Article: Sister Daryl Jennings from Your Baby magazine
Image: Ablestock

Your baby needs to learn to trust that if he cries someone will be there for him. This is how he begins to feel secure and safe in his new world. You cannot spoil a newborn baby, as he is not neurologically mature enough to know what spoiling is. He just knows that something's wrong if he needs help. Always remember that he is not crying because he is angry with you, he is crying because something is not right, but this does not mean that you have done anything wrong.

My baby is constantly feeding. Is this normal or should I be feeding to a schedule?
Your baby had his food on tap in utero and this is what he needs now. It's best to feed on demand as he is not used to waiting for a feed. In the early days your baby will probably sleep a lot but when he wakes he will need to be fed. Babies have growth spurts when they get really hungry around two to three weeks, six weeks, three months, four months, six months and any time in between.

Here your baby just needs to be fed more often. This stage will pass and your baby will sleep again. Do not be tempted to give your baby a bottle formula if your are breastfeeding. Remember the more your baby suckles correctly, the more breastmilk you will produce.

Your new baby is 3 days old and his skin and eyes have gone very yellow. What does this mean?
This is jaundice and occurs around the third day of birth. It is not usually serious but you will definitely need to see a medical practitioner and have your baby checked. It is due to excess red blood cells being broken down in the liver. Bilirubin is a by-product of this process. The baby's live is immature and struggles to get rid of excess bilirubin, which collects in the skin and causes baby to turn yellow. A heel prick has to be carried out on the baby to check his bilirubin level.

If the bilirubin count is too high, phototherapy will be needed. This is temporary and usually lasts a day or two. You will still be able to pick him up and will need to feed him more often. There is another type of jaundice that is more serious. In this case the baby has a different rhesus factor blood group from the mother. This would probably occur in the first 24 hours and usually needs to be treated by a blood transfusion.

My newborn baby's stools are black. Is this normal and how often should he be passing stool?
Yes this is absolutely normal. In the early days your baby will be passing meconium, which is a sticky black substance that filled baby's bowel before birth. It is usually passed in the first 24 to 48 hours after birth. The stool then changes to a loose yellow, sometimes greenish colour if you're breastfeeding and the baby may have one at each feed or miss a few days.

At six weeks it's quite normal for the frequency of the stools to change to one stool in six days or six stools in one day with a breastfed baby. The stool will be more formed and smelly if you are formula feeding and may be green at times. You baby should pass urine frequently, with at least six wet nappies in 24 hours.

My Baby sleeps erratically. Should I try to establish a sleep routine right from the beginning?
Newborn babies have their own sleep patterns. Every child is an individual with his own little personality. A tiny baby may be quietly alert when he's awake or fretful. It's best not to expect any form of routine at this stage, as he should ideally be fed on demand, and there should be not set hours to his sleeping or feeding. You may find it easier to have your baby sleeping in bed with you in the early weeks, but do what works for you. Your newborn makes many noises while in his "light" sleep. Expect your baby to wake to feed during the night in these early months.

How should I care for my baby's cord and when should it fall off?
Ensure that the cord is kept dry, and clean it frequently with either surgical spirits or an antiseptic powder. Keep the nappy well below the cord area. The cord normally drops off around the seventh day but can take longer. If the area around the cord becomes inflamed or the cord becomes smelly, see a doctor.

My newborn baby's eyes are sticky. What causes this and what must I do?
A baby may be born with "crusting" of one or both eyes. This is usually a discharge caused by a blocked tear duct. Simply clean it frequently either with breastmilk or cool, boiled water. Always use a separate cotton wool swab for each eye so as not to spread any infection and clean from the inner corner out. The inner eye could also be gently massaged. Yellow or green discharge indicates an infection, so see your doctor. A blocked tear duct can take a long time to clear.

My baby's head is a funny shape. Should I be concerned and how do I deal with the soft spots?
Your baby's head may be an unusual shape after birth. The baby's head is made up of four main bone plates. This is to enable the head to mould to mother's birth canal during delivery. Sometimes there is a caput, which is simply bruising under the skin from the pressure of delivery. If the mother had a vacuum extraction there may be suction marks on the baby's head or marks from a forceps delivery. These are all perfectly normal and will be gone in a few weeks or even days.

The two soft spots on the baby's head are called fontanelles. The posterior one is either closed at birth or will close within a few days, while the front one is either closed at birth or will close within a few days, while the front one will take about 18 months to close. This allows the brain room to grow. The fontanelles are covered by a thick membrane, so don't be afraid of handling them.

The skin on my baby's face is spotty and red. What can I do about it?
Red, blotchy rashes are quite common, and usually not serious. Simply wash the face with plain water and apply aqueous cream if the skin is dry. Milia is a heat or sweat rash due to immature sweat glands causing a blockage of the sweat ducts and an accumulation of sweat under the skin.

The extent of the rash depends on the amount of blockage and it occurs most commonly in the nappy area, face scalp and neck. If the spots develop a yellow head with a red area around them, they have become infected and will need to be treated.

My baby appears to have a blocked nose. Is he getting a cold and what must I do?
Babies often have "snuffles" and sneeze often. This is good, as sneezing is their way of cleaning their noses, and does not mean he has a cold. Only if the blocked nose is interfering with a feed and the baby has to pull off the breast or let go of the bottle to take a breath, does he need to be treated.

Place one drop of breastmilk, if breastfeeding, or saline solution into each nostril before a feed. Take a piece of cotton wool and tickle the corner of your baby's nose and he will sneeze. If the mucus becomes green or the baby starts coughing, you need to see the doctor.

My baby's eyes appear squint. Is this a problem?
Babies are often born with a squint. It is usually just a lazy eye muscle, but if the squint persists to six months it needs to be attended to. Allow your baby to follow the movement of your face or objects from side to side to strengthen his eye muscles.

My baby often has hiccups. What causes them and what can I do to help him?
Most babies are born with hiccups, which are simply involuntary movements of the diaphragm. They worry mom much more than the baby! Just allow your baby to suck and they will go away.