UNDERSTANDING YOUR BABY 

PART 2

Every parent wants a happy baby.
Babies are individuals, they have their own character, personality and though cannot fully and verbally express themselves, they have preferences too.
It is the duty of a parent to understand their baby to know and understand their specific needs at any given time. Spend as much time as possible with the baby.
It is best for a parent, first time or not to be around the baby always, this will assist in understanding communication cues the baby displays

Sleep

Babies are different, the more content your baby the more time they are going to spend sleeping, when they are awake, they will be calm and peaceful.

The older they get they start exploring their environment visually Babies tend to wake up when they are
hungry, some are irritated by a dirty nappy and when that is sorted out, they fall right back to sleep.

Babies that spend a lot of time peaceful and asleep tend to gain weight and grow faster than babies that are fussy and irritable because they use a great deal of energy when they crying and are restless which either makes them loose weight or gain weight slower.
Mothers are encouraged to ensure they attend to all the babies needs and then put them to sleep.

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POSITIONING DURING SLEEP

The best position for baby to sleep is
On their back, lying flat what is also known as supine position
Head tilted either to the left or right side to avoid flat heads on either side, the longer the baby prefers a certain head position, the more likely the skull bones may flatten and this may be permanent if position of the head is not alternated
Putting baby on their backs reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome
As your baby grows older they tend to roll to other sides

NB!! Avoid putting your baby on their tummy unless you are holding them and they are lying on your tummy and at this point your are fully awake and you will be able to observe if something goes wrong.

Prioritizing baby’s needs

HOW TO PLAN

When your baby wakes up, try and do everything that is planned for that specific time and feeding, burping be the last thing you do before putting baby to sleep.
If you intend to bath the baby, change their clothes and linen, do all those things before you feed, you wouldn’t want to fiddle with a baby that has a full tummy, that may lead to vomiting and an irritable baby.
Because we say sleeping after a feed is a good indicator that your baby is drinking enough, once your baby finishes a feed, it is best to burp and put them to sleep and not disturb their sleep.

Mothers are advised to adapt to the routine of their babies
Meaning when your baby sleeps, take a moment to rest too
And if your baby is awake, attend to their needs and make sure they are content.

READ PART 1 HERE