My one month with baby!

My 1st feeding. Prepare for some serious handling!

Time does pass fast! It only seemed like yesterday, when we were in the labour room. My words of encouragement to persuade my wife on pushing harder and the arrival of our new born right in front of our eyes. All these significant events have zipped past and will always be embedded in our memories! I would like to give my 2 cents worth of the development of baby during the one month of intense training and sleepless nights. Hope my advice could help some daddys out who is still battling with your child on "feeding" issues.
  1. First week
    • I would believe this is where the baby starts to mark her environment. Crying is her way of saying she is hungry. My take is if you are breast feeding; do take note that breast milk is still not available until the 3rd day (for first mothers). Maybe you could try partial feeding, 1 time formula and the other time breast feed. Let the baby suckle the mother's nipple even if there's no milk (Mothers: do not worry, there will be milk eventually). This is to let the baby bond with the mother. You might notice the baby to be a bit yellowish in skin colour, my advice is to see the doctor if it gets too yellowish. They will conduct a blood test to check its level. If worse comes to worse, baby will be hospitalised to be "sun tanned". This is to lower her risk of jaundice.
  2. Second week
    • This is where the endless crying begins!! You can expect to be woken up at least 3 times. I was woken at least every 2 hours. There are a few reasons for her crying, I have compiled a few.
      1. Baby Hungry!
      2. Wet Diaper Changing time.
      3. Passing motion and she feels uncomfortable with the shit sticking to her skin, I don't blame her for that!
      4. She need to be burped.
      5. She wants to be carried.
    • There will be rashes on her face. Its normal, don't worry. Apply some cream prescribed by doctor it you want to play safe.
    • Her buttocks will start to develop rashes. Try to avoid this by minimising the cleaning of the buttock using wet tissue wipes. Use wet cotton instead. Apply moisturizing cream(safe for baby).
    • Her umbilical cord will start to peel off, handle with care. Try not to force it to come off. You wouldn't want the cord to be infected.A little bleeding might be seen due to poor handling. Apply antiseptic prescribed by doctor to clean the cord.
    • Baby will start to drink about 40ml of milk. (Formula), hard to gauge for breast feeding though (Any suggestions?)


  3. Third week
    • I experience frequent crying. But this is where the parents start to improve on handling the baby. We start to carry well, feed well and even clean the shit well (Did it within 2 mins!). Tip: Burping is very important. If baby doesn't burps after a feed, its guarantee that she won't sleep well and if she won't sleep well.... good luck to you!
    • Prepare for full month celebration or they call it the baby shower.
  4. Fourth week
    • Full month celebration!!! This is the time where relatives and friends visit. If possible, decide in advance what kind of gifts you would want. You never know that you might get the same gift. I prefer vouchers on baby shops or on the local supermarket. Buying diapers and Formula milk is not cheap!
    • Baby will start to gain weight and you might notice frequent smiling.
    • The eyes will start to browse around. Try singing or talking to your baby. This is the time for them to bond with you!

Well, these are what I observed for the 1st month. Maybe yours could be different. I hope my advice helps. More to come! Do watch out for my blog for the 2nd month!

Comments

Jarrett Growing said…
hey! congrats daddy! well done!
Anonymous said…
for breastfeeding, just let her feed till she's full :) no need to stop her from continuing or whatsoever. Also, if there are rashes on the face/butt, you can apply some breastmilk and let it airdry. really works wonders :)