Your Newborn
What’s happening around now
Emerging from the darkness and relative quiet of your womb and into a world of sights, sounds and movement can be quite overwhelming for your baby. He’ll spend much of the first week adjusting to this new environment.
Although his arms and legs can remain curled in a foetal position for the first few weeks, they’ll straighten out as soon as the muscles develop and strengthen.
Natural reflex actions
Your baby is born with natural reflex actions which he’ll rely on until his eyesight improves and muscles strengthen, giving him better control of his little body. The grasp reflex makes him form a tight fist around anything that’s placed in his hand. When something brushes against his cheek, he’ll instinctively turn towards it – this is known as the rooting reflex. Meanwhile your baby’s sucking reflex means that he’ll instinctively suck on soft objects placed in his mouth.
Saying
It won’t come as a surprise to hear that your baby’s main means of communication is crying! Your baby will cry for many reasons and you’ll soon learn to distinguish the different meanings. It’s best to respond quickly to your baby’s cries – letting him know he’s being listened to and giving him a sense of safety and security.
Usually all it takes is a hug, a feed or a quick nappy change. In all, there are five key reasons for a crying baby:
- He’s hungry
- He’s got a wet or soiled nappy
- He’s got wind
- He’s too hot or too cold
- He’s tired
There may be times when you go through this list and still can’t pacify your baby. If this is the case and you are worried that your baby’s cries just don’t sound right, then phone your baby’s doctor or healthcare professional.
Doing
Your newborn isn’t yet able to establish regular patterns of behaviour and will want to sleep and eat at irregular intervals. Right now, he’s the boss!
Sensing
Your newborn’s eyesight is quite blurry. He can only focus on objects eight to ten inches away, roughly where your face is when you’re feeding or holding him close. It’ll take between four and six months before your baby’s eyesight is fully developed with depth of field and colour vision.
Massaging your baby
Your baby just loves being touched and caressed. Massage is a great way to help him relax and develops a deep emotional bond between you.
Don’t worry about massaging your baby ‘the right way’. Trust your instincts. Start by applying a little gentle pressure – your baby will let you know if he’s uncomfortable. He’ll often fall asleep during or straight after the massage, so it’s perfect before a nap or just after his bath.
Remember, there’s a chance that your baby may ingest some of the oil, so only use pure organic oils like sunflower or virgin olive oil. They’re safe, gentle on your baby’s skin and most importantly, they’re edible.
