Welcoming Your Newborn

We have been through pregnancy, gone through labour and have even mastered breastfeeding. It’s now time to understand and welcome your new born. After all, this is a relationship that you will nurture for the rest of your life.

- Sonali Shivlani

A baby changes your life and in more ways than one. It makes you fall in love, makes you a worry wart and it also makes you very, very careful. You start looking at life very differently now that you are a parent.

Let us start with some physical aspects:

-Your newborn is born a little bluish. This is because the blood is not yet oxygenated. Don’t be alarmed as the blood will get oxygenated a few minutes post birth. Then, your baby will take on a pinkish hue. The skin is also covered with a whitish substance called vernix, which is meant to protect the baby’s skin when in the womb.

-The head is slightly large and can appear conical. You also have two soft spots called fontanelles. This primarily means that the skull bones have yet to fuse, and this is completely normal.

-The eyes appear a little cockeyed as the eye muscles are still developing. The nasal passages have very fine hair. This means that your newborn may sneeze a lot.

-The genitals and the breasts appear swollen and you can expect some colostrum to leak from the breasts whether you have a baby boy or girl. Vaginal discharge is also very common in the first few days of life.

-The umbilical cord is cut at birth and what is left behind is a small stump. This will fall on its own, and all you need to do is keep it clean and dry. Avoid covering it especially with a nappy or diaper.

What’s in the bag?

There’s no denying that babies need a lot of things, and I am sure you have been shopping. After all, who can resist the cute and attractive baby clothing and booties available in market, right? But before you go all out, do remember that your baby is going to grow rapidly and you may not really need everything that the stores point out as ‘essential’ items. The absolute necessities are clothes, nappies, diapers, some swaddle wraps, a cap, some mittens, wash cloths.