Take care of your newborn: tips for new parents. What does it mean to take care of a child? Take care of your baby

Congratulations on this wonderful new experience! Your child is still very small and depends on you completely. This fact probably makes you feel responsible for your baby's life, but you may be completely at a loss as you are faced with a new role for yourself. Do not panic! The following are guidelines and tips to help you take good care of your baby.

Steps

Taking care of the newborn

Support your baby's head. When you pick up your baby, be sure to support the head and neck. Babies still have poorly formed muscles in this area and if the head and neck are not supported when lifting the baby, this can cause serious injury. Take the crumb gently and gently.

Don't worry too much about the soft spots on your newborn's head. The skull of the child is not completely closed, this process will end when the baby is about a year and a half old, and for some children the process is completed at two years. Therefore, you will notice that there are soft spots on the baby's head. Don't worry too much about this. Many parents are afraid to touch these soft spots, but you can be quite sure that, despite the lack of a bone layer, they are well protected for the baby's daily life. You can touch this area or scratch your baby without causing any harm.

Never shake a child. Under no circumstances shake the baby. This can easily lead to serious damage to the brain or spinal cord, or even death in a child. You should not shake the baby, even if the baby perceives it as a game and he likes it.

• If you are angry with a baby (who is likely to cry a lot) and you feel like hitting the baby to silence him, please seek help. Ask a friend or relative to look after the baby and give you advice until he calms down. Sleep deprivation is a severe punishment.

Feeding the baby

1. Try to understand when it is necessary to feed your baby. Your baby, as a rule, has his own daily routine. If the baby is crying, he may be hungry. Over time, you will learn to hear the difference between the crying of the baby: he wants to eat, he wants to sleep, and so on. The frequency of meals will depend on what the baby eats, how much he eats, and on the individual metabolism of the child's body.

   • Older babies can use hand gestures to show that they are hungry.

2. Be very responsible in what you feed your child. Babies should drink milk, breast milk or formula. Try not to give them anything other than this as other food is likely to make them sick or suffocate. You can offer baby food as soon as he is a few months old, and when the baby starts teething, you can introduce more solid foods.

   • Breast milk is much healthier for your baby than formula because it not only provides your baby with nutrients, but also protects your baby from disease by building up immunity.

3. Knowing how to feed your baby is also important. You will need to choose your method: bottle or breastfeeding. Regardless of which method you choose, you must make sure that you are doing everything necessary to keep your child safe from infections and strive to reduce the chance of spitting up.

   • If you are bottle feeding your baby, you will also need to make a choice as there are different types of bottles. You can buy simple, inexpensive bottles, or you can opt for more advanced ones.
   • Breastfeeding is the easiest and best way to feed. Women were created with this amazing ability! Make sure your nipples are clean and sanitized before feeding. Consult your physician if you are taking any medications. Also, eat only healthy foods, as you will be feeding these nutrients to your baby!
   • While there are many feeding positions, you can feed your baby in an upright position as this will help prevent spitting up.

4. Preparing to burp. The baby's abdominal muscles are very weak at the beginning. So weak that sometimes it is difficult for them to hold food! Don't worry, this is a normal process...although not a very pleasant one. Prepare to spit up, always have rags on hand to clean everything up at once, put a bib on your baby when he is older. You can also place a tissue over your child's mouth immediately after they have eaten.

   • Watch for what the baby is spitting up: red, yellow, green, and brown, anything other than white or clear can be signs of illness. If in doubt, take your child to the doctor. Similarly, if the spitting up is very profuse or if your baby is not gaining weight, this is grounds for a visit to the doctor.

5. Belching of a child. After the child has eaten, he may experience belching. Children swallow too much air while eating and this causes stomach discomfort. Lay the child down so that it is slightly tilted, and then return it to its original position. This will help to release air and save the baby from unnecessary discomfort.

   Watch out for the gasses. If your child is naughty and you cannot find the reason for this, most likely he is being tormented by gaziki. You can alleviate the condition of the child by laying him on his tummy, bending his legs to the baby's navel. Massaging around the navel will push the gases down into the rectum.

Ensuring proper hygiene

You must ensure that you change your baby's diaper when necessary. It's not hard to figure out when to do this. If your baby's diaper is full, change it! If your baby's diaper is wet, change it! A soiled diaper will smell bad, so it's easy for you to know when it's time for a diaper change. Wet diapers are more difficult. Set a timer and be sure to check your diaper every two hours. If you notice that it is wet, replace it.

• A child should never be left in a dirty diaper for a long time, as this can lead to health problems. Plus, it's not hygienic! Overfilled diapers can leak and your carpets will get dirty very soon.

1. Learn how to change a baby's diaper. Swaddling is very easy, but if done incorrectly, there can be some problems. Leakage, diaper rash, and irritation can be the result of improper swaddling. Follow a few simple rules to keep your child clean and happy.

   • Lay the child on a flat surface. Do not leave him unattended and try to always hold the baby with one hand so that he does not fall.
   • Unfold the dirty diaper.
   • Dry the baby thoroughly with wet wipes. Do it in the same way as if you were drying yourself.
   • Place the dirty wipes in the diaper, and then, lifting the baby by the legs, pull the diaper out from under him. Roll up the diaper and put away.
   • Take out a fresh diaper, unfold it completely, and then unfold it into position. Make sure you put it on the right side.
   • Clip the diaper on and make sure the elastic around the legs is not too tight.

2. We warn mischief. Diaper rash is a skin irritation that occurs when your baby is in a wet diaper for a long time, or when your baby has other health problems. Very often this happens due to the fact that parents do not change diapers in a timely manner. If this happened to your baby, you can not be very upset about this, but take some measures.

   • Diaper rash can be cured by using appropriate creams or powders when changing your baby's diapers, and the problem will also be solved if you change a soiled diaper in a timely manner.
   • Make sure diapers and clothes are appropriate for your baby, and be aware that antibiotics can make your baby's skin more prone to diaper rash. Seek medical attention if the rash does not go away within a few days.

3. Bathe the child. Babies don't sweat like adults and so don't need to bathe them often. Bathe them once a week or after a very soiled diaper. Use bathing products specially marked "for babies" and bathe your baby in a baby bath. Never leave a child unattended while in the water.

   • The child must not be put in water until the umbilical cord has healed, because the umbilical cord must not be wetted until it has withered and fallen off.

4. Don't forget to brush your teeth. Although the baby does not yet have teeth, as soon as he is a few months old, you can start brushing his gums. This will stimulate the gums. Use a children's toothbrush, these brushes are mostly rubber. Gently brush your gums once every few days.

Putting the baby to sleep

Set sleep mode. Babies sleep a lot, but usually not for long. Each child has their own natural sleep pattern that you will get used to over time. Try to plan your own schedule, depending on your baby's sleep.

Learn to put your baby to sleep. Your baby may need help getting to sleep, so some basic tips can help you get it right. You can hold the baby in your arms or on your shoulder, you can also walk with him or rock him in a chair. Babies respond to repeated sounds, so you can sing a lullaby.

Swaddle the baby. Swaddling is a method of preparing a baby for sleep, as a swaddled baby stops moving. Although it may seem strange from an adult's point of view, swaddling can make a child feel safe. The child will also not frighten himself in a dream if he suddenly starts.

1. How to avoid SIDS. SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, is the sudden death from respiratory arrest in an apparently healthy infant, in which an autopsy cannot determine the cause of death. The exact causes of SIDS have not yet been established, but there are several factors that go along with the risk of SIDS. Avoid these factors and your child will be fine:

   • Put your baby to sleep on your back.
   • Do not give a pacifier to a child.
   • Don't put your baby to sleep in your bed.
   • Use a firm mattress in your baby's crib.
   • Remove soft or downy bedding and soft toys.

It is very difficult to define the vague term "parental love", although this phenomenon has a place to be. And the child does not need lofty epithets and heartfelt words, he needs something quite specific: a sense of need and significance for parents, a sense of security, as well as a kind and fair everyday attitude that allows him to develop.

99 out of a hundred parents will confidently say that they love or love their children very much. But if you ask them about what exactly their love is expressed in, then most will only say: “Love is love” or “It is difficult (impossible) to express in words, it permeates our whole life.” And only then, after thinking deeply, they begin to give a reasonable answer. One of the fundamental aspects is the care of the child.

A loving parent takes care of his child from the very first days of his life. He teaches the baby to walk, talk, think, observe, get acquainted, navigate the world. An adult plays a leading role in the formation of the unique personality of a little man. Caring for a child involves certain daily concerns: to feed him on time and usefully, to provide him with clothes and toys, to protect him from possible troubles. Recently, it has become fashionable to actively help the child develop mentally. All these worries are so imperceptible in everyday life that adults cannot always appreciate the result of this care, and even more so the child's attitude towards her, which is not always positive.

Often parents want to load their child with the maximum number of activities. These are language lessons, dances, sports and art sections. The striving is essentially very good, but in this case it is important that the child himself sees the meaning in these activities, he liked them for a long time. And it is not necessary that the baby does everything at once, otherwise the care of the parents will not be appreciated. On the one hand, the child does not want to upset mom or dad by refusing to go to the circle, on the other hand, going to this very circle turns out to be torment and simply uninteresting. Such an internal conflict of the child leads to the fact that he may have nightmares, he begins to bite his nails, often has a bad mood for no reason.

Another kind of excessive care is expressed in the fact that parents protect the child from all the difficulties of life. They control his every step (whether he did his homework, put his textbooks in a briefcase, etc.). But the child perceives such an attitude as an annoying interference in his life, which is fraught with protest and alienation from his parents. And although outwardly everything looks normal, in fact, parents do not understand the inner world of the child. They do not want to recognize the independence of the child, trying to impose their desire and vision of the world on him.

Very often, parents forget about the uniqueness of their child's personality, playing the role of an "ideal parent". But the child is an autonomous person who has every right to his own preferences and decisions (albeit sometimes erroneous). And this person must be treated very carefully, to understand what she really strives for. It creates itself, and along the way there are problems and difficulties. But these are the problems and difficulties of the child, not the parents, and he must learn to cope with them himself. The simple desire is understandable for the child to be, if not excellent, then definitely good, but anxiety for the actions of the baby is a problem for parents, and it is worth fighting this feeling.

A child at any age faces a difficult task - overcoming difficulties and obstacles, the result of which is self-confidence. Therefore, he must be allowed to fall at the first steps, let him go camping with friends, argue with the teacher or dye his hair green. Parents should understand that it is simply physically impossible to always accompany their daughter or son. And excessive care can turn into serious life failures due to the inability to make even elementary decisions on your own. After all, annoying care is perceived by him not as a manifestation of love, but as suppression, an obstacle to his own actions. But for the harmonious development of the baby, he needs a certain balance of guardianship and freedom from an early age. Parents should not only take care of him, but also approve of his independence, recognize that the tastes, thoughts, ideas of the child have the right to exist (no matter how naive they may seem from the height of adult life experience).

It is advisable to accurately distinguish your parental desires from the aspirations of the child. Of course, when it comes to the safety of life (norms of behavior in society, healthy habits, etc.), the conviction that one is right is justified (but not pressure, especially if one's lifestyle leaves much to be desired). But if the matter relates to the personal choice of the child (with whom to be friends, what kind of sports to play), then you should not rush to convince him. After all, it is unlikely that an adult (who considers his child a valuable, unique personality) knows in advance what his child should be like and what he should do. A child is not a piece of clay from which you can sculpt whatever you want, and not a rare species that should be protected from the breeze. The kid is active from birth, improves himself, changes his attitude to the world.

And your help will be most effective if the child himself asks for it when he needs it. You just need to be able to hear these requests, and gratitude will not keep you waiting. And for the help, and for believing in the strength and independence of your child.

SINS THAT WE DO NOT NOTICE IN OURSELVES. (Ev., Matt., XXII, 1-14,)

“Many are called, but few are chosen,” we hear in today's Gospel. Indeed, what a capacious phrase, and what a well-known and familiar phrase. A phrase that makes you think. The words of Christ, which should make us start, think about our lives. God calls us all, calls everyone. He calls everyone to a feast - the feast of God, which is called the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God. He calls to where there is joy of love, where there is joy in caring for each other, and where there is joy in the glorification of Christ, and life in Christ, and the triumph of God's truth, the triumph of God's love. The Lord is calling us to this feast. The Lord is calling us to this marriage. He calls us. And how do we, in today's parable, listen?

There was a certain man - the king, who made a big feast on the occasion of the wedding of his son. And he sent his servants to call on all who were dear to him. Everyone who needed him. Who did he care about? Who was waiting for them to come and share the joy with him. And the people didn't come. Someone was busy with the land, and someone was busy with trade - that is, they were busy with earthly things, vital for themselves. For myself. And not only did they not come, but they also beat those slaves who called them. And the lord of this feast was sad, and said: "Go and punish them." And then he said: “Go along the roads, and gather all who are homeless, who have nothing, and bring here to me, and let them sit with me at this feast.” And let's go. And he brought many. And behold, among all, he noticed a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes. And he asked him: “My brother, why are you lying like that, not in wedding clothes? Why is that?" And he was silent. And the host of the feast says: “Take him and throw him where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Dear ones, really, what does it mean to “refuse the Lord’s table”? What does it mean to "renounce the Kingdom of God"? Leave the kingdom of God, then we will think about it, now is not the time for that. Now I bought land, now I got married, now I bought new oxen, now we need to do this, now we need to count wealth. Now we need to work, send these oxen so that they bring income. Now we must amuse ourselves with our earthly things, not heavenly things. This joy, but that joy is not needed.

But how important it is to share the joy. Share the joy. In our life it happens like this - a close person is hard, and we help. It doesn't always happen, unfortunately not always. But in grief we can help. But when joy - something eats us up, something squeezes our heart - a heart that should open with love, open with joy: “My brother is well. My sister is well,” he squeezes. This terrible worm, this terrible worm that corrodes our heart - we call it envy. And the same terrible worm - a worm that eats away at us - we call jealousy. They climb into our soul and prevent us from living. An envious person is already half-alive, half-dead person. A jealous person is a person capable of any baseness, capable of any fall. And a person who rejoices in the joy of his neighbor, when another is well, he acquires two joys - his own joy and the joy of another. And it is filled, and joy becomes complete. Because there cannot be complete joy in oneself, about oneself. We, when something is good with us, we strive to rejoice and pass it on to another.

As often happens in our lives. Everything is good in our life. And we stop. They came up with a terrible word, a superstitious, unnecessary word for us: "they will jinx it if I say it." Let them not jinx it. Simply, that joy will not be. Like, our friend, our brother, our loved one, but we are afraid to tell him about our joy. Because they themselves are not perfect. And we see imperfection in our neighbors, because we cannot live this full joy. We cannot live with complete joy, and therefore we beat another.

There was a man, he felt bad, they helped him. He got well. Look, what a terrible example: he drank, rolled in the mud, everyone sympathized, everyone was sorry; stopped drinking, put on a white shirt. What are we doing with this person? Let us rejoice and say: “Lord, my God! You were already on the brink of death! You were on the brink of death! How would I like this! I don’t have such an addiction as you do, but I continue to spend everything temporarily, on everyday life. And you could find the strength in yourself! God, what joy!” Not really! Not this way. Not this way! And we take this vile bottle, this bottle, sorry for the bad word, and we begin to pour him: “Come on, for my birthday. Here, come on to my health. What, you won't share the holiday with me?" Yes, he can't! He is already happy! He broke free from sin! Why would he go there - in grief, in tears? And not only his tears, but also the tears of his loved ones. Why put him there? What guides us in this case? If a person has been cleansed, if a person has come to God, if a person says: “I don’t want to judge anymore! I don't want to lie anymore! I don't want to drink anymore! I don't want to mess around anymore!" What pushes us to return it there again? How not this jealousy, this envy that devours us, devours us! Let's think, dear ones, whom do we beat? Who are we stopping? What are we doing?

Faith - when you feel good and when the other feels good. Faith without works is dead. It is impossible that you have come to faith, you are standing there praying, and the rest of you are still feeling bad next to you. Because you become salt, man. And this salt has the power, and kills the infection around, kills decay, kills decay. And if nothing is happening around you, then do not hypocritically think that you believe, and you are already with God. Your faith should be a holiday. A holiday for everyone. Because your soul is saved. And this means that the other must see that you are being saved.

And how often it happens… That's how this man, from today's parable, went to the marriage. And at that time, you know, dear ones, now we give slippers, right? A man came to us, took off his shoes - we give him slippers, we take care of him. And at that time they gave everything. Not only slippers were given. Then they gave wedding clothes, they gave light clothes. Here a person comes to visit, to a marriage, to a feast - everything is dressed in white, clean. This man didn't bother to change his clothes. Didn't bother, he lay down and started what? Eat. And the owner asks: “Why are you not wearing white clothes? Why didn't you change your clothes?" And he is silent. No time to answer. Cheeks are stuffed, womb is stuffed.

So do we. We have come to faith, we have received grace from the Lord, and what are we asking for? What are we asking for? Give me a new apartment. Give me a pay raise. Let me get a loan. What are we asking for? Even when we ask for health. We must ask for salvation. We must ask for the salvation of the soul. And we must ask that our children be enlightened by the Word of Truth, that we all come to Christ. So that, no matter how it was - and the poor, and the rich, and the lame, and the walker, and the blind, and the sighted - all found joy in Christ. This is what you need to ask. Share the feast of God, put on white clothes, change your lifestyle. Simply saying: “I already go to Church” is not enough. You also need to say: “Lord, help me become a different person. Not envious. Not jealous. Not covetous, not proud."

Dear ones, and today, on this day, we really need to think. Because we are now standing before God. We will now become, pray for our children. So that they learn, and learn not just knowledge, but acquire purity of soul, acquire faith, acquire life experience, how to live not in sin, but live in salvation. Live in love. This is what we need to pray for.

Who do you think will bring our children to the feast? Children do not go to the holiday without their parents. The whole family was invited to the party. If the father and mother do not go - and the children will not be at this holiday. They won't be there on this holiday. And so, think about your lifestyle. Where are we going? Where are we going? And this holiday is, first of all, a children's holiday. How does Christ speak to us? "Let the children come to me, for of such is the kingdom of God." Children Kingdom of God. This is where Christ calls us all - first of all, these are these little ones, our children.

See what we can become. Their way of life, their selfishness, selfishness, their not chastity, their pride. What can we become? We can become an obstacle for our children on the way to their lawful state, to their lawful marriage, to their lawful feast. They must go ahead of us, and we block their way there. Our sin. Our swagger. What example are we giving to children? What an example we give to children when we judge, when we swear, when we boast, when we are proud, when we are constantly looking for our own, when television is most important for us, when a new acquisition is most important for us. What is the little child watching? What does the child see? What should you look for in life? More money? Or more TV? Or is this how everyone is judged? Do you remember your childhood? What a horror it was when mother and father scolded grandmother, neighbor, or anyone! The whole soul trembled: "Don't do it!" And mom and dad thought how smart they are, how well they can appreciate a person. Each friend was praised, and the other was judged. And the child's soul here, outside the door, stood and heard, heard and absorbed. But if dad and mom say so, then it's probably right? If dad swears, and mom judges, this is probably right.

If we are struck by the worm of envy and jealousy, then the child probably sees this. And his parents are an example of everything for him. Parents are everything to him! I should have taken the book and read it. I had to tell a good story. And it was necessary to say a kind word about the other. Say: “Won, what a good person, and what a good person, son, daughter, how many of them are such good people!” Do not teach that everything around is evil. And you: “If you want to live, know how to spin. If you want to live, know how to give back. What were the children taught? But to leave this feast, to leave the feast of joy. And then tears, and I want to enter the Kingdom of God, but our life does not give. I want our children to be kept here, and we stand and pray, and ask: “Lord, fix them!” But who crippled them? Who mutilated them? Who perverted them? The Lord must cleanse with His blood. The Lord must cleanse with His crucified Body.

Dear, how important this is. How important it is now to reflect. Now we will pray for children, but we will also pray for sinners ourselves, so that the Lord gives us the strength to never speak abusive words, never quarrel in front of children. If you don't love each other, don't destroy each other. Go, hide, and fight there. But in the presence of a child, in the presence of a small sim, do not seduce him, do not give him an example. Don't give him an example of how to fall into a hole. Once the Lord said: “Judge not”, once the Lord said: “Forgive”, once the Lord said: “Love even your enemy” - set an example of this. If you can’t for your own salvation, if you don’t want to be saved, at least don’t deprive your child of it. Don't deprive your child. Good should come from the father, good should come from the mother, and the grandmother should not teach about corruption and the evil eye. And the grandmother should teach that there was a war, but people remained people, that there was hunger and people remained people. That, no matter what conditions a person is in, he must be a person, which means he must love. So, one must live according to the truth of God. Put on clean clothes and go where the Lord calls. Purify your soul with purity.

Dear, today is a very strict day. Today is the day when we pray for our children. And we do not just pray, but give God the word: "Nothing rotten will come out of us with our children, especially this will not come out." Let's be an example to our children. No matter how hard it is, there is no need to hypocritically say: “I live for children, and children are the main thing,” if you only think about yourself, and only amuse yourself with your sins, and are only proud of yourself. No need! The Lord will then say: "I was wrong." Better not talk about it. And better - live, live the truth of God for your children. So that you are saved, and your child is saved, and all the people around you are saved. Many are called, but few are chosen. Where are we? Where are we? There is only one court. Do you have humility, man? Is there in you, man, chastity? Do you have generosity, man? Is there, man, love in you? It happens like this: “It’s hard for me, but I will live in such a way that I can go through everything, but not fall, and not lead this little one out of his way.”
God help everyone. God's help in life. God's help in weaning ourselves from envy and jealousy. God's help is to learn to rejoice in the good of another, and in the acquisition of another, the love of another. God's help in raising children.

Remember one thing, children are not brought up with words. Children are brought up by example. And there are no bad children, there are bad parents and bad teachers. Not genes are to blame, but our sin is to blame, which we warm and cherish. Let's get rid of sin, and we will live as the Lord commanded.

Joy to you, relatives, joy in the Lord. And everyone should be at the feast of Glory, at the marriage of the Glory of the Lord, in the Kingdom of Heaven. Amen

Health

Psychologists have found that couples in which the father spends a lot of time playing with the child, rather than helping to feed or bathe him, the relationship between the spouses is much stronger and happier.

Research has shown that traditional roles matter, and men who insist they want to help their wives take care of their children are actually undermining their efforts.

Professor Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan from Ohio State University, one of the researchers, said the discovery will disappoint many people who believe mothers and fathers should equally take care of children. However, she also noticed that parents can share responsibilities in other ways.

"I don't think that if a father helps take care of his baby, it will be bad for all families," she added. "You can have a strong happy family and it is not necessary that both spouses share responsibilities equally".

Schoppe-Sullivan and her colleagues recruited 112 couples with four-year-old children to participate in the study. Initially, participants filled out questionnaires that asked how much time they spent playing with children - for example, rolling them on their shoulders and back, and how much time they spent taking care of children - feeding, bathing, changing clothes, and so on.

The researchers then observed for 20 minutes how parents help their children in two tasks - to draw a family portrait and to assemble a horse from a designer. These tasks were specially selected. They are a little difficult for a preschool child and require the help of both parents, which allowed scientists to trace whether the parents supported each other in this process or, on the contrary, interfered.

The researchers observed how parents support each other in parenting, such as how they encouraged or helped each other. The researchers also paid attention to whether parents criticize each other or whether they try to "outdo" each other in completing the task.

A year later, the couples returned to the lab and took part in a similar study. The results showed that in general, in families where fathers played with their children more time, after a year, the relationship between the spouses was stronger, they supported each other well. If the men claimed that they spend more time taking care of the child, their families did not have such mutual understanding and support after a year.

The results of the studies were the same in families where one family member or both work. The researchers also took into account a number of other demographic factors, such as fathers' education, working hours, family income, family size, and length of relationship in a couple. These factors also had no effect on the results.

The study ties in with other work by Schoppe-Sullivan, where she found that mothers often encourage or limit fathers' participation in childcare. "On the part of mothers, one can notice some duality of feelings, when they want and do not want the father to participate in caring for the child. But the fathers themselves can also have an ambivalent attitude," she says. "Maybe it's because they're reluctant to do what mothers should do."