Mommy & Baby: More Parenting Tidbits

 by: Kirsten Hawkins

Diapers: as a rule, most PDF babies will need a diaper change that corresponds with their feeding times. This will total 6-8 diapers per day, or more if you manage to change your baby prior to her pooping. Most new parents learn to “time” the diaper change to correspond with the after-meal expulsion of solid waste, but if you miss it, you’ll have a few more diapers to go through in the course of the day.

Diaper rash: some babies have sensitive skin and will get a rash due to food allergies, teething, yeast infections, or sitting too long in a messy diaper. If this occurs, talk to your pediatrician about an over-the-counter remedy or a prescription product for a more serious situation.

Growth spurts: the first of these confusing times may come as early as 10 days after birth. They are typically preceded by a sleepy day and a voracious appetite (either nursing or bottle-feeding). They may show up again at 3, 6, and 12 weeks and again at 4 and 6 months. If you notice that your baby is no longer satisfied after feedings like she has been, you might be approaching a growth spurt. If you are nursing, add a feeding or two to your routine to accommodate your baby’s needs and to increase your milk supply.

Immunizations: you will not hear me ever say that an immunization is a bad thing; there are simply too many deadly diseases which can be prevented by immunizing your baby. Talk to your pediatrician about the timing of different injections and any concerns you might have, but understand that part of the reason we have such healthy babies these days and an incredibly low rate of infant mortality is because we’ve largely wiped out infantile diseases through immunizations.

Pacifiers & thumb sucking: breastfeeding moms should not permit themselves to be used as pacifiers. Sometimes a baby will have a need to suck beyond what is normal for feeding; in these cases, an actual pacifier is very useful. There is no such thing as “nipple confusion,” as your breast and your baby’s pacifier feel and taste nothing alike. Babies are very smart little creatures and are able to discern between the two easily. Some children will not take a pacifier but will take their thumb—if you don’t have a problem with that, go ahead and permit it.

Spitting up: nearly all babies spit up from time to time; some will do this more than others. If your baby is healthy and growing and gaining weight, don’t worry about it. Projectile throwing-up is not the same as spitting up—this is powerfully rejecting the entire contents of the stomach, not just ‘urping’ up a little milk. If your baby does this frequently, see your pediatrician.