to as centiles and they give a guide to how healthy children's weights are expected to increase. There are a few key points to understanding these charts and getting the most out of them:
- Most children fall somewhere between the 0.4th and 99.6th centile shown on the chart, so being on the 25th or the 75th does not make your child very small or very big
- Centiles simply show how your baby's measurements compare with that of others'. If they are on the 20th centile, it means that about 80% of other healthy babies of the same age are heavier than them and 19% are lighter
- The importance of the chart is less about showing what centile they sit at, and more about making sure that they gain weight roughly in accordance with projections for that centile. Your health visitor may suggest an examination of your baby or their feeding patterns if their weight significantly increases or decreases along the way
- Few babies gain weight at a smooth rate, so do not expect your baby's line to be a perfectly steady curve. It should follow a rough curve over time but spikes and dips are inevitable with growth spurts, periods of illness and other factors
Safety Advice: Soft toy check
Safety Tip
Your baby is likely to be the proud owner of some (if not many) cute and cuddly soft toys. As lovely as they are, remove them from his cot or Moses basket so that they cannot end up covering his mouth when he sleeps.
Keep toys clean for when your baby is playing with them and check them for loose buttons or eyes that could present a choking hazard.
Common illnesses and ailments: Nappy rash
If your baby is being repeatedly bothered by bouts of nappy rash then look into buying a barrier cream. Addressing the condition with a preventative measure (you apply this routinely to prevent nappy rash from occurring) will cause less distress for your little one than waiting for the rash before applying a treatment cream.
ALL ABOUT YOU THIS WEEK
Your Body
Most mums still aren't getting enough sleep at this stage, and there's a strong possibility that you are some way off getting back your typical 8 hours a night routine. That's why it's important to do all you can to fit naps or earlier nights into your day to day life. It's important that both you and your partner understand the detrimental effects of sleep deprivation, such as:
- Reduced ability to think and to process information
- Reduced ability to manage stress
- Clumsiness and poor coordination
All of these things pose a potential danger to the health of both you and the baby when you are responsible for carrying them, feeding and changing them and driving them in the car. It is therefore essential that you do your best to catch up on sleep as and when you can. Here are some tips:
- Nap when they nap, even if they take an unexpected nap, drop whatever else you are doing and dive into bed
- Don't dismiss naps because you take too long to drift off or because your baby might wake you within 5 minutes, at this stage, any rest you can get is helpful - even if you don't actually fall asleep
- Turn your phone and other devices off when you lie down, unplug the doorbell if you can
- Keep an eye mask by the bed to make drifting off that bit easier during daylight hours
Do you think you can't nap?
- Even if you don't drop off, the time spent lying down and resting is still beneficial
- If you only get 10 minutes it's still likely to give you an energy boost
- Rather than worry about the things you're not getting done whilst your baby is sleeping, remember how much better your time with your baby will be when you've had an energy boosting snooze. The more you relax the more effective your rest will be!
Your Emotions: When it all gets on top of you
Feeling overwhelmed by all the things that need doing? This point cannot be emphasised enough:
PRIORITISE PRIORITISE PRIORITISE!
It is not possible to care for a baby, to see to their every need, to get all the sleep you need, to prepare three meals a day for all the family, keep an immaculate home and a well-stocked fridge as well as maintaining a healthy life and seeing friends. By trying to do too much you are in danger of overlooking one of the most important aspects of being a mum - enjoying your baby. So reassess your 'to-do' list, separate the essential jobs from those that can be put off and take some pressure off yourself. Parenting won't always be this intense.
Your Relationships: Old friendships
Have you noticed that your friendships with people have changed since becoming pregnant or having your baby? Sometimes friendships with other people who don't have children can feel as though they have changed or become more distant since you had your baby. It can be hard for them to understand what your life is like as a new mum if they haven't gone through it themselves. You might find that the distance remains for a little while but don't write your friendship off, your relationship will find a new equilibrium in time.
Things to do: Blow away the cobwebs
Clear your mind with a brisk walk in the fresh air as many days as you can this week - whatever the weather! That pram came with a rain cover, right?
Time for yourself: Pamper me
Pamper time! See if you can make time for a quick manicure or pedicure - a DIY job is fine and some freshly painted nails will give you an instant mood lift!
YOUR WEEKLY CHECKLIST
(Helping to keep you organised!)
Routine medical appointments: Immunisations
Your baby should be having her first jabs (immunisations) this week. These are the first of a number of routine vaccinations that are important for preventing the occurrence of serious diseases such as tetanus and polio. Most doctors do not recommend the routine use of paracetamol after babies have their jabs, but it is usually advised if the baby develops a fever after them. You should be offered advice on this during the appointment.
*TIP* Remember to take your child's personal health record book with you to all medical appointments.
Parents often find the process of getting their children immunised more stressful than the babies do. This is because as adults we understand that they are going to experience a bit of discomfort, whereas they are in blissful ignorance right up until the moment it happens. Read more here on how to prepare yourself for these appointments and how best to comfort your baby.
