Jaundice is a common illness that affects newborns especially in the first few days of a baby’s life. The obvious symptoms or signs of jaundice are the yellow color of the baby’s skin, eyes and mouth. The whites of the baby’s eyes and the skin inside his mouth will also appear yellow.

The seriousness will vary in every baby. Your doctor may do a blood test to check how severe the jaundice is in your baby.

What causes jaundice?

The human body makes bilirubin when the old red blood cells are broken down. This is processed by the liver but in babies, the blood cells have a shorter life. Hence, more bilirubin goes through the baby’s liver. If the baby’s liver is not mature enough to handle the bilirubin, it causes jaundice.

How long does it last?

The jaundice will slowly disappear as the baby’s liver matures. It may take longer for the signs to disappear in breastfed babies compared to bottle-fed babies.

The treatment

The treatment will depend on the severity of the jaundice. If the bilirubin level is not too high, there is no treatment necessary. The normal treatment for serious cases is by using phototherapy which uses a special light to break down the bilirubin in the baby’s skin.

photo credit: treehouse1977

Your baby will experience some side effects like loose stools, a raised body temperature or even dehydration. In a most severe case, the baby may need a blood exchange transfusion where new blood is transfused to replace the old blood which is removed.

You have just gone through the ups and downs of pregnancy and now you finally get to hold your baby face to face. Hence, the first few weeks may need some getting used to as you now have an additional person to take care off. Below are some of the things you may expect to encounter during the first 6 weeks with your baby.

1st week

You may still feel sore and tired and still recovering from the effects of labor. All attention is normally on the baby as everyone tries to settle down into a new routine. Do not be surprise to see that your baby is losing weight during the first week. This is normal.

2nd week

Some mothers are still feeling tired and more attention is needed to take care of their health. Good nutrition and enough sleep and rest is important but may be difficult to acquire. If you get any assistance from family members, it would be very helpful to you. Hiring a nanny or a companion is not uncommon nowadays especially for the first few weeks to assist in taking care of the newborn. Your baby will be sleeping a lot around this time, 15 – 16 hours a day.

photo credit: iandeth

3rd week

You will know your baby’s routine by now and you have learned to do your own things when the baby is sleeping. Your baby will want to feed often and will also be more alert. Some babies may also start to display signs of having colic around this time. He may be crying for more than 3 hours a day, for more than 3 days a week.

4th week

This week, you may feel like going out with your baby as you should be feeling strong and fully recovered. You and your baby will have settled down to a daily routine and you may notice your baby’s sleeping pattern as well. Prepare a carryall bag to keep all the necessary baby stuffs you think that is needed for an outing. Going out will become faster and easier as you just need to grab the bag each time.

photo credit: Bjørn Giesenbauer

5th week

Generally, you should be feeling happy and energetic. However, if you find that you are feeling down, tearful, unable to sleep and worry a lot, you may have Post Natal Depression (PND). Talk to your doctor about your symptoms for advice. Your baby will be making a lot of eye contact and loves to hear your voice. Learn to differentiate your baby’s cries on whether he is hungry, tired or in pain.

6th week

By this time, you should be feeling in control of your life once more. You may want to give more attention to the other areas of your life, for example your relationship with your partner. Your baby will love playing and interacting with you. Most babies will also start to sleep for 5 to 6 hours at night.

Personally, the first four weeks were normally tough for me. Feeling tired and sleepy are common and all activities centered around the baby. On top of that, the baby has not learned to sleep through the night yet and hence, sleep was only 2 – 3 hours at a stretch each night.

photo credit: bellafer*

Newborns are very fragile and many new parents have doubts on their ability to bath their newborns. To do it right, read the guidelines below to ensure a safe and pleasant bath for your baby.

#1: Choosing the right bath
Parents will have their preferences on the type of baby bath to use. For all my children, I use the same baby bath placed on a waist high table. This way, I do not need to squat down and all the things I wanted were easily placed within reach on the same table.

#2: Ensure the room is warm and comfortable
Close the windows if necessary to ensure your baby is not exposed to the cold air.

#3: Prepare all the necessary bathing items beforehand
Get the things ready within reach before you start bathing the baby like towels, cotton wool balls, baby soap and shampoo, nappy cream and clean nappy and clothes. Prepare the bath and make sure the water is warm and not hot. The water should be no higher than 12 cm and should just reach the babies shoulder in the bath while being supported by you.

#4: Always support the neck and bottom
One hand shall be supporting the baby’s head and neck and the other supporting the bottom. Once you have placed the baby in the bath, one hand should continue to support his head, neck and shoulder. The free hand shall be used to wash him.

#5: Washing the right way
The correct way is to go from top to bottom and from front to back. You can use cotton wool or a small towel to clean his face and head.

#6: Drying off
Have a towel ready nearby to wrap your baby and to dry him off. Ensure that the creases and folds of your baby’s skin are patted dry.

After several rounds of the above, you will find that bathing your baby gets easier each time. For the first week or two, it is fine to just ‘top and tail’ your baby, i.e. cleaning the face, head and bottom part only. Choose the correct time to have the bath when the baby is not tired, hungry or right after a big feed. Never leave your baby alone and unattended in the bath due to the high risk of drowning.

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

Do you know that a toddler can have recollection of her earlier childhood? This means that a newborn already starts to collect memories from her experiences.

There are 5 different types of memory as shown below:

1. Visual
She can remember sights like objects and faces.

2. Hearing
She can remember sounds like her name or a musical tune.

3. Olfactory
She can remember smells and tastes like different kinds of milk or food that she takes.

4. Kinesthetic
She can remember movements like pressing a button can produce lights or sounds.

5. Semantic
She can remember words like a word referring to an object or a name referring to a person.

She will learn faster when more types of memory are involved. For example, when you want to teach her a song, sing it to her (hearing and semantic memory), show her pictures (visual memory) and make movements or dance to the song (kinesthetic memory).

The following are the different stages that your child will go through in her memory development:

Age: 1 Year
Your child is able to understand simple instructions. For example, “Please, sit down”, “Pick up your toy, please” and “Pass me the spoon, please”.

Age: 2 Years
Your child can remember simple words associated with a picture. For example, a simple picture book of objects like a house, car, pencil, flowers, etc.

Age: 3 Years
Your child is able to learn simple children’s songs.

Age: 4 Years
Your child is ready to learn some of the alphabets, colors, basic shapes and the numbers 0 to 10.

Age: 5 Years
Your child can remember events like what happen in school that day, what she learned or what games she played with her friends.

It is amazing sometimes to see your child grow and learn so fast. If you want your child to have special memories, create them for her. For example, you can start a family tradition or custom of going for picnics every month. When she is grown-up, she will cherish these childhood memories.

What special memories do you want your child to have?