Newborns! Adorable squished up little things that don't come with an
instruction manual. So here are my top newborn tips and hacks I have learned
along the way. Crying is your baby's way of
communicating. If your baby cries they could be hot or cold, have a wet or dirty
nappy, need winding or most likely be hungry. Newborns feed every two to three
hours but it could be more if there's a growth spurt and there are growth spurts at
three weeks, six weeks, three months and six months so when in doubt just get it out.
One breastfeeding hack to remember which side you last fed on is to put a clip on
your bra strap or a bracelet which you swap from wrist to wrist or even an
elastic band. There are loads of fancy apps out there for breastfeeding but I
find that these simple ways are the most effective. If you are breastfeeding make
sure that you eat well and if you keep up your fluids. It can be hard to know if
your baby is getting enough but as long as they're putting on weight from three
weeks and having about 5 to 6 wet or dirty nappies a day you're doing great.
newborn babies can only focus on objects that are up to 15 inches away which is
conveniently where your face is to the breast when you're feeding your baby so
talk to them, look at them and relax. By doing these things it can even help your
milk flow. Winding is as important as feeding, If you don't get the wind up it
can go down to their tummies and need to come out the other way which can be
really painful. To wind your baby a gentle pat on the back can work, a circular motion,
leaning them forward or straightening their back out. Or one way that I found
really effective is getting your partner to do it. Men are a bit heavy-handed; they
don't smell all yummy like milk and they're really good at getting the
wind up. If the wind does go down to their tummy and they're in pain you can help
them by pulling their knees up or doing a cycling motion with their legs. Another
great thing to do is the Sun and Moon massage. I will do a link in the
description box below so that you can learn it properly. Your baby's first
ever peers will be black, thick, sticky meconium poo
and then, after a couple of days, it will go from a green and then finally to a
bright yellow Dijon mustard poo. Doctors and midwives will recommend that you use
cotton wool and water to change your baby's nappies in the first few weeks. I
loved using these pure water wipes. When your baby's umbilical cord is still on
it's important that you keep it outside of the nappy so it can dry up and fall
off. You can either fold the nappy down or do two little cuts and fold it down
that way. If you have a baby boy you may have noticed that as soon as you go to
change the nappy and the air hits their private parts they have a wee. The
one thing that I did do is either wait for them to have that or wipe a baby
wipe across their tummy and that can also make them go. That way it's not
hitting the ceiling, or you. With my newborn I got in the habit of just
checking or changing their nappy every time that I fed them. Baby's skin can be
sensitive and this will help avoid nappy rash. An easier way to check if your
baby's nappy is wet is to just look at the yellow stripe on the outside of the
nappy. If it is turned blue then it is wet. Nappies can leak from time to time
so make sure that you pull out the frilly bit around your baby's leg to
make sure that you keep it all in. If your baby does have an explosive poo and
it gets onto their vest don't worry. Baby vests are designed to come down over
their shoulders as well as up. There's a really wide neck so just pull it down
and then you don't have to pull the mess over your baby's face. A great hack is to
make up a little changing basket that you can take with you around the house
wherever you are, so just get a basket. add some nappies, wipes, barrier cream, a
change of clothes and a mat and you're good to go. To help settle your baby, hold
their head and bum and rock and sway. This will make them feel secure and like
they are back in the womb and this is something that you will probably do
instinctively. Some babies also like to be swaddled to mimic the feeling of
being in the womb so just get a big muslin or a swaddle blanket and wrap
them up like a little fajita. A little sleeping hack that I have learned is to
layer your baby's bedding like this: mattress protector, sheet, mattress
protector, sheet, and then pram sheets are great for catching spit-up. This will
save you loads of time in changing your sheets, especially if there are accidents
in the middle of the night. Babies also get colder than you think so one hack
that I did was to download a little chart on Pinterest of what layers a baby
should wear in what temperature. You could even print this out and put it on
your nursery wall. The best temperature for your baby's bath is 37 and the best
temperature for your baby's room is 19. Don't be afraid to ask visitors or guests to
wash or use hand sanitizer before holding your baby. One great hack that I
did was to make my eldest son who's nearly six the hygiene police and he
took great pleasure in telling our guests that they needed to wash their hands
if they want to hold the baby. Baby wearing! If you have older children this
is a must. This is such a good way to get stuff done while also keeping your
newborn happy. They can hear your heart and they are nice and warm so you can
make dinner and they can have a sleep. A great hack for going out is to make
yourself a little clothing bundle that you can throw in your baby bag should
there be any accidents when you're out. Just lay out a baby grow and then a vest
on top of it and place two socks in the middle of it with the openings facing
out. Roll up the whole bundle and fold the
socks down and you have a full change of clothes ready to go. You could even put
this into a Ziploc bag so that you have somewhere to put wet or
messy clothes when you're out. Babies can also have quite dry skin; you probably
would too if you had been in water for nine months! So you can use sunflower oil
or olive oil on their skin to help moisturize it. Newborns can also have
long fingernails, especially if they're born past their due date. It's better to
nibble or bite their little nails off rather than cut them because cutting them can make
them quite sharp. You can also buy great baby grows that have scratch mitts
built-in so that they can't get them off. Before you have your baby it is worth
stocking up on a few bits like saline drops, a nose sucker and baby
paracetamol like Calpol. Illnesses can strike in the middle of the night. A
fever or blocked nose can really upset them or affect their feeding so it's
great to have these things in stock. Always go with your instinct. If you
think something's wrong with your baby it probably is, so call your doctor. There
is a lot to be said for mother's instinct. There's no doubt about it,
having a newborn is exhausting and babies don't typically smile till
they're 6 weeks old so it can be really tough having a boss that gives you no
reward. But just try to remember this newborn phase is over so fast, so just
hold them, kiss them, smell them, take too many photos and enjoy it before they are
running around. Thank you so much for watching. Please comment below if you
have any other newborn hacks because my baby is only 3 weeks old and I could do
with all the help I can get. And don't forget to subscribe for more
hacks videos and I will see you soon. Will you say bye bye? I think he's having
a poop!