Cincinnati Family Magazine

Your # 1 Hometown Family Resource

March 28, 2024

Newborns: Handle With Care

 

Lots to know with your sweet lil’ bundle. Here are 5 fast tips going forward!

1.  You may think he’s smiling at 3 weeks of age, but those rewards won’t actually happen until about the 6-week mark say pediatricians. A baby’s lips may curl upward momentarily … but up until 6 weeks, it’s probably due to something else … like his digestive track playing tricks on him.

2.  Easy does it with the bathing. Sponge baths are fine until Baby’s umbilical cord falls off (usually withing 2 weeks). Hey, Baby’s not getting dirty, anyway!

3.  You CAN touch the fontanel … or, soft spot. Ever so carefully, says Tanya Altmann, M.D., author of Mommy Calls.

4.   Dry skin is normal for newborns, says Dr. Laura Jana in Heading Home with Your Newborn, and it doesn’t bother the baby. But if you’d like to apply a moisturizer to Baby’s skin, make it a hypoallergenic one that’s also fragrance-free.

5.  Newborns are cat nappers, says Tanya Altmann, M.D. Since Baby needs to eat every two to three hours, he’ll be up and down day and night for a while. Once he’s regained the weight he lost at birth, let him sleep as much as he likes during the night.

 

About the Author

Susan Day

Susan Day is the editor in chief of Cincinnati Family Magazine and a mother of four.