Week 2 With Your Baby!
The first week with your baby can be crazy and you really did not know wether it was night or day with all the confusion and anxiety about doing things right, plus the visitors and the broken sleep. This week, things should settle down a bit and you will find a rhythm, although there is still plenty to learn, experience and curve balls that will get thrown your way.
Week 2 Of What To Expect From Your Baby
Baby’s eyesight is still not as good as yours and he cannot focus too well, especially when the object or person is over 25 cm away. However, he loves to stare at you and this is something that you should encourage by getting closer to him and staring right back at him because this way he will soon learn to recognize your features.
Be sure to spend enough time holding your baby close to your skin because your smell, warmth, and touch makes him feel secure and safe. This is one great side benefit of breastfeeding your baby. By the way, continue to breastfeed him whenever he is hungry. Your baby would have likely lost some weight during his first week of life and this is perfectly normal. It’s from now on he’ll start to gain weight again. He may be sleeping a lot, up to 18 hours a day, which is great for you because you need all the rest you can get.
Try this: use at least one of your baby’s sleeps per day to also sleep yourself. This way, you’re catching up slightly from the previous night and you’ve still got time to get other things done for the rest of the day.
Week 2 Of Being Prepared!
Getting out of the house when you feel able is great for you and baby. Perhaps you’ve already made a couple of outings?
If so, you would have found buckling baby in cumbersome when trying to hold the baby seat/capsule straps open while simultaneously trying to put baby in – especially while he’s sleeping! LulaClips Magnetic Car Seat Clips For Baby, Infant and Child Car Seats can solve this problem for you, by holding the straps in place. They are a simple and very affordable magnetised clip that will make your life so much easier.
Week 2 Of What To Expect From Yourself
The main thing to think about now is establishing breastfeeding correctly because this can be a challenging and sometimes downright frustrating experience for you if this is your first child.
During the first week or first few days after birth, your breasts produced colostrum but now they are producing milk, and as a result, your breasts are probably feeling engorged, sore and very heavy. Until you and baby acclimatize to breastfeeding, chances are that your nipples may be really painful at times too. Do not let any of this keep you from feeding the baby as and when he is hungry. Holding back breast milk will make your breasts feel even more heavy and tender, and perhaps even lead to mastitis.
Try this: nipple balm or purified lanolin suitable for breastfeeding mums can do wonders for sore and cracked nipples.
Breastfeeding struggles
Do seek help from your midwife or lactation consultant if you’re struggling with breastfeeding because there are many little adjustments you can try in order to make it easier. When done correctly, breastfeeding should not be painful. If it is, then baby’s latch needs to be looked at and corrected. Some babies have tongue or lip ties which makes it harder for them to get the correct latch technique but they will get the hang of it soon. A little help goes a long way, hang in there because it often becomes a breeze after 4 weeks. We’ve put together a short article that every new mom should read on how to breastfeed, which includes an easy step-by-step guide on what to check if you’re struggling.
A breath of fresh air
If you haven’t at all been out of the house since the baby arrived, do make it a point to go out and take a short stroll, depending on how your body is recovering from birth. It is a good change from the baby feeding, diaper changing, baby comforting routine and it will keep you from feeling like you are imprisoned in the house.
Just a short, leisurely stroll should do wonders for your mood, your overall mindset, and make you feel more cheerful, helping to keep away baby blues.
“ I wasn’t able to go for a walk as I was recovering from the birth still, however, we did leave the house to get newborn photos and that certainly lifted my mood. “ Anika
Let Us Know What You Think!