Things You Shouldn’t Worry About Right After Birth

You just had a baby – yay! You made it through pregnancy, labour, and delivery! 

Now that you’ve returned home, you are ready to begin your journey to motherhood with your precious little one in tow. However, after the first couple of days, the inevitable happens. 

You suddenly find yourself worrying over anything and EVERYTHING! Maybe you read something online, or perhaps someone told you something, or worse, you notice your baby behaving in a rather peculiar way. But, be that as it may, let’s be honest, who could blame you? 

Understandably, every mother would only want the best for her baby, and worrying, as a matter of fact, is simply a part of being a conscientious mother. 

That said, excessively worrying all the time may lead to severe health issues. So, we created a resource to help new mothers put some of the most common “first-time mommy worries” to rest once and for all. 

My baby is crying too much!

All newborns cry. In fact, they cry more during the first three months of their lives than at any other time. So, it is perfectly normal if your newborn cries for about two to three hours a day.

Still, it is tough to see your little one cry. It is important, however, for new mothers to remember that crying does not actually hurt their babies, and it most definitely, is not an indication of poor parenting skills. In reality, babies cry when they’re trying to tell you something. 

Here are some of the reasons why your baby may be crying. 

• Hungry
• Bored/Sleepy
• Bloated
• Dirty diaper
• Overstimulated
• Colic

With a little sleuthing and the timely, appropriate care or response, your baby will stop crying. You can also try some of these more general tips to soothe your crying baby.  

1. Swaddle your baby in a nice, warm blanket. 
2. Turn on a calming sound, such as music or a white noise device. 
3. Walk, rock, or gently swing your baby. 
4. Let your baby suck on something, like a pacifier.

Remember, mommies, remaining calm will make it a whole lot easier to console and tend to your baby – all the more reasons not to worry! 

When to Seek Help?

Consult a paediatrician if your baby cries at the slightest touch or movement, appears to be inconsolable, or if the crying persists for far too long. 

My baby is sneezing a lot!

Even the tiniest sound, sniffle, or sneeze can get you all worked up, even more so if you notice your baby sneezing quite often. Should you be worried? Of course, no. In fact, you might be reassured to know that sneezing implies that your baby’s nervous system (the system that controls and communicates information throughout the body) is working effectively.

Still, why do they sneeze so much? Here’s why.  

• They are nose-breathers

Newborns breathe through their noses almost exclusively until they are around three to four months old. As a result, they need to clear their noses by sneezing every so often.

• To expel mucus

Newborns cannot snort, sniff, or blow their noses like adults. Therefore, when they have nasal congestion due to mucus, their only option to clear their nasal passages is to sneeze.

• Due to irritants in the air

Irritants in the air like dust particles, smoke, strong cologne or perfumes, etc., can tickle your baby’s nasal passage making him or her sneeze.

• Due to dryness in the air

Dry air as a result of cold weather or the overuse of indoor air conditioning may rapidly dry out your baby’s nasal passage, which induces sneezing.

• Due to a tiny nose

Babies have tiny noses, and tiny noses mean tiny nasal passages. Sneezing is the only way to clear up these tiny, easily clogged passages.

See, mommies? There are lots of reasons why your baby may be sneezing often. So, keep these in mind the next time you see your baby sneezing. 

When to Seek Help?

Get your baby checked out by a paediatrician right away if you notice any of the following symptoms accompanying your baby’s frequent sneezing: fever, runny nose, cough, breathing difficulties, low appetite, or excessive tiredness. 

My baby is not getting enough breast milk!

It’s common for new mothers to feel worried about breastfeeding.

First, there’s the difficult task of manoeuvring your way through all the breastfeeding hearsays. Then there’s the question of whether breastfeeding is going to work for you and your baby. What follows is the resounding, most common concern of them all: “Is my baby getting enough?” 

Fret not, mommies. Even though you can’t tell how much milk your baby is truly drinking, you can, in fact, tell if your baby is getting enough. Here are 7 signs your baby is getting enough breast milk. 

1. You can see and hear your baby swallowing. 
2. Your baby’s cheeks remain rounded rather than hollow during sucking. 
3. Your baby seems calm during feeds. 
4. Your baby pulls away from your breast on his or her own at the end of feeds.
5. Your baby’s mouth appears moist after feeds. 
6. Your baby appears happy and satisfied after feeds. 
7. Your nipple looks pretty much the same after feeds.  

Source: National Health Service (NHS), 2018

As long as you’re breastfeeding often and your baby is showing signs of getting enough breast milk, you’re doing just fine, mommies.

Aside from that, most new mothers also worry about their milk supply. While this is a common fear, in actuality, most new mothers are able to build and maintain a healthy supply of breast milk for their babies. So, there’s a good chance that you can too. 

However, if you’d still like a little boost, we hear that a good old confinement diet may help a great deal! Our confinement food package is packed with lactogenic ingredients that can ramp up your milk supply. We have a variety of flavourful options for you to choose from. How about a nice, hot bowl of confinement herbal soup? Click the “Menu” button on top to find the confinement food package that suits your best!

Breastfeeding Tip: MumChecked offers some of the best breastfeeding items designed to make the process of breastfeeding easier, especially for new mothers. Make sure to go check them out, mommies!

When to Seek Help?

Consult your baby’s paediatrician if your baby is exhibiting any of these signs: appears tired or lethargic, takes too little or too much time at the breast, gaining weight slower than expected, or isn’t pooping as frequently as expected. 

Takeaway

It is hard trying to figure out when your baby is acting normal and when something is wrong, especially when you’re a new mom, so it’s understandable to constantly worry about everything. But, you shouldn’t let your concerns, or at the very least, these common concerns get to you too much as there are always ways around your reasonable concerns. So, mommies, don’t sweat it!