Dos and Don'ts of Baby Health Care

For any couple, attaining parenthood comes with a multitude of responsibilities for their child. Even when they feel themselves prepared for the arrival of their baby, the factors affecting their life in mysterious ways can't always be anticipated. The prime concern of every parent is to ensure the well being of a child and to ensure whether they are giving their baby the best care.

Most parents know the basics of keeping children healthy, but it is only through experience that you can completely understand how your expected roles change from an unsure parent to a confident one. So, these simple baby care tips would ensure you be a wonderful parent-

Tracking Feed & Poop Timings:

The early months after giving birth are the most challenging for every mom from breastfeeding to cleaning poop several times a day. For either a breastfed or a bottle-fed baby, track how long the baby nurses and approximately what quantity. The feeding routine of babies is directly co-related to their peeing or pooping timings. My mom advised me to even notice the colour and texture of poop that gives you insights of baby's stomach condition most of the times.

Dealing with Crying Baby: 

Understanding the cries of my baby and soothing him was the toughest challenge for me. Many a times, changing the wet diaper, swinging or swaddling eased down the discomfort of my baby. Then I started using reflexology by lightly pressurizing/massaging under his feet for relieving him from pains in different parts of body and I realized he very well responded to my touch.

Sterilizing Tip:
To save your child from the bout of sickness, always use BPA (a synthetic compound) free feeding bottles. Do not compromise in sterilization of entire feeding gear including bottles, pacifiers, rings, caps etc to keep them germ free. You may either use electric steam bottle sterilizers or simply microwave the bottles half filled with water for two minutes without cap. The hot temperature thoroughly sanitizes the bottles and saves you from old-fashioned way of boiling the bottles in pan over gas stove. I recommend keeping the pacifiers clean on-the-go by storing them in soufflé cups.

Avoiding frequent startling:When the baby has no sense of day and night, his body fails to respond to long stretches of night for long sleep and this is why babies tend to wake up many a times during night. A strange yet practical trick is to create white-noise (like sound a fan makes) in the room that imitates the sound which baby would hear in your womb. It magically lengthens the sleeping time and avoids startling reaction due to sound.

Follow Immunization Schedule:
As soon as a baby is born, he may come into contact with different bacteria and viruses every day, and obviously parents want their baby's immune system to cope well. Vaccination plays a vital role in regular screenings for potentially fatal diseases. Though we may not like seeing our baby being given an injection, however, regular vaccination may sometimes cause the difference between life and death.

Surviving outings with baby:
Taking your baby for an outing, even to the neighbourhood park for a short time, demands packing a number of items in his diaper bag including wipes, bibs, hand sanitizer, pacifier and of course an extra pair of clothing. I used to put a crib sheet on the top of my baby's pram so that the pesky mosquitoes don't try feast on his blood and cause rashes even worse spread diseases to my baby. Also since recently, there have been cases of dangerous mosquitoes spreading diseases such as dengue, encephalitis, malaria and chikungunya I have been over cautious and considered using a proper personal mosquito repellent. That is when I started searching for a fabric based application and I found out about Good knight Fabric Roll-On. I simply rub the Good Knight Fabric Roll On on my baby's pram before stepping out and my baby remains safe from mosquitoes for up to 8 hours, for my older son I apply 4-dots of this innovative product on his T-shirt and shorts before he goes to school of goes out to play. This product is absolutely affordable (just for Rs 75 and you can buy here).

Embrace the 'skin to skin' time:
Staying sane in the midst of hectic schedule for constant care of your baby is not easy. But when you are rewarded with a new life, the emotional bond between the mother and baby gets stronger as time rolls around. Enjoy co-sleeping with your baby cherishing the moments of cuddles and snuggles. Remember, it not only promotes healthy weight gain and accelerated development of the baby; but also reduces mommy's stress. So, don't hesitate soaking up all the happiness you can with your bundle of joy and you'll rock during this new journey of parenthood in your life.

Happy Parenting!