Walking with your newborn is very important for your baby's well-being and sleep. Every woman, when she was pregnant, was happy to imagine how she would proudly roll the stroller along the paths in the park. When a baby is born, mom understands that for a walk you need to make some effort every time and keep track of the clock.
Woman with a stroller
Basic rules for walking with a newborn
The newborn first appears on the street on the day of discharge from the hospital. The second compulsory exit is planned for the child in the month when he is invited to the clinic. In the interval between these days, my mother thinks in confusion what the weather will be and how long she can walk with the baby before he is a month old.
You need to start walking with a minimum duration of 15-20 minutes, gradually increasing the number of exits and their duration. The difficulty of walking with a newborn is not so much how the baby perceives the street, but how difficult or easy it is for a mother to organize an exit. If a family lives in a five-story building without an elevator on the fourth floor, and dad is at work from early morning until evening, someone has to carry and carry the stroller up the stairs. It is good if the house has its own stroller where you can store children's transport. If there is no such room, a woman should commit a heroic act every day for the sake of a walk.
The balcony will be a real salvation. The child does not care whether they roll him along the paths, or the stroller stands still. If there is an open balcony, you need to walk on it. Up to 3 months, the baby can be safely left unattended, provided that the cradle is fastened.
In the sultry summer, the side on which it goes out can become an obstacle to walking on the balcony. If the balcony is facing the sun most of the time, due to which the stroller and the air overheat, the newborn will not be able to walk there. If the balcony is on the shady side, walks are beneficial.
Interesting! You can not be afraid to leave the newborn to sleep on the balcony in a stroller unattended, because he still does not know how to control his body, he cannot even roll over on his side. The fact that he needs an adult, he will report with a cry.
The beauty of walking on the balcony is that the mother can usefully spend the newborn's time outdoors. Pediatricians advise mom to spend every free minute on her own sleep, because it promotes lactation. Therefore, while the baby is walking on the balcony, the mother goes to bed quietly, not worrying that the child will need her help - in this case, the baby will make itself felt loudly enough.
Suitable weather conditions for walking
The ideal time of the year for walking with a newborn is sunny spring. At this time, the air is already warm, but at the same time it does not warm up to critical values. The sun is not at such an acute angle as in winter, so that its rays are able, acting on the skin, to stimulate the production of a sufficient amount of vitamin D, while not burning like in summer. There is much less rainfall in spring than in autumn, which allows you to walk with your baby without a rain cover for the stroller.
Taking into account the fact that children are born not only in spring, but all year round, for each season the parental question of what temperature can be used to walk with a newborn is relevant. There are restrictions on maximum and minimum temperatures, as well as additional parameters of the weather outside the window, in which a walk for the baby will bring maximum benefit:
- the ambient temperature ranges from +15 to +22 degrees;
- there is no strong wind;
- no precipitation in the form of rain;
- the sky is clear, not obstructing sunlight.
Under such conditions, it is allowed for an infant to stay outdoors for an unlimited amount of time, provided that he is wearing a sufficient amount of clothing.
In winter, you can also walk with a newborn, but only when the thermometer does not drop below -5˚C. At the same time, it is better to make the first exits into the air no earlier than the 10th day of the child's life and no longer than 10-15 minutes. Gradually, the body will get used to freezing temperatures, and after a couple of weeks it will be possible to walk with the baby not once, but twice a day, each lasting about 40 minutes.
Stroller with raincoat
There is no need to be afraid of autumn rains. Modern strollers are equipped with special transparent covers that let light in to the child, but do not allow moisture to enter. In such weather, it is more rational to walk the baby on the balcony. Only in its absence is it recommended to walk along the streets with a stroller.
Attention! It is very important in such weather not to forget about mother's health and dress her in warm clothes and waterproof shoes, because the slightest hypothermia of the chest can lead to mastitis.
Rules for walking with a newborn in different weather
The most important concern for women packing newborn babies for a walk is the amount of clothing required for specific weather conditions. Medicine does not have uniform recommendations on this matter, however, there are some tips to help moms figure out how to dress their baby:
- Whether the child is dressed warmly enough for a walk in a particular weather can only be determined by returning home. If, after a walk, the child's body is red and hot, it means that they overdid it with the number of layers, because of which the baby overheated. Next time, under the same weather conditions, you will need to wear 1-2 layers less, and again check the condition of the skin at home.
- Typically, pediatricians advise the child to wear the same amount of clothing as the accompanying adult puts on himself, plus one extra layer.
- If the air outside is warmed up to 18˚C and above, the child does not need a bonnet.
A newborn, with the correct organization of a walk, can feel comfortable in almost any weather conditions, so it is much easier to explain in what weather they do not walk with a baby than to list parameters suitable for walking. The unambiguous contraindications for walking with a newborn, like any other child, are:
- hurricane squall wind;
- shower;
- extreme frost (below -30˚C);
- heat (above + 35˚C).
Dads on a walk
Most often, it is not the weather that is unacceptable for walking, but parental laziness or mother's fatigue. The main thing you need to know is that walks should be enjoyable, and not become a punishment for a woman in the form of titanic labor with moving the stroller across the floors. When mom has difficulty going out on her own, there is no need to be nervous. Better to wait for dad to come home and send him out for an evening walk.
