Baby After Birth (Part I) | The First Month

Hi Darlings,  hope you had a wonderful Easter!  We were very low key this year. I took Marli to the zoo on Saturday and spent the day at my mom’s yesterday :)  Sometimes doing nothing is the best kind of day…

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Body After Baby and things to expect after giving birth.  But what about Baby After Baby?  If you’re a first time mommy, you’re not sure what to expect when you bring baby home. Let me tell you now that the book I recommended in my previous post HERE and the internet were my saving grace.  There was SO much more to taking care of a baby than I had expected…things my mom never told me.

Let’s talk babies after birth, with Marli in particular since I can only speak from my own personal experiences. Since there are a number of things to discuss, I will break it down into 2 segments.  So, let’s dive into Part I:

(1) JAUNDICE: If baby gets this, DON’T FREAK OUT!  It’s fairly common in newborns.  Jaundice is yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes caused by excess bilirubin in the blood.  Asian and Native American babies tend to have higher risks of getting this, but this is a condition that cannot be predicted ahead of time.  Luckily, Marli did not have this, but we still monitored her skin after we brought her home.  It usually starts appearing after 1-2 day of birth.  If this happens while you are still the hospital, the docs/nurses will monitor it and sometimes place the baby under a special light called phototherapy to help. When you go for your 1 week checkup, the doctor will examine for this as well.  THIS is a great read for more info on it, symptoms, treatment, etc.

(2) MECONIUM:  Oh, the dreaded meconium.  When Marli was in the hospital, I thought this yucky stuff had already passed through her system so I wouldn’t have to worry about it. WRONG! When we got home, she pooped and to my surprise, I was mortified when I saw this tarry black stuff in her diaper. And that wasn’t even the worst part – I could not for the life of me get it off her bottom.  It was LITERALLY stuck on there…wipe after wipe, it would not come off. So, word to the wise new mommies – I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you slather a little bit of baby oil on baby’s bottom for the first couple days until the meconium is gone so it doesn’t stick to his/her bottom.  After that, poops should be yellowy and seedy looking. 🙂

(3) DIAPER RASH:  You will be changing baby’s diaper often and with each change will be wiping…lots of wiping…and that in turn causes irritation.  So, BE GENTLE, use a diaper paste (not baby powder), or do what what I did – buy a little quirt bottle and wash the area with water/soap every other change so you know it’s really clean and it doesn’t hurt baby’s skin.  For the paste, I have used Boudreaux’s Butt Paste or Desitin. Both are great, although the Desitin one kinda smells like fish…or is it just me?!?! 

(4)  FIRST BATH: It will be terrifying and you will probably spend 30+ minutes trying to do it.  THIS is a great guide for baby’s first bath.  For me, I prepped all my things in one spot, made the sure room and tub were warm, and most importantly, I ALWAYS had one hand on baby so she knew I was there.  I did not leave her diaper on like the guide said, but I think my touch was comforting for Marli and she loved it.  MAKE SURE TO CLEAN BABY’S ROLLS!!!!  All the creases and crevices (neck, elbows, back of knees, thighs, and hands since babies tend to clinch their fists) can easily build up with dirt, lint, hair, etc and this can lead to skin irritations and infections so make sure to clean these areas thoroughly.

(5) PEELING/SHEDDING: Call it what you want, but it is not the cutest thing.  Think about it – baby has been surrounded by water for 10 months and now that he/she’s out in the world, his/her skin will start drying up and peeling.  It’s natural. Just continue to moisturize and the old skin will slowly make way for new skin.

(6) UMBILICAL CORD:  The stump will take anywhere from 7-21 days to fall off.  In the mean time, keep the area dry and clean.  I made sure the diaper and clothes were loose in the area to prevent rubbing.  I dabbed a cotton swab with alcohol and cleaned the area 2-3 times a day.  It should fall off on it’s own.  The worst part is when it’s dangling by a thread. Haha  Still, after it fell off, I still applied alcohol for the next few days just to make sure the area wouldn’t get infected.  HERE are signs of an infection.

Stay tuned for Part II later this week!