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Wow, you have reached this far. I would assume you have read the first part of our parenting tips. We have discussed how to properly hold, feed, and put diaper on your baby. Hoping you’ve learned something useful from the previous post, here are more tips that you might want to consider:

Now, it’s time to bathe your baby. For starters, you may think that there are a lot of steps to take before you can even start bathing your baby. That is correct, with his fragile body, you have to take extra precautions when bathing him. Remember, even if the umbilical cord or the circumcision isn’t healed yet, regular bathing is a must. You have to keep him away from sickness by keeping him clean.

Preparation before bathing:

You need to gather all the necessary things you need in this procedure. Keep it within your reach. At the same time, your work space should be free from clutter. It should be clean and the floor should be dry. You wouldn’t want to fall while carrying your precious gem, right? Close the door or windows.

Fill the tub or basin with water around two-inch deep. The water temperature must be around 90-100 degrees. Test the water first by touching it through your wrist or elbow.

When bathing, it’s advisable to sponge bathe him. Let the child sit in the tub with the prescribed depth and temperature. Gently squeeze the water from the sponge to clean his body parts, focusing on the folds and creases of his body, such as neck, elbow, fingers, knees, and toes. Use a hypo-allergenic soap or a very mild shampoo to clean his hair, too. Although there are a lot of soap and “no tear” shampoos, you should still be careful when you wash his face and hair because this can distract him and you might lose your balance once he becomes hysteric. Then, wash his behind last.

As soon as you’re done, cover his body with a clean cloth or towel. Pat him dry. Rubbing his sensitive skin is not very friendly. Some doctors say that you should clean his navel with cotton swab. Others say that you can just pour a small amount of alcohol and just let it dry.

Bonding

This is one parenting obligation that every mom and dad should master. Remember, as early as infant stage your baby can already recognize the people around him, most especially when parents always spend time with him. Through this, you are making your baby feel that he is secured and loved. Don’t ever miss a day without cradling and stroking your baby. Babies are sensitive to sound; they react to it right away. So, go ahead and sing a lullaby to him. Always call his name. He will surely recognize your voice if you often speak to him.

Another technique that you should consider is swaddling. This limits baby’s tendency to awaken himself because of reflex motion. Swaddling is when you wrap your baby’s body with a wide cloth, limiting his body movements. By doing this, your baby will feel a sense of security and comfort.

While it is true that you should give utmost attention and care to your baby, it is also important that you take care of yourself, most especially your health, too. Get enough rest and quality sleep, so that you can give quality parenting to your infant. So, it is important that you should also have someone that can assist you in doing this life long obligation. Fathers or partners should really take the lead here as well. Always remember, if your child sees both of his parents during his formative years, these years will be filled with good memories worth remembering.

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Motherhood is a much-awaited stage for most women’s lives. Priorities change, letting go of some things that were a big deal in the past – fashion, shopping, partying, and friends. For some entering motherhood would mean entering the world of selflessness.

Have any idea why selflessness is an issue?

The primary reason is they are caught unprepared; worse, this bundle of joy isn’t welcomed at all (sad truth). As a result, we hear a lot of cases wherein mothers, most especially first-time moms, experience postpartum depression.

What do we mean when we say postpartum depression?

This is otherwise called as postnatal depression. This is caused by too much stress along with the hormonal changes that mothers experience. The most common reason is the lack of sleep and lack of emotional support from the husband or the partner.

Imagine a first-time mom obliged to shoulder all responsibilities in caring for the baby. We can really say that mothers, and becoming a first-time mom is really challenging and their heroic act of putting their lives on a critical situation just to welcome us in this world is truly an act of selflessness.

Having said this, to all mothers and fathers to be, it is a must for all of you to learn these important tips before that big day comes. Some may say, “I don’t want to be a mother,” “I don’t want to be a father.” The question is, don’t you have sisters, cousins, friends who might become mothers someday? Your little knowledge on parenting tips can become a life-saving knowledge for a first-time mom.

This is going to be a series of tips for first-time moms. Here are the first three tips I am going share with you all.

1. Holding Your Baby

Sounds simple right? Yes, it can be if this is your third or fourth child, but this is the most challenging skill to learn for first-time moms and dads. By merely looking at the very fragile body and soft skin of this little angel, you will surely feel scared and might even tremble while holding him.
The baby’s head and neck are the most delicate parts. We must ensure that when carrying, we should support his head and neck. Second, when trying to wake him up, we should never shake him. The best way to wake him up is by gently tickling the baby’s feet.

2. Diapering Your Baby

Diapering can be mastered through continuous practice. Well, you will get enough practice because this is something that you should do on a daily basis. In fact, your baby will most likely dirty his diapers around 10 times a day. Just make sure to clean his genital area everytime they poop. By the way, before you even start cleaning him, make sure you have everything you need ready in front of you- clean diaper, wash cloth or diaper wipes, lukewarm water and a petroleum jelly to be applied after cleaning his behind. Petroleum jelly will avoid him from getting rashes. In case rash occurs, don’t panic; there are a lot of over-the counter ointments that you can buy.

It is also advisable to set a specific time of the day wherein you let him move around without a diaper so that the skin will dry; thus, healing of rashes is faster.

3. Feeding Your Baby

Babies communicate their hunger through crying, making sucking noises, or sometimes they suck their fingers. If you are breast-feeding, you should breastfeed him 10-15 minutes each breast. If you are feeding him by bottle, the formula must be 2-3 ounces in every 2-3 hours.

Have you ever needed to burp but just couldn’t, uncomfortable isn’t it. Well babies don’t like that feeling either.

Inevitably, in the process of feeding him, they swallow air that can cause stomach upset. Of course, we don’t want to hear him crying in pain, right? Before this even happens, it is important that after every feeding, we should let the baby burp.

To burp your little bundle of joy do the following. Hold him/her upright and let their head rest on your shoulder. As mentioned on our #1 tip, proper holding is important when doing this.

Again, make sure his neck and head is support by your hand and slowly pat his back as well. Another way is by letting your baby rest on your lap in a sitting position. Second is to let him sit on your lap. Supporting his head and chin, cradle his chin using the palm of one of your hands and of which, the heel should rest on your baby’s chest. The other hand must gently pat his back.

Continue on to Parenting Tips for the first time mom Part II