- As I record this video,
we're expecting our third child to arrive any day now.
And as we've been preparing for their arrival,
it's got me thinking about how different it is
this time round compared to our first.
We're definitely much more relaxed and less anxious.
And a lot of that has to do with the fact that
there aren't anywhere near as many unknowns this time round.
We've been through the newborn phase twice already,
so the third time round doesn't seem
anywhere near as daunting.
Which got me thinking, what are the most important pieces
of advice I could share with new parents,
to help take away some of that uncertainty,
stress and anxiety out of the whole experience.
So, that's what I'm going to share with you in this video.
These are 14 of the most important pieces
of advice I would give to any new parent.
Starting with one topic that hits
a lot of new parents the hardest, sleep!
You may think your newborn is going to be calm,
peaceful and quiet when they're sleeping.
But in actual fact, they're going to be quite noisy
and look like this, most of the time.
You'll hear them grunting and making lots of noises
and also moving around quite a bit.
This is because newborns spend most of their time
in REM sleep and because they don't experience
sleep paralysis like we do as adults,
they grunt, cry out, move around,
smile and laugh, while they sleep.
Which means, your newborn is going to be
an extremely noisy sleeper.
This is important to know, because often,
new parents will rush in to pick their baby up,
as soon as they hear them making noises.
Not realizing that they're actually still asleep.
And this means, they unintentionally
awake the baby from their nap.
The key with the newborn is to pause and give them a minute,
when you hear them making noises,
to see if they're actually awake, before going in
and picking them up.
You'll find quite often, that they actually
settle again and continue their nap.
Continuing on the topic of sleep.
Using a swaddle is a great way to help your newborn
achieve good quality sleep, and this is because it
creates an environment like the mother's womb,
providing a sense of security and warmth.
Furthermore, a swaddle can also help to dampen
the startle reflex, which is a normal reflex
that is triggered when there is a sudden movement or noise.
And this startle reflex often results in waking a baby
prematurely from their sleep.
And most importantly, using a swaddle,
makes it easier to transfer a sleeping baby
from your arms into the cot.
So, if you don't have one already, you might want to purchase
a swaddle to give it a try with your little one,
especially, if you're struggling with their sleep.
Now, this next one might surprise you a little.
As a new mom, I would become very worried
when I couldn't get my daughter to burp,
because I'd heard that the trapped gas
would actually lead to stomach pains or wind,
and cause my daughter to become a fussy baby.
But, I soon realized that she was perfectly happy
whether I burped her or not.
There's actually been a study done
that indicates babies who are burped,
are no less fussy than those who aren't.
And in lots of cultures, burping is just not a thing.
So, if you're struggling to burp your little one,
or if you find you need to wake them
from a sleep to burp them after a feed,
see what happens if you don't,
if your little one is content and happy,
then try giving burping a miss.
But if you're a little one is fussy,
has reflux or is just more settled
when you do burp them, then burp away.
The main thing to take away here,
is that if you're spending a long time,
trying to burp your little one after every feed
and it's becoming a bit arduous,
don't just assume it's something you have to do.
You might just find that you don't need to burp them at all,
which is exactly what we found with our first two.
Something else that I think you'll find really helpful,
is that newborns use baby cues to communicate
with you from day one.
Instead of using words to communicate with you,
your newborn will use subtle facial and body cues.
There are actually specific facial
and body cues that newborns use,
to tell you that they are hungry, tired, wanting to play
or even needing a break.
By understanding what these subtle cues are,
you can quickly start to work out
what your newborn is trying to communicate
and meet their needs.
And this will make parenting a newborn,
significantly easier, as well as help
to strengthen the relationship between you and your baby.
While all babies are very different,
some of the most common cues to look for
are rubbing their eyes and starting to fuss or yawn
when they're tired, opening their mouth
and actually turning their head
and immediately starting to suck onto their hand
or searching for something to suck on when they're hungry
and when they're ready to play,
you'll notice that their body and arm movements
become smooth and their eyes become wide and bright.
And when they're overstimulated,
and trying to tell you that they need a break,
you might notice a reduction in the eye contact
and they may actually turn their head away
from you or they just turn their eyes away from you.
One thing that you'll realize early on,
is that you need to find ways
to calm your little one when they get upset.
And one of the most effective calming strategies
for newborns is sucking.
They have a really strong desire to suck
and whether it's a nipple bottle, their hands or a pacifier
it's going to be a really effective way to calm them down.
When a baby sucks, their brain releases the hormones,
dopamine, serotonin and endorphins,
and these help to soothe and calm a baby.
Now, newborns don't yet have the hand strength
or coordination to place their hands
in their mouth to suck them.
So for that reason, a pacifier can be
an extremely helpful alternative.
In addition to helping sue the fussy baby,
pacifiers can help relieve pain,
during minor medical procedures like blood tests
and vaccinations, as well as reduce the risk
of some infant death syndrome,
when they're offered to infants,
one month of age and older at the onset of sleep.
This next tip is around something every parent experiences
with their newborn, and it's a tough one.
It's called the witching hour,
or the period of purple crying.
And it's completely normal developmental phase,
all newborns experience.
It usually begins at around two weeks of age.
And you'll notice that your baby starts to become fussy
and harder to soothe in the afternoons or evenings.
Often, it hits just as you feel
like you're getting on top of the whole sleep situation.
So many parents start to worry that
there's something wrong with their little one,
but it is just part of their normal development.
When it's happening, it may look like your baby is in pain,
even though they are not.
And often the crying is unexpected
and you can't identify why they're unsettled or upset.
You'll notice that the length of time
your baby is unsettled each afternoon
or evening, will actually gradually increase
and peak at six to eight weeks of age.
And at its peak, it can last as long
as five hours or more a day.
It will then start to decrease until it eventually stops,
at around three to four months of age.
Although this phase is difficult,
it can be extremely helpful to know that it is
developmentally normal behavior, which will pass in time.
Something I talk about quite often on this channel,
is tummy time.
It's a really important activity that provides a wide range
of developmental benefits for your baby
and these include, helping to strengthen all the muscles
in their body, including the muscles
on the neck, back, arm, shoulder, bottom and legs.
And these are the muscles your baby is going to
use to roll over, sit up, crawl, stand, and then walk.
Tummy time also helps open your little ones hands
and encourage their thumbs to come outta their palm,
when they place weight through their hands
to lift their head.
And it provides an opportunity
for them to practice weight shifting and balancing,
which is a skill they need to master,
before they're able to roll, crawl,
move in and out of sitting, plus lots more.
It also provides an opportunity for them to
develop their visual skills, including depth perception.
But, what a lot of new parents don't realize
is that you can actually start doing
tummy time with your baby from day one,
as long as your baby was born full term
with no medical complications.
And when you do start tummy time with a newborn,
it's important to know that you don't
have to do it directly on the ground.
Often, that's simply too hard for a newborn.
One easy way to reduce the difficulty
for your little one, is to do it with them on your chest.
Simply laying them on your chest and reclining back,
so that you are sitting on an angle and not lying flat
on the floor, is a great tummy time activity
and a nice bonding experience for you too.
The more upright you are, the easier it is
for your baby, and you can gradually recline more and more
over time, as they get stronger and develop this skill.
But the main thing here, is that you start early.
It's much harder to start tummy time,
if you wait to start it.
And starting early also helps to reduce the risk of
positional conditions like, torticollis and plagiocephaly.
If tummy time is something you struggle with.
You might also want to take a look at my course:
Play, Develop, Thrive, as tummy time is a huge topic
and I cover it in lots more detail in that course,
including how to do it if your baby hates it.
And I also cover everything else relating
to your little one's development
for their first 12 months of life, in that course as well.
There's a link to that in the description,
if you'd like more details.
This next one is a safety tip that surprises
a lot of parents, and that is that babies should never
be left to sleep in a car seat or a capsule.
Car seats and capsules are not designed
for safe sleeping for long periods of time.
Although, it may be tempting to leave a newborn to sleep
in the car seat after a journey has finished.
It's important to take that baby out of the car seat
or the capsule, once you arrive at your destination.
And that's because research has shown that babies left
in an upright or slanted position, unsupervised or
for a long period of time, may be placed
at increased risk of sudden infant death.
And there's a few reasons for this.
When sitting in a car seat or a capsule,
a baby's neck may actually fall forward,
putting them in a chin to chest position,
which may block the baby's airway
and lead to positional asphyxiation.
And the extra putting in the car seats,
which is required to ensure your little one's safety
in the case of a car accident,
can increase your baby's overall body temperature
and result in overheating.
And overheating is a known risk factor for SUDI.
It is due to these risk factors,
that the American Academy of Pediatrics
and Red Nose Australia, recommend taking the baby
outta the car seat when the journey is finished.
And if you are taking a long car trip,
you take frequent breaks where you take the child
out of the car seat at regular intervals.
Now, at some point, your baby is going to develop a fever
and you might be tempted to assume
that this is just because they are teething.
But, did you know that teething
doesn't actually cause fevers?
Studies have shown that teething can cause a slight increase
in body temperature, but it does not cause a true fever,
which is when your baby's body temperature is
over a 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius.
The reason this is is worth mentioning is
because it's quite common for illnesses
and infections to go untreated for a period of time,
due to the assumption that it's just teething.
So if your little one has a fever,
don't just assume it's teething.
Make sure you go and seek appropriate medical care
for your little one, just to be on the safe side.
It may also surprise you to hear that
your newborn doesn't need to be bathed every single day.
In fact, bathing them every single day can actually
cause more harm than good.
And this is because your baby's skin is still developing
in the first few months of their life
and their skin is much thinner, more fragile
and more sensitive than yours.
And frequent bathing can actually result
in your baby's skin drying out.
So, to avoid worsening skin conditions
and drying out your baby's skin, it's recommended
that you bath your baby two to three times a week.
And this is only after your newborn's umbilical cord stump
has actually fallen off, which may take a week or two.
And while that umbilical cord stump is still attached,
it's recommended that yous sponge your baby as required.
As new parents, we often strive to create
the perfect nursery for our newborn.
And when I was shopping for sleeping products
for my first child, I was overwhelmed
by the amount of products out there.
You have gorgeous comforters, stuffed toys, fluffy blankets,
crib bumpers, newborn positioning, pillows, quilt sets
and much more.
But what I quickly realized is that
all these sleeping products, although stunning,
were just unnecessary and pose significant safety risks.
In fact, to reduce the risks of SIDS
and accidental suffocation,
the American Academy of Pediatrics
and Red Nose Australia, recommend a baby sleeps
on a separate sleep surface,
with a firm flat mattress covered by a fitted sheet.
That is it. They don't need all those other items
in their crib or bassinet.
While we are talking about baby products,
another thing parents are often surprised
about, is that baby bouncers, rockers, swings
and gliders, should only ever be used
for supervised playtime.
So, although baby bouncers, rockers,
swings and gliders are great tools
for soothing a baby or keeping them entertained,
while giving you a few moments with your hands free,
they should never ever be used for infant sleep.
And this is because when a baby falls asleep,
while lying in these products,
their head can fall forward pushing their chin
down towards their chest, which can lead
to the baby's airways becoming blocked
and reducing their airflow and causing suffocation.
And it is due to this risk that Red Nose Australia
and the American Academy of Pediatrics,
recommend only using baby bouncers,
rockers, swings, and gliders for supervised playtime.
The next thing that all new parents should know,
is that when you are baby wearing
it's vital that you follow the T.I.C.K.S rule.
Although baby wearing has many benefits,
it can actually be dangerous for your baby
if they're positioned incorrectly.
And when you follow the T.I.C.K.S rule,
it actually helps to reduce the risk
of accidental suffocation, by reminding you
on how you actually position your baby safely
when they're in a baby carrier or a sling.
So the T in T.I.C.K.S stands for, Tight.
And that means that the sling itself should be tight,
so that the baby is positioned high
and upright and they're given head support.
So you wanna avoid any loose fabric,
which can cause your baby to slump down
and restrict their breathing.
The I stands for, In view at all times.
So, you should be able to see your baby's face,
by simply looking down.
And your baby's face and nose and mouth
should remain uncovered.
The C stands for, Close enough to kiss.
So your baby should be close enough to your chin
that you can actually easily kiss their forehead.
And the K stands for, Keeping the chin off the chest.
So you always want to ensure that your baby's chin
is up and away from their body.
Your baby should never be curled,
so that their chin is forced into their chest,
because this can actually restrict their breathing.
And the S stands for, Supported back.
Your baby's back should be supported in a neutral position
with their tummy and chest against you.
And the last thing you need to know,
is that not all baby equipment on the market
is developmentally beneficial for your baby.
And in fact, they can pose safety risks.
As a new mom, I assume that all baby products were safe
for babies to use and developmentally beneficial.
But I soon discovered that this is not necessarily the case.
And a lot of baby products may hinder development
and pose serious safety risks for babies.
So, make sure you watch this video next to find out,
which four extremely popular and common baby products
are unsafe for babies to use.
So you can make an informed decision about
whether or not you wanna buy them for your little one.
And before you go, if you've like this video,
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