Is your newborn baby healthy? What you need to know about a newborn when going to the hospital? After giving birth, the baby will have an umbilical cord residue. The genitals of the newborn appear to be very large

24.04.2019

The first month of a newborn's life (3-4 weeks) is called the "neonatal period". It begins with the birth of a baby and ends with the appearance of his first smile. What are the main skills laid down during this period? What do you need to be aware of in order not to miss out on opportunities?

A newborn baby is awake for only 20-30 minutes (by the end of the first year of life, this time will increase to 3-3.5 hours !!!). He sleeps 80% of the time of day. The baby wakes up from hunger or discomfort. There is still no sharp boundary between sleep and wakefulness. The child's movements are chaotic, the arms and legs are bent, since the extensor muscles are not yet developed. A newborn baby does not even have the ability to look at one point with both eyes, let alone the ability to communicate something to others.

But the newborn baby already has a huge and very important experience of life in the womb. Modern research convincingly proves that the amniotic fluid conducts sounds. Therefore, the sounds of the mother's voice become close and dear to the baby even before his birth! And already in the intrauterine development, favorable prerequisites for the development of speech are laid. This is why it is important WHAT a pregnant woman hears - music, kind words, or something else. And that is why doctors, teachers, psychologists recommend expanding the auditory experience of an unborn baby with the sounds of nature, folk and classical music, and playing musical instruments. And from the first minutes of life, they advise mom to start talking to the child and sing simple songs to him!

Studies of the brain activity of newborn children (E.A. Aleksandryan, T.P. Khrizman) have established that the infant always distinguishes the mother's voice from all other sounds. This voice causes the activity of two analyzers in babies at once - visual and auditory. Moreover, a newborn child always prefers the sounds of the human voice to all other sounds. Therefore, it is the mother who should sing lullabies to the child, little dogs, nursery rhymes, talk to him, play, amuse. And the voice of an announcer or a singer from an audio disc that is alien to a child, no matter what a professional announcer or singer it is, will never be able to replace the mother's voice, which is familiar to him even before birth!

The main task of the neonatal period is the task of adapting the baby to the surrounding world. But already during this period, it is important to solve several problems of the child's development associated with the development of his visual and auditory analyzers, with the laying of the foundation for the further successful development of the baby.

Development tasks in the first month of a newborn's life.

Child development challenge 1.

By the age of 1 month, teach the baby to fix his gaze on an object, to focus on it. At the same time, the ability to reduce the visual axes of both eyes on one object is also formed. This ability is called "convergence".

Child development challenge 2.

Learn to follow the movement of an object with your eyes in different directions and at different rates - sometimes slowly, sometimes faster.

Child development challenge 3.

By 1 month of life, form the child's ability to listen to sounds.

Child development challenge 4.

Teach the baby to look at mom for a long time when she talks to him, to focus on her face.

Mom should try to catch the wandering absent-minded gaze of the baby, smile at him, stroke and start talking to the baby!

It is very important that from the first days of a newborn's life, the mother continuously talks with the baby during his wakefulness - bathing, feeding, changing clothes for a walk, going to bed: “Let's take off our shirt. This is how we will swim. Ay, you are my dear! ”,“ So Irochka has woken up! Let me stroke your hands, stroke your legs. Now I will feed you, ”and so on. One should speak in a singsong voice, without haste. It's good if the mother tells the baby a rhyme or sings a song. Don't remember the words? You can always write the words on a piece of paper and attach them to the wall above the crib. And also - you can always think of your own words, albeit naive and not quite rhyme, but coming from the heart. In a conversation or song, you can change the timbre of a voice from high to low. At the same time, it is very important to look into the eyes of the child, to speak with affectionate intonation.

Child development challenge 5.

Contribute to the appearance by 1 month of the first conscious smile in response to the gentle voice of the mother.

It is necessary to distinguish between a physiological smile and a meaningful smile. A physiological smile appears already in the first days of a baby's life. It is simply stretching the muscles in a state of satiety and comfort. It means that the baby is good. But she has nothing to do with her mother yet. A meaningful smile appears around the fourth week of the first month of a newborn's life. Here is how V.V.Vetrova, a researcher of child development at an early age, writes about her in her diary of observing her son:

“1 month 2 days. Today we noticed a clear smile that was no longer associated with the feeding situation. We showed the baby a rattle ... Playing with the rattle, we addressed the baby in every way with affectionate words, called by name ... And suddenly we saw how awkwardly the corner of the upper lip rose, how the mouth began to stretch, then the child froze for a moment and then bared your toothless jaw. This happened so unexpectedly that at first we did not understand that this is the first smile caused by communication, our influence and symbolizing a certain stage in development - the end of the state of newborn. It was on this day that I first saw the child's cheerful eyes - for me this smile became something meaningful, while the first, physiological smile proceeded against the background of a completely meaningless look. "

What toys are needed in the first month of a newborn's life?

A newborn child does not yet know how to look at one object for a long time. Therefore, it is easier for him to perceive an object when there are no other distracting objects in his field of vision. Therefore, for the development of the baby, it is more useful to show him one bright toy, and not hang garlands of multi-colored rattles and moving modules with a bunch of figures. Garlands and modules will be needed a little later, when the neonatal period ends.

At what distance should a newborn be shown a toy? At what distance should I hang it?

It is necessary to remember the rule - up to two - two and a half months, the toy must be shown and hung at a distance of at least 50 cm above the child's chest. Otherwise, you can provoke his squint.

How to teach a child to follow a toy with a gaze?

To do this, you need a set of toys of different colors (necessarily bright) and different shapes without small details. Exercise toys should be changed so that they do not bother the baby and arouse his interest.

Step 1. Show the baby a large (8-10 cm) toy for one to two minutes every day, moving it in different directions. You can zoom in and out of the toy at a distance of 50 to 70 cm from the child's eyes. First, the infant learns to track the horizontal movement of the toy. When he starts to get it, they begin to include the vertical movement of the toy. Gradually, spasmodic gaze following the toy will be replaced by a smooth one. This means that eye coordination develops.

Step 2. When the baby learns to clearly follow the toy with his gaze, it is necessary to teach him to focus his gaze on the object. To do this, when moving the toy, it is periodically stopped. And the child focuses not on her. After this exercise, the toy is hung in the viewing bed. And then they take it away. But there is no need to hang toys in a stroller in which the child sleeps in the air.

Step 3. Swing the suspended toy so that the baby can focus on the spinning toy.

How does a newborn baby feel?

Virginia Satir, a famous psychologist and psychotherapist, tried to answer this question in the book "Psychotherapy of the Family". On behalf of a two-week-old newborn, she tells her story as follows:

“Usually mom and dad notice when I cry. It's good when they know that I feel bad, whether something in the crib hurts, whether my tummy hurts, whether I have constipation and whether I'm lying lonely. They take me, pump me, feed me, amuse me. I know they want me to get better.
It's too bad that we don't speak the same language. Sometimes it seems to me that they want me to shut up to do some of their own business. They shake me a little, as if I were a wallet of vegetables. I guess they have other things to do. Sometimes I think I annoy them. But I don't want it to be that way. And I cannot tell them that it is not.
My little body stops hurting when loving people touch me. They feel good and I know that they are really trying to understand me. And I try to help them as much as I can. I cry in different ways. I like the distinct, gentle and melodic voices. I am pleased when mom and dad look at me, especially straight in the eyes. "

What can a newborn do by the end of the first month of life?

He reacts to the sound of a bell or other sound (voice, melody, noise) by moving the arms and legs. Listens to the sound for 10-20 seconds. Searches for a sound source.
Focuses his gaze on a toy that does not emit sounds, for 5-7 seconds follows its movement. Smoothly follows the toy moving horizontally and vertically at different rates (fast and slow). Doesn't lose sight of her.
Turns the head towards the light source (flashlight) in the supine position.
Lying on your stomach, raises the head for 1-2 seconds - maximum 5 seconds.
She peers into mom's face, smiles in response to her voice.
Seeing the face of my mother, bending over the bed, the first one smiles at her.
When the mother says the words of poems, nursery rhymes and pestushkas, the baby "answers" her with separate short sounds like "kh", "gee" pronounces syllables, sounds, words in a chant)

We saw how much the first month of a newborn's life gives, and how important it is in the further development of the child. You can read more about games, exercises with the baby, toys in other articles of the heading

It is useful for future and young mothers to know about some of the features of the appearance of newborn children in advance.

If you are a young mother, then imagine a newborn baby as a plump and smiling creature with cute folds on the arms and legs. Know, in life everything is not so! So a mother takes a first glance at a newborn baby, and it seems to her that something is wrong with the baby: a big head, a tiny body, twisted legs and arms, stained skin.

Do not be upset if the newborn baby does not at all look like the baby in the picture. Babies are rarely born pink, plump, and smooth. As a rule, newborns have some physical features that disappear after some time after birth. And in order to dispel doubts and fears, you just need to talk about it with the doctor at the hospital.

Newborn baby head shape

Often a mother is frightened at the sight of the non-standard shape of the head of her newborn child - flattened, elongated to the top and, in general, more like an egg than a round head.

The baby's head is egg-shaped because during childbirth, the bones of his skull adjust to the birth canal of the mother. And since this passage is narrow, the head takes on an oblong shape. Within a few days, the newborn's head will become its usual round shape.
Did you think your baby has a too big head? This can be both an optical illusion and a hereditary trait (if there are large-headed relatives in your family).
It happens that moms get upset when a child is born completely bald, without a single hair on his head. But this does not mean at all that he will remain so. Hair can appear only by 7-8 months of age. However, the first hairs tend to fall out. And by the age of one year, the baby will definitely acquire permanent hair.
Stroking the head of a newborn baby, the mother gropes for soft depressions covered with thin pulsating membranes. These are fontanelles - places on the bones of the skull that have not yet closed. As a rule, fontanelles tighten by the year, but if this happened earlier, then this is an individual feature of the baby's body.

In general, according to the observations of obstetricians and neonatologists, in recent years, children with a small fontanelle are more often born. Normally, the fontanelle is approximately 1-3 cm, but it can be smaller. Many doctors believe that this is due to the slightly higher dose of vitamins that pregnant women receive during gestation. But even if the fontanelle is too early, keep giving your child vitamin D.

Well, and, perhaps, the funniest thing about how a newborn baby amazes mommy is a snake tongue! The tip of the baby's tongue seems to be slightly forked, because the tongue seems to have grown together with the bottom of the mouth and it is still difficult for it to stretch forward. Do not hesitate: he will definitely do this during the first year of life.

Eyes in newborns

Often, although not always, looking at the baby's eyes, the surprised mom asks the question: who are they so blue, like the surface of the sea? Really, many babies are born with blue eyes, but by 6 months, the color of the eyes will change to their own. And then my mother will definitely understand who the charming eyes have succeeded in.

Sometimes it also happens that it is generally impossible to discern the color of a newborn's eyes, because ... he cannot open them. This is due to postpartum edema, if the head "stood" in the birth canal for some time. Don't worry, the swelling will go away on its own.

Sometimes the swelling is caused by an infection of the eyes, but in this case it is always accompanied by mucous or purulent-mucous discharge from the eye. This is treated in the hospital, and the swelling goes away without consequences.

What else a baby can surprise mommy with is a squint. Which is not uncommon for newborns. Doctors attribute the strabismus to the weakness of the abductor muscles of the eye. By six months, this state goes away on its own.

It also happens that the eyes of a newborn are bright red. For example, in the case of a hemorrhage caused by a lack of oxygen during pregnancy or the fact that the child had a hard time giving birth. Vessels suffer greatly with a lack of oxygen, but then everything disappears without a trace.

Head, hair, fontanelle, tongue in a newborn

Hypertonicity in a newborn

No matter how much mom tries to say hello to the baby, taking him by the fingers. So far, she is unlikely to succeed due to tight jaws newborn. The pose, when the arms are pressed to the body, and the legs are twisted and tucked into the stomach, doctors sublimely call the Buddha pose. All newborns are in this position, which is caused by the increased tone of the flexor muscles in the arms and legs.

Mothers should not have worries about this until 3-4 months. Up to this age, increased muscle tone is the norm. By the age of 3 months, the child should begin to open and close his fists, and with his fingers he tries to grab the toy. If this did not happen, then the problem will have to be solved with the help of a neurologist, who will prescribe massage, swimming, gymnastics.

Take a closer look at the legs and arms of the newborn, mothers sometimes notice the bluish tint of the feet and cams. This is due to the fact that his blood circulation has not yet been adjusted, and as soon as he moves more energetically, his feet and fists will immediately turn pink.
Mom is worried that the baby's feet are strongly curled in or out. Both are due to muscle weakness in the ankle joint. Such phenomena are caused by hypoxia (lack of oxygen) during pregnancy. However, you should not worry about this, because such defects are very well corrected with the help of massage.
Sometimes milk comes out of a baby's swollen nipples. It turns out that this is quite normal for both newborn boys and girls. This is a newborn's hormonal crisis. It is caused by the mother's hormones entering the baby's blood. Everything will go away by itself. But in no case should you squeeze milk out of the nipples! It is enough to put dry heat on them. Discharge appears on the 3-5th day of a baby's life, lasts a week and passes.
Some young mothers, looking at their newborn boys, do not find their testicles in their natural place. If this happens, it means that the testicle did not have time to descend into the groin before birth and is stuck in the canal. There is no need to be nervous until a year. If the situation has not changed, then the testes are "removed" by surgery, since they should not be in the abdominal cavity. The opposite situation also happens, the baby is born with large swollen testicles. It is caused by swelling of the testicular membrane. It is not treated and goes away by itself, but the surgeon is watching the baby.
The real panic is sometimes caused by bloody discharge from the vagina in girls, although this is not a big deal. This is the same hormonal crisis that causes milk to flow from the nipples, and it goes away too.
And one more "little thing" causes bewilderment for mothers - the navel. The turned-out stump of the umbilical cord does not look aesthetically pleasing, but it is not for long. After 10 days, it disappears, and the navel takes on a beautiful ornate shape of a sleeping snail.

Fluff on the skin of a newborn

The skin of a newborn baby does not immediately become beautiful: soft, smooth and pink. It can be frustrating at first. Red spots, fluff, peeling, protruding blood vessels, birthmarks. Let's figure it out what should be a concern and what should not?

Sometimes a baby is born with a bright pink color of the skin, fluff and a very large amount of generic lubricant. All this is caused by the immaturity of the skin of the newborn baby and goes away as it grows.
Moms shouldn't worry about their newborn's skin peeling either. It turns out that after several baths, all the old epidermis peels off, and the baby's skin is renewed.
Red spots with jagged edges should also not cause fear in parents. Sometimes this is a manifestation of an allergy caused by a mom's malnutrition, and sometimes an allergic reaction to the waste products of microbes that populate the baby's sterile skin. In this case, you just need to water the newborn well, and the allergen will be excreted from the body by itself.
Some babies are born with red spider webs. These so-called vascular nevi, although not scary for a baby, do not go away with age, like brown birthmarks. With wine and Mongoloid birthmarks, babies also remain for life. Red wine birthmarks are common in children of all nationalities. But the blue Mongoloid spots, as a rule, appear in children of southern nations or Asians.
On the 3rd day of life, the skin of newborns acquires an icteric color. If the mother has a negative Rh factor, and the child is positive or the mother has I blood group, and the child has a different and jaundice appears on the 1st day of life, then additional blood tests are required.

When will "defects" in newborns disappear?

Features of the newborn	When and what will change?
Newborn eyes:
Most often blue at birth	In six months they will acquire their permanent color
Strabismus of newborns	Six months later
Swelling and redness of the eyes of newborns	A few days after giving birth
Newborn arms and legs:
Blue feet and cams in a newborn	It will pass, it's worth moving a little
The feet are wrapped inward
The feet are turned outward	With the help of massage will go away by 1 year
Hypertonicity of the muscles of the newborn	With the help of massage will go away by 1 year

Love for a newborn

After giving birth, mommy experiences feelings of great happiness. There is also a physiological reason for this - a change in hormonal levels. She immediately falls in love with her baby without looking back. If the mother did not splash happiness on the baby immediately after birth, then this is due to various reasons, but not the appearance of the newborn.

This often happens if the newborn baby is immediately taken away from the mother. Then this joy goes to the medical staff, the surrounding doctors - how wonderful everyone around! Sometimes the connection begins to break down even during pregnancy: if a beloved has left the mother or she is immersed in any other problems.

In this case, it is desirable that the mother in the postnatal ward be with the newborn baby. But if it is completely unpleasant for her to look after the baby, then it is very bad for him. Because the child "reads" the attitude towards himself from her hands. Then it is better for mom to be helped by someone else. Meanwhile, she herself slowly and gradually entered this process.

Even if the newborn is not entirely attractive, for the mother he is super-handsome. In schools for pregnant women, many mothers, watching educational films, are horrified at the appearance of newborns. But as soon as their own baby is born, their point of view changes dramatically. Your child becomes the most adorable, despite all the features of newborns.

Mothers are simply not able to critically approach a newborn baby. They love him for who he is. However, a few hours after giving birth, the mother may have anxiety creeping in. Why does the baby have a different head shape? Why does his skin peel off? Where do the red spots come from? Mom looks at the newborn and is worried. But not because he is not handsome, but because she wants to help him. She already loves him very much!

“He's so cute, so small, so fragile,” says my mother and seeks support from doctors. And this is understandable: she is already driven by the most powerful love in the world - mother love.

The baby sleeps restlessly

Everyone knows that children grow up in a dream, while restoring strength, replenishing energy losses. When a child sleeps, his body fully develops and in the event of a sleep disorder of a small person, negative consequences may occur. A long sleep of newborn babies is completely normal and it means that the baby is developing correctly. However, sleep disturbance in newborn babies is very common. This, as a rule, happens due to the occurrence of problems with the development of the baby's body, which in the future can have a negative impact on his health.

Why does a baby sleep restlessly

Restless sleep of an infant may be associated with eating disorders or other troubles. It may be some kind of illness, a violation of his living conditions.

The reasons for the restless sleep of an infant include the following factors:

Very often, anxiety during a baby's sleep is caused by a cause that traditional healers call "subcutaneous bristles", another official name is lanugo. This is the name of the small hairs that cover the body of a newborn baby. When the baby is two weeks old, the bristles fall out and normal bulbous hairs grow in their places. During this time, the baby's skin may itch, which causes restless sleep.
The child can sleep restlessly from the heat, while he sweats, his skin turns red and the mucous membranes dry out. You should open the window, water the baby and humidify the room.
The child's anxiety can also be caused by the cold. In this case, his skin acquires a bluish tint, his arms, legs and back become cold. The child should be warmed and dressed.
A child's poor sleep can be triggered by uncomfortable or dirty bed and dirty clothes. The baby begins to scream and a mark from a button or seam may remain on his skin. You should examine him and replace his clothes.
Loud parties do not in any way contribute to the sound of a baby's sleep. Parents should decide what is more important to them - their own fun or the health of their child.
Constipation can interfere with sleeping. In this case, he vainly pushes and touches his legs, his stomach becomes hard, the stool is sparse, and the feces harden and acquire a dark shade. Before feeding, the baby should be held on the tummy, and put to sleep in the frog position on the stomach. You need to feed him only with special mixtures, give him low-boiled water. You can smear the anus with baby cream and put special candles

What to do with a restless baby at night

In infants, there has not yet been a clear distribution between the modes of sleep and active wakefulness. Nevertheless, with the passage of each month, its biological rhythms become more and more similar to ours. In order for the baby to not feel anxiety at night, measures should be taken to prevent the discomfort and discomfort that he may begin to experience.

It is very important to change the diaper in a timely manner, monitor the air humidity in the room and prevent the temperature in the children's room from rising over 22 degrees Celsius and not falling below 18 degrees on the same scale. In the event that the child becomes uncomfortable during sleep, it will be quite easy to wake him up.

The child should establish a normal daytime routine. Before going to sleep at night, the child should have at least four consecutive hours of wakefulness. If the child does not sleep during the daytime, you should engage him in some active activity that involves physical activity, but you should not overwork him. Without any physical activity, the child will sleep poorly at night.

The child should be taught to fall asleep on his own, for which he should be laid in a crib and not carried on his hands, rocking him. Hand accustomed children have difficulty falling asleep on their own. The child should be taught to sleep in his room.

The baby is restless during feeding

Breastfeeding is a big science and it often happens that it does not go very smoothly. When feeding, the baby may be anxious, cry, and naughty. Despite the fact that the child and the mother are endowed with certain reflexes by nature, they need a certain experience in order for the feeding to go smoothly and calmly. Of particular importance when feeding is the posture in which it is performed. It is not uncommon for an infant's restless behavior to be attributed to a feeding disorder.

Causes of anxiety for babies during feeding

During the first few weeks after the birth of the child, he and the mother gradually get used to each other and the mother is often unclear about the behavior of her baby. Very often she does not understand why the baby is anxious during feeding and does not eat. There can be many explanations for this, which will be discussed below.

The first thing that can occur to a nursing mother is a lack of breast milk. The biggest difficulty in this is the fact that very often a mother does not know how much milk her child receives, how much milk he needs and how much she has in general. In order to find answers to all these simple questions, you should do a few simple steps:

first of all, to monitor how the child relieves and draw the right conclusions. If, after six days, the mother receives six wet diapers, therefore, the baby has enough milk;
it is completely normal to feed frequently. During the first few weeks of a baby's life, he needs eight to twelve breastfeeds throughout the day. In the beginning, most likely, the mother will need to constantly hold the child in her arms, since for several hours he will ask to eat constantly, and then fall asleep for several hours. After he learns to suck effectively, the number of feedings will begin to decrease;
it is necessary to constantly monitor the weight of the child. After two weeks, the baby should regain its original weight, after which, for three months, gain at least 200 grams during the week.

In the event that the mother continues to squeeze because of her lack of milk, it makes sense for her to contact a lactation specialist in order to get all the necessary advice and advice on how to increase the amount of milk in a woman, if she needs it.

The baby may be restless when the mother's breast swells, which may occur during the first few weeks after delivery. To reduce swelling, you should express some milk with your hands and the breast will become softer, after which it will be easy for the baby to pick it up. It is not worth expressing too much milk, as this can cause milk production. Cold compresses should be applied to the chest to reduce swelling and soreness.
If the mother has flat nipples, the baby may also be anxious about feeding. To eliminate the phenomenon, special pads should be put on between feedings. Pulling the nipples is facilitated by turning on the breast pump before latching the baby to the breast. At the same time, the milk flow is turned on, contributing to the fact that the child will stop crying and start eating.
In addition, the baby may be anxious about the wrong position on the chest. The baby and his mother may be uncomfortable because there is little pressure on the breast, as a result of which there is a violation of the milk flow. If the baby is very nervous, it is best to use a feeding position in which the baby is placed to the side of the mother and is applied to the nearest breast, or is applied horizontally to the breast. In these positions, it is convenient to monitor the position of the baby's head. Thus, it turns out to be good to guide the baby to the chest and keep him in this position. It is pressed by the nose and chin into the mother's breast and begins to suck better if the mother holds him tightly.
Almost all children have various forms of expression of gastroesophageal reflux. This name is a condition characterized by incomplete formation of the sphincter, which causes insufficient overlap of the entrance to the stomach. As a result, there is a partial return of part of the milk with gastric juice into the esophagus, causing heartburn. The impressions are quite unpleasant, in order to eliminate them, the infant should maintain an upright position of his body.

Reflux may occur during feeding. It can be avoided by keeping the baby upright and taking breaks while feeding. With the growth of the child, his muscles are strengthened and the manifestations of reflux gradually disappear. If there are violations of the baby's feeding regime due to the occurrence of reflux, you should consult a doctor, due to the seriousness of the situation.

Perhaps the development of a yeast infection on the mother's nipples - thrush. In this case, the nipples acquire a bright red hue and begin to itch, after the end of the breastfeeding process, an unpleasant burning sensation begins in them. In this case, the baby may be slightly more anxious than usual when feeding. If thrush occurs, a woman should consult a doctor for a special course of treatment. Its necessity is explained by the fact that the infection is of fungal origin and can be dangerous for both the mother's body and her child.

Anxiety in a newborn baby can be attributed to a number of reasons. Below are some of them.

Almost all newborn babies suffer from flatulence. When a child feeds, a reflex gas release is triggered, which is necessary to eliminate the objects of his vital activity from the body. Their rapid release prevents constipation.

It takes very little time for breast milk to pass through the infant's digestive system because breast milk is easily digested. When a baby sucks on the breast, you can often hear very characteristic sounds. Despite the fact that gas is observed in almost all children, some tolerate it better than others. The time of day at which feeding takes place also affects the process, and flatulence is most clearly manifested at the end of the day. The child may not want to let go of the mother's breast, which only increases flatulence. As the baby develops, the problem recedes.

At the very beginning of the feeding process, mother's milk has a high sugar content - lactose. This is the so-called "front" milk produced during the first quarter of an hour of breastfeeding. If you continue to feed the baby with the same breast, "hind" milk is produced. It neutralizes lactose by virtue of its enrichment in fats, thereby reducing the level of gas formation. Flatulence can be aggravated by an excess of lactose from a large amount of incoming front milk.

If the baby has not yet learned how to suckle well, he may begin to choke on breast milk. At the same time, he can throw his chest and start to get nervous and scream. In this case, the mother should press hard on the breast, express the flow of milk, and then attach her baby to it again. You can express milk before breastfeeding to make sure it is possible to stop it before the baby breastfeeds. The baby should be fed from under the arm. When the baby grows up a little, he will be able to independently control the milk ejection reflex, being in any position during feeding.

A newly born baby usually has a bluish skin. This is due to what the baby was experiencing while passing through the birth canal. The blueness of the newborn's skin will disappear in a few minutes, when the baby begins to breathe on its own and his blood is saturated with oxygen. As a rule, the skin of the newborn becomes bright red. This is due to the condition of the subcutaneous vessels, which first narrow after childbirth due to a sharp change in temperature, and then reflexively expand. This reddening of the skin persists during the first 2-3 days of life.

If the baby is premature (born before 37 weeks of gestation), the skin may be dark red. This is due to the fact that the subcutaneous vessels in such children are located very close to the surface of the skin due to the fact that the subcutaneous fat layer is very thin. That is why the skin of premature babies easily folds and forms wrinkles.

The palms and feet of the crumbs may remain cyanotic for some time. This is due to the imperfection of the circulatory system: parts of the body farther from the center are less well supplied with blood in the absence of active movements. As soon as the child becomes more active, he will move his arms and legs more, the skin of the palms and feet will turn pink.

2. The original lubricant on the skin of a newborn has a bactericidal effect

Another feature of the skin of a newborn baby is a curdled lubricant, consisting of fallen off epithelial cells of the skin, fats. Before birth, she protected the skin from getting wet, since the baby was in a liquid medium (amniotic fluid). During labor, this lubricant helps the baby pass through the mother's birth canal. It also has bactericidal properties, preventing the penetration of infection. More lubrication occurs on the back of the body, on the face, ears, in the folds of the skin (axillary, cervical, inguinal, etc.). At the first toilet of the newborn, which is carried out by the midwife in the delivery room, the original lubricant is removed, since it becomes useless.

3. The head of a newborn is usually elongated upward.

The head of a newborn baby looks large in comparison to the body. The head circumference of a newborn is on average 33–35 cm, while the chest circumference is on average 30–33 cm. This is normal. These two values are leveled out only by 3 months of the baby's life, and then the girth of the chest gradually becomes larger than the circumference of the head.

7. The newborn has fontanelles on the head

While stroking the baby's head, the mother can feel two soft grooves. These are the large and small fontanelles of the newborn. The fontanelles are formed at the junction of the bones of the skull. The large fontanelle of the newborn has the shape of a rhombus, is located on the crown of the head at the junction of the frontal bone with the two parietal bones and is of different sizes (usually about 2x2 cm). By placing your hand on it, you can feel its throbbing. The large fontanelle closes by 12 months. The small one has a triangular shape, is located in the occipital region and is formed at the junction of the parietal bones with the occipital bone. Its larger size is about 0.5 cm. But most often, by the time of birth, the small fontanel is already closed. If it does exist, then in 2-3 months it will completely close.

8. The face of a newborn in the first hours of life may be edematous

And sometimes, due to edema, the baby cannot even open his eyes. This is due to a violation of the outflow of venous blood from the face when squeezed during passage through the birth canal. Don't worry about this. Such edema quickly disappears in the first days of life.

On the face of some babies, red stripes or irregularly shaped spots may also appear - vascular spots of newborns. This is nothing more than bundles of blood vessels translucent through the thin skin. They are most often found in the upper eyelids, between the eyebrows, on the back of the neck and around the ears. Some babies are born with these spots, and in some they appear on the 2-3rd day of life. They usually disappear by the age of three without outside interference.

9. There may be vellus hair on the body

In many newborns, the original fluff - lanugo can be seen on the skin of the body. This fluff covered the entire body of the fetus from about the 7th month of pregnancy. Most of the original cannon disappears before birth, but some of it can be seen after childbirth, more often under the shoulder blades and on the shoulders. And in premature babies, the cheeks can be covered with fluff. As a rule, vellus hair disappears by the age of two weeks.

10. The genitals of the newborn seem very large

The appearance of the genital organs of a newborn can also cause many questions for mothers. At birth, in both boys and girls, the genitals are most often edematous and appear very large. This is due to the presence of placental estrogens in the blood. This is a temporary phenomenon. The swelling usually subsides within one to two weeks of the baby's life.

11. The skin of a newborn may have a yellowish tint.

This is physiological jaundice of newborns. It occurs in many babies, their skin and mucous membranes become yellowish. Jaundice appears most often on the 3-4th day after birth. It is associated with the breakdown of red blood cells (red blood cells) containing fetal hemoglobin (a protein found in red blood cells that carries oxygen to the cells of the body) that is specific to the fetus. One of the breakdown products of red blood cells is bilirubin. The enzyme systems of the liver are still imperfect and do not have time to quickly remove bilirubin, as a result of which it accumulates in the blood, causing a yellow coloration of the mucous membranes and.

Jaundice resolves within one to two weeks as the bilirubin excretion systems mature and in connection with the completion of the breakdown of erythrocytes with fetal hemoglobin.

With severe jaundice, the baby can be prescribed intravenous glucose infusions, UV irradiation, choleretic drugs that help remove excess bilirubin from the body. Thus, doctors help the child's body to cope with this condition. Ignoring severe jaundice can cause irreparable harm to the child's body due to the pronounced toxic effect of an increased level of bilirubin on the baby's body. There is a general intoxication of the body, especially the nervous system, in particular the brain, as well as the liver and spleen of the newborn, suffers.

12. A newborn can often see "pimples" (milia)

On the 2-3rd day of life, a child may develop a small rash in the form of yellowish blisters filled with clear liquid. These are the so-called milia, or millet specks. Their appearance is associated with blockage of the sebaceous glands of the skin. Usually milia disappears in the first months of life and does not require special treatment.

13. The skin of newborns is highly flaky

On the 3-5th day, peeling of the skin may begin, which is more common in post-term children (born after 42 weeks of pregnancy). Thus, the adaptation of the skin to new environmental conditions occurs. Since this condition is not a pathology and does not require any medical intervention, then you should not lubricate the skin of a newborn with a moisturizer: this will only interfere with the natural process. Peeling goes away in 5-7 days on its own.

14. The mammary glands of the newborn swell

It happens that on the 3-4th day both in boys and girls there is a swelling of the mammary glands. During the week, they can increase in volume. Moreover, they swell symmetrically, there is no redness around, but the discharge from the nipples of a white liquid similar to milk may begin. The composition of this liquid is similar to the mother's colostrum. Such changes occur due to the circulation in the blood of the newborn of the mother's sex hormones - estrogens (they are transmitted to the child through the placenta). Soon, these hormones will be eliminated from the body, and within a month the mammary glands will return to normal.

15. After giving birth, the baby will have an umbilical cord

The navel of a newborn does not immediately take on the form we are used to. After the umbilical cord is tied up during childbirth, and then cut off, the umbilical cord remains, which doctors remove in the maternity hospital for 2-3 days. In its place, an umbilical wound remains, which heals by about the 20th day of the baby's life. Until that time, it requires careful care and respect. At the maternity hospital, the nurse will show you. For this, hydrogen peroxide and an antiseptic solution ("potassium permanganate", "brilliant green", chlorophyllipt solution) are used. During processing, you need to carefully remove dried crusts. You need to treat the wound twice a day in the morning and after bathing the crumbs until it is completely healed. Until the umbilical wound heals, it is recommended to bathe the child in a baby bath, adding a solution of potassium permanganate to the water until a slightly pink color.

You need to constantly monitor the condition of the wound. If you notice reddening of its edges, an unpleasant odor or various discharge (usually white or yellow), you should immediately consult a doctor, as all these may be signs of infection.

16. Strabismus of a newborn is a variant of the norm

Another feature of some babies is squint. The eyes can periodically disperse in different directions or, conversely, move to the bridge of the nose. This is quite normal and is caused by weakness in the eye muscles. The child cannot fix his gaze on the object for a long time, the muscles of the eyes get tired and stop working normally. For most children, this goes away by 3 months, but for some it lasts up to six months - this is a variant of the norm.

Let's start with the definition, because the term " newborn"- a loose concept. If the newlyweds cease to be such at the end of the honeymoon, then for newborn the time allotted by medical science is even less and is, according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization, only 28 days. 28 days from the moment of birth, more precisely - from the moment of cutting the umbilical cord and separating the fetus from the mother.
It is clear that newborns very different from each other and is determined by both the state of health and the degree of maturity. Talk about skills of the newborn without specifying which newborn it is a thankless task, for between a healthy full-term baby and a baby born seven months old - a huge distance. Therefore, we will agree right away - the subject of our discussion will be exactly the healthy, born on time newborn , insofar as physiological characteristics of premature babies- a specific topic that requires an emphasis not so much on "skills" as on differences from the norm and the resulting features of care.
Initial assessment of skills, and, accordingly, and health status of the newborn carried out by medical workers directly in the delivery room. Each parent will be able to find the result of this assessment in the documents received upon discharge from the hospital, where he will read, for example: "I was born 8-9 points according to Apgar." Not everyone knows who or what "Apgar" is, many are sure that it is some kind of abbreviation and unsuccessfully try to decipher it. Let us explain: Apgar is a surname with an accent on the first letter "A", she (surname) belongs to a woman, an American anesthesiologist. Apgar proposed a scale according to which the 5 main signs of health (ill health) newborn, namely: heartbeat, breathing, muscle tone, reflexes and skin color are assessed on a three-point system - get 0, 1 or 2 points. So in total, a maximum of 10 is recruited.
But evaluating by Apgar is the business of people in white coats. And what about the average average parent? Here we have arrived home from the hospital, here we have gathered for a family council. We have newborn... The doctors said everything was fine. But doubts are oppressive. Some kind of red, eyes in different directions, waving its little hands in a strange way, jerking its legs, sticking out its lips, turning its head and generally yelling ... normal lactation in the mother.
And taking into account the above and very typical situation, we will try to talk about how it should be, because the most reliable way to avoid stress is to get information on time. There is also a second way - to ask relatives to refrain from commenting so as not to create unnecessary stress, but within the framework of the domestic mentality, this task is practically unrealistic.
Let's start with the senses. In fact, according to the long established rules, the doctor finishes the examination of the child by assessing the work of the senses, but this is what worries the parents most of all - what the child sees, what he hears, what he feels.
Vision. Both the optic nerve and the muscles that move the eyeball in a newborn are not fully formed. The child feels only the light itself as such, that is, it distinguishes day from night, but it is not in a position to understand that it is the grandmother who is waving her arms in front of him. The aforementioned immaturity of the oculomotor muscles forms a physiological, that is, completely normal squint for the neonatal period.
Specificity is newborn- blinking reflex. The bottom line: no matter how much you swing objects near the eye, it does not blink, but reacts to a bright and sudden beam of light.
Hearing. Immediately after birth, it is somewhat reduced (the ear cavity is gradually filled with air), but by the time it is at home, it hears almost like adults. But he does not understand and therefore does not react. If the sound is loud enough, it shudders, while the depth and frequency of breathing may change, the mimic muscles of the face react.
Smell. He clearly reacts to strong odors (as a rule, by changing the breathing rate), but he is not able to distinguish dad's cologne from mom's perfume.
Taste. With this - it's certainly all right. Sweet has a calming effect, licks lips, makes swallowing movements. Doesn't like salty and bitter things. Stops sucking, grimaces, cries.
Insofar as taste and smell developed very well, it is quite possible, and this must be taken into account, negative reactions to "tasteless" medicines and hygiene products, which are used by a nursing mother.
Touch... Well developed, but uneven, since the nerve endings are unevenly distributed. He perceives touching the face and limbs more actively than stroking the back. Well, he reacts in a completely civilized way - cries from cold and hard, calms down from soft and warm.
So, we have dealt with the senses. Now a little about everything else, no less important.
Leather. It is well supplied with blood, the smallest vessels (capillaries) are wider than in adults (relatively, of course). Sweat glands are significantly underdeveloped. These two factors are associated with significant sensitivity to damaging factors, especially overheating. But there is also a noticeable plus - a very high regenerative capacity - everything heals very quickly, naturally if the damaging factor is eliminated.
Muscles. A specific feature is an increase in muscle tone, but the muscles themselves are underdeveloped, especially the muscles of the limbs. And the total muscle mass is noticeably different from that of an adult and is only 22-25% of the body weight, while for dad and mom it is at least 40%.
Respiratory system. Pulmonary respiration, as is known, is absent in the fetus in principle, the exchange of gases is carried out by means of the so-called. placental circulation. Immediately after birth, the baby takes the first breath, the upper respiratory tract and lungs are filled with air, - the baby begins to breathe like a human. Important feature of the newborn- the narrowness of the nasal passages, and the larynx, and the trachea, and the mucous membranes covering them from the inside are very delicate and are actively supplied with blood. The mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract can be easily damaged by picking the nose, it is easy to dry out. When the air is dry and dusty, protective mucus is produced in large quantities, and since all the passages are narrow, then problems often arise when mucus accumulates in the respiratory tract. Sneeze newborn maybe, but blowing your nose - no way. It is important to know this precisely because the baby, of course, can breathe humanly (that is, with a nose and without grunting), but only if loving relatives create human conditions for him - so that there is less dust, so as not to overdo it with heaters to ventilate the nursery in time.
Normal breathing rate for newborn baby fluctuates in the range of 40-60 respiratory movements per minute.
The cardiovascular system. Placental circulation stops immediately after birth. The work of the heart and blood vessels changes significantly. The lungs are filled with blood, some vessels and openings cease to function and close (through them, the fetus had blood flow bypassing the lungs). Heart newborn- one of the healthiest organs, it is very resistant to stress and lack of oxygen. The heart rate ranges from 110 to 140 beats per minute, and these fluctuations occur constantly - almost any external influence seriously changes the pulse rate.
Digestive system. A child is born with very well developed chewing muscles and a relatively large tongue. This makes prolonged and active sucking possible. But the salivary glands are still immature and there is little saliva itself. The digestive organs grow very quickly. So, on the first day of life, the stomach contains about 20 ml of milk, after a week already 50 ml, and by the end of the neonatal period more than 100. Since child's body is focused specifically on milk, then the enzymes of the stomach and intestines, in terms of qualitative and quantitative composition, are focused on the successful digestion of milk. In the first 10-20 hours of life, the intestinal tract is practically sterile, but it fills up with microbes very quickly. Bacteria multiplying in the intestine change the appearance of feces - at first it is brown, then greenish-yellow, after a few days - light yellow, mushy with a sour smell.
Allocation system. Already at birth there is a small amount of urine in the bladder. In the first 3 days of life, urination is relatively rare - 4-5 times a day - this is quite normal. But the number of small-time walks is rapidly increasing and in the second week of life it ranges from 15 to 25 times. The volume of the bladder in a newborn is from 50 to 80 ml, but the child does not know how to accumulate urine in such an amount - 10-15 ml is "gathered" and it is enough - it's time to change the diapers. As for the kidneys themselves, although they are able to quite successfully perform their functions, they are underdeveloped by the time of birth. In this regard, the characteristics of a newborn's urine (specific gravity, reaction, protein content) are different from those of an adult.
Nervous system newborn has a number of features, this is, perhaps, precisely the system of the body that undergoes the greatest changes precisely during the first months of life. Reflexes, excitability, and reactions to the environment are constantly changing. Muscle tone is more pronounced precisely in the muscles that flex the arms and legs. Some signs that are completely abnormal in adults are quite natural for newborn... So, for example, tremors of the limb muscles (the so-called tremor) are very undesirable for agitated grandmothers, but for a newborn, this is the norm. Tendon reflexes(those that a neuropathologist determines with a hammer) are not constant in a newborn, well, except that the knee is determined almost always and in everyone.
But there are also very special reflexes they are called that "physiological reflexes of newborns"... The mentioned reflexes caused by the immaturity of the brain, they are present in all healthy newborns, but as the brain "matures", they fade away and disappear by 4-5 months. Each parent can find these reflexes in his child and thereby be convinced of his (child's) normality. Examples:
Grasp reflex. If you bring an adult's finger to the inner side of the baby's palm, the child grabs it and holds firmly. So firmly that the child can be easily lifted up above the table surface.
Hug reflex. Occurs when the child is lying on the table, when there is a sudden loud sound, when the buttocks or thighs are tapped. The reflex consists of two phases. In the first, the child leans back, the shoulders are unbent, and the arms are spread apart. In the second phase of the reflex, the arms converge on the chest.
Crawl reflex. If the baby is laid on the tummy and the palms of an adult are placed on the feet, the child pushes off.
Stance reflexes and automatic walking. In an upright position (the child is held under the armpits), the child rests his legs against the changing table. And if you tilt it forward a little, movements resembling walking appear.
The listed reflexes the list is not limited, but the given list is quite sufficient for parental experiments.
This information allows us to form a very definite impression of the skills of a newborn baby. The kid, although it seems weak and helpless, actually knows a lot. The main skill is the ability to distinguish good from bad and inform relatives about it. Cry and call for help when hungry, when in discomfort, when something hurts, calm down and behave pretty well when everything suits you. He knows how to suck and swallow, knows how to relieve himself, distinguish day from night, silence from noise, tasty from bitter, soft from hard - not so little for a person whose age is determined by days.