Things I wish I knew as a first time mum

posted in: Blog, Ezra | 0

Babies communicate with different crying sounds. Start listening carefully and you may be able to hear the difference and understand what they are trying to tell you. https://www.petitjourney.com.au/understand-the-different-cries-of-your-baby  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afMNp6Q4u7s

Getting a baby used to a dummy can work for some babies but not for all. Some babies will cry for it every time they drop it at night which Ezra used to do. After taking it away from him he replaced it with his thumb within days and started sleeping better within a week or two.

 

 

Babies need their good quality naps for their little brains to develop and there are recommendations for how much they should sleep and what their wake windows are based on their age. https://restfulparenting.com/sleep/tips-to-help-your-infant-sleep-0-4-months-old

Pay attention to your babies sleepy cues (yawning, jerky movements, becoming quiet, not wanting to play, ‘grizzling’ or fussing, rubbing their eyes, making a sleepy sound, crying, facial grimaces, including pulling faces, clenched fists, waving arms and legs about) and get them nap as soon as possible so that they aren’t overtired or overstimulated.

 

 

Babies can sleep through anything in the first few weeks of their lives but after a couple of months once their hearing has developed they may start waking up more easily. This is a good time to start introducing a naptime routine and getting them sleep in their cot/crib instead of the living room while the TV is on in the background or on you. Babies sleep in different sleep cycles which consists of light sleep, deep sleep and dream sleep. Once they are in their deep sleep, it will be much harder for them to wake up to noise.

Using lots of extra tools to calm baby or get him sleep might work for a while but have to consider that they will have to be weaned off every single one of them and this can be very difficult.

Sometimes swaddling is necessary: some babies will keep waking themselves up because of their startle reflex but it took us a long time to be able to change from the swaddling to a sleeping bag and the timing was very close to him rolling over. Babies should not be swaddled once they are able to roll over.

 

 

Most babies thrive on routine: introduce a bedtime routine as soon as you can, following this will give a signal to your baby that it is time for his night time sleep.

Babies should not fall asleep while feeding when going to sleep at night, they remember the reason they fall asleep and will be waking up to cry for it again. They are able to fall asleep on their own at night, they are much more sleepy than in the day.

 

 

It is advised that babies should sleep with their parents in the same bedroom until they are 6 months old. However, in my opinion this may not work for some babies and the noise of the parents could be causing them to sleep even less. We moved Ezra to his own bedroom at 3 and half months and it was the best decision we made although there was a lot of protest in the beginning. He is sleeping much better now and loves his room.

Once babies are over 4 months old, I think it is okay to leave your baby to cry a bit if you are struggling with their night time sleep or their feeding. It is for their and your benefit to sleep and feed better in the long run and they learn very quickly.

 

Bottle fed babies can be overfed even if it’s breastmilk that has been expressed. Breastfed babies cannot be overfed.

It isn’t normal if your baby is feeding every half an hour/an hour and screams for the rest of the time, unable to sleep day and night. Seek help and look into/ask for a referral for a tongue tie assessment.

Having multiple mastitis (breast inflammation) is often caused by a tongue tie, some countries and some hospitals are better at spotting tongue tie while sometimes babies could go undiagnosed for weeks. Ask for a thorough check when you leave the hospital with your newborn.

Every baby is an individual, what might work for one baby might not work for another. You know your baby best, listen to your motherly instinct.

Being a first time mum is difficult and overwhelming at first especially after a hard labour and other extra difficulties and your hormones will be all over the place. Need as much physical support as possible and being honest with your friends and families about how you are feeling can be very helpful.

If your family is not in the country you live with your baby, you may start to miss your family like never before even though you have lived away for over 10 years.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *