In the first month after birth, the child undergoes adaptation to a new life outside the mother's body. This is an important time for both the baby and his parents. Let's look at the main features of the first month of a baby's life.
Physiological changes
Read about what a newborn looks like in another article. In the body of the crumbs, significant changes occur in the first weeks of life:
- Postpartum edema goes away.
- The bones of the skull become stronger.
- Certain features appear on the face.
- Vision changes. Improves eye coordination and gaze focus.
- The digestive tract adapts to the new diet and is populated with beneficial microflora.
- Hemopoiesis and blood circulation are rebuilt. Red blood cells carrying fruit hemoglobin are destroyed, and new red blood cells appear in their place.
Urination in a child of the first month of life is quite frequent and occurs at least 6 times a day. In this case, the urine secreted by the crumbs is almost transparent. A baby at the age of 1 month empties the intestines up to 12 times a day (usually immediately after feedings). His stools are yellow in color and have a mushy consistency.
Height and weight
The indicators of the weight and height of a newborn baby are influenced by various factors, ranging from heredity to the health of the baby. To determine if everything is in order with the baby, parents and doctors monthly weigh the baby and measure its body length.
In addition to the baby's body weight and length, the baby's head circumference and the baby's chest circumference are also taken into account.
The indicators of newborn babies are as follows:
You can use the calculator to calculate the norms for your child. The calculator is based on the standards for height and weight from the World Health Organization (WHO).
How much weight does a baby gain in the first month?
In the first month, the baby gains an average of 600 grams of weight. Note that normally in the maternity hospital, the baby loses up to 10% of the weight with which it was born, but even before discharge it begins to gain weight back and after that only weight gains are considered the norm. The growth of the baby in the first month increases by about 3 centimeters.
The indicators of babies at 1 month look like this:
Reflexes
The health of a newborn baby is always checked by the presence of reflexes that an infant should have. Many of these reflexes disappear over time, but their presence in the newborn is an important sign of the infant's health.
The following reflexes are determined in a newly born baby:
- Sucking. This is the main reflex that provides nutrition for the infant.
- Prehensile. By touching the baby's palm with your finger or a toy, you will see how the baby reflexively grabs it.
- Search. When stroking or touching the cheek, the child turns his head.
- Swimming. Putting the baby on the tummy, you will see that the child makes movements similar to swimming.
- Babinsky. If you run your finger along the crumbs' foot (along its outer edge), the foot turns, and the fingers diverge on it.
- Walk. By supporting the baby's body so that its legs touch a solid surface, you will notice how the baby will begin to perform movements similar to walking.
- Mora. In case of a sudden loud sound, the baby will bend and spread the legs and arms.
- Babkina. Press the baby on your palm and see how the baby opens his mouth and turns his head.
Mode
As such, a child does not have a regime in the first month of life - the baby sleeps for several hours, then stays awake for up to 30-60 minutes, eats and falls asleep again. A certain daily routine, individual for each baby, is formed only in the second month of life, and during the newborn period, the child does not care whether it is night or day.
About what you need to do in the first weeks after the birth of the baby, see the TV show "Baby Boom".
Sleep
The newborn is in a dream most of the day, while the baby's sleep is represented by three phases:
- Deep sleep, during which the baby breathes calmly and deeply, and the baby's eyes are closed.
- Shallow sleep, during which the baby's breathing is inconsistent, and the legs and arms may twitch, as well as the eyeballs covered by eyelids.
- Drowsiness, which often occurs during feedings or while falling asleep. The eyes of the crumbs are half-closed during this phase.
During the waking period, the baby can either lie calmly or report its discomfort by crying.
Nutrition
The food considered ideal for a newborn baby is colostrum. This is the name of the milk that is released from the female breast immediately after childbirth and is extremely rich in substances useful for the baby. Breast milk is rightfully called the best nutrition for a newborn baby, because even the best formula manufacturers cannot reproduce its unique composition.
It is advised to feed a newborn baby on demand, applying the baby to the breast when the baby is anxious. At first there will be a lot of feedings, but as the child grows, his own diet is formed with pauses between feedings.
In situations where breastfeeding is impossible, it is important to choose the right mixture for the baby. To do this, you should consult a pediatrician and take into account all the nuances so that nutrition does not harm the still immature digestive system of the newborn.
When breastfeeding, it is important to ensure that the baby is properly gripping the nipple - along with the areola. However, the baby will still swallow some of the air, so after feeding, you need to help the baby to release the air (burp).
Development
A newborn baby knows very little so far. During the waking period, the baby randomly moves his arms and legs, and to any stimulus, be it a wet diaper or a feeling of hunger, the baby reacts by crying. When a child hears a harsh sound, he freezes, blinks frequently and may burst into tears.
By the end of the first month of life, the baby is able to:
- Smile in response to an adult's speech.
- Raise your head when lying on your stomach, holding it for up to five seconds.
- Watch out for stationary objects and the face of the mother, as well as for moving large objects of bright color.
- Walk. The sounds made by the baby are similar to "gy", "ga", "gu", therefore such a "conversation" of the baby is also called agukany.
About what happens to the baby in the first month of his life, see the video of Larisa Sviridova.
What does a child need?
- First of all, after birth, the baby needs tactile contact with the mother, so the baby needs to be hugged, held, and stroked more often.
- Smile at the baby more often, then the baby will sooner delight you with a conscious smile.
- In order for the child to develop better, during periods of wakefulness, talk with the baby and often change the position of the baby - lay it on the tummy, turn it on the side, carry it upright, supporting the head.
- For better development of hearing, you can not only talk with the baby with different intonation and timbre, but also turn on the crumbs of classical music. Have the child listen to it for about ten minutes daily.
- Proper care of the baby is also important, which includes daily hygiene (washing, washing, cleaning the eyes, nose, ears, combing, cutting nails), bathing, walking, massage, air baths.
Possible problems
During the neonatal period, the following problems may arise:
- Colic. They appear in most babies as a consequence of insufficient intestinal maturity. You can help your baby with a light massage of the abdomen, body contact, a gas tube, or drugs that help get rid of gas.
- Poor healing of the umbilical wound. For it to go well, the navel of the newborn needs to be treated with brilliant green daily. In cases of discharge from the wound or redness of the navel, the child should be shown to the doctor. You also need a pediatrician consultation if the baby is already 2 weeks old, and the crust has not disappeared and the wound has not healed.
- Jaundice. This is a physiological condition common to most babies. It is associated with the process of replacing hemoglobin, which was in the baby's blood during intrauterine life, with ordinary hemoglobin. It usually goes away in the first 2 weeks of a baby's life.
- Restless sleep. Although a baby sleeps a lot in the first month of life, due to the peculiarities of his brain, the baby's sleep is easily disturbed. So it is worth taking care of the optimal sleeping conditions for your baby - let the baby sleep in a quiet and warm room with dim lights.
For information on what to do with a newborn baby, see the program "School of Doctor Komarovsky".
