Baby Care Skills Every New Parent Should Learn

Baby Care Skills
(Last Updated On: October 18, 2022)

Are you new parents worried about how to take care of your newborn? If yes, in this post, you can find a list of baby care skills that can be beneficial for new parents. A newborn brings joy and also brings an equal amount of responsibility to the parents. When taking care of a baby, new parents usually go on a bumpy ride, which involves issues like lack of sleep, soothing a crying baby, feeding, changing diapers, bathing the baby and so on. If you are a new parent, you should be ready for drastic changes in your lifestyle. Remember that the first giggle of your little one makes the struggles you go through worth it.

10 Baby Care Skills

The tips in this post are for informational purposes only. These are not from a paediatrician or other health experts. If you have any problem, you must consult your health expert and follow his advice.

10 Baby Care Skills
10 Baby Care Skills

Baby Care Skills #1 Getting the baby to sleep

Inside the womb, it’s always dark and cosy, and the baby is used to that setting. After coming into the outer world, the baby has to adjust to changes in light. You can try to keep the room lit up during the day and dim the lights at night. This will help your baby understand the difference between daytime and night. Your ‘almost sleeping’ baby might look irresistibly cute to you and you’ll certainly get the urge to kiss those chubby little cheeks. Remember, that wouldn’t be a good idea because when you kiss the baby may take it as a cue that you want to play with him/her or the feeding time. So your baby might wake up. Be patient, it’ll take some time for the baby to get used to the ways of the new world.

Baby care skills - baby sleeping
Baby wrapped in a blue blanket sleeping. Image by Misael Diaz from Pixabay

Baby Care Skills #2 Getting yourself to sleep

Many new mothers face the problem of not getting enough sleep. When they are on the verge of falling asleep at night, their newborn would start crying. So, for the first few days, they don’t get much sleep, that’s for sure and that makes them feel tired. The solution is pretty simple. The mother should try to sleep when the baby sleeps. This may not be possible for every mother because of their work. But synching your sleep cycle with your baby’s sleep will help you get enough rest and keep you fresh and full of energy when you’re awake.

Baby Care Skills #3 Wrapping your baby up

Many new parents find it difficult in wrapping their babies properly. There is a sort of simple method to wrapping a baby so that your baby is as safe and comfortable as can be. First, lay a light blanket down in a diamond shape and fold the top corner about a quarter of the way down. Place the baby face-up on the blanket so that their shoulders are just below that fold. Then grab the right corner of the blanket, pull it across the baby’s body, and tuck it under the left side. Leave the little one’s left arm out. (And, of course, you can do it from the other side, from left to right.) Pull the bottom corner up and tuck it into the fold you just created over your baby’s right shoulder. Finally, grab the remaining open corner (the left one if you went from right to left), bring it across your baby, and tuck it under. Now you have your perfectly wrapped baby burrito. Swaddling is actually really important because it makes the baby feel safe and secure. That way, they’ll feel more relaxed and will fall asleep quicker. And you know what that means: you can get some shut-eye too.

Baby Care Skills #4 Holding your baby properly

Most new parents and many other people who wish to hold a newborn baby do not know to hold a baby properly. When they hold a baby, they do not support the neck of the baby. When lifting and holding a baby, it is very important and you must make sure that the neck is supported by one hand. You can do that by either cradling the baby in your arms or keeping one of your hands under their head. Remember, a newborn’s neck muscles are too weak to hold the head up, so you have to help them out with that.

Read How To Hold A Newborn Baby – 5 Easy Baby Holds For New Parents 

Baby Care Skills #5 Keeping an eye on the umbilical cord

The clamped umbilical cord (or stump) should always be clean and dry. Doctors suggest the baby should only be given sponge baths until the cord shrivels up and falls off, which might take two weeks or so. After the umbilical cord has fallen off on its own, you can bathe the baby in a bathtub. If you see any signs of infection or foul smell, always consult your doctor.

Baby Care Skills #6 Taking a slippery baby out of the tub

As you know a baby’s skin is super soft, and it can get really slippery after a bath. Hence, you should be extra careful while removing the baby from the bathtub. A safe way to do it is by grasping the baby under their arms using both your hands (while supporting their neck and head). Many doctors recommend bathing a baby only a few times a week. But as you know in India most parents and grandparents give oil massages and bathe their babies regularly. That is a playtime and bonding time for them. When bathing your newborn baby, wash its face, neck, ears, and hair before you put it in the tub. This keeps any germs from the diaper area from gaining access to openings where they don’t belong.

Read How To Bathe A Newborn Baby?

Baby Care Skills #7 Changing diapers

For many new parents, changing the diapers of their babies is a complicated job. But it’s not a complicated thing to remove the soiled diaper and put a fresh clean one in its place. There are some important things to remember. Always wash your hands before and afterwards to prevent bacteria on your hands from getting on the baby. Always wipe front to back which is helpful to prevent infection. Before putting on the fresh diaper, make sure your baby’s skin is clean and dry to avoid diaper rash. Having some rash ointment is a must anyway. Many people apply Johnson’s Baby Powder. You should also be careful with the umbilical cord stump when changing diapers. Make sure the diaper doesn’t go up past the umbilical cord if it hasn’t fallen off yet. Simply fold the diaper down from the top to keep the umbilical stump open.

Baby Care Skills #8 Feeding

As you know breastfeeding is the best food for your baby. As far as positioning goes, moms can choose whichever way is more comfortable and safe for them and the baby. Also, if you have a sleepy newborn that tends to get tired and doze off while sucking, you can tickle their feet as they’re feeding. This will ensure they don’t fall asleep on an empty stomach. You may like to read The Benefits of Breastfeeding For The Mother and Baby

Read Pregnancy And Breastfeeding Guidelines – COVID-19

Baby Care Skills #9 Baby massages

For a newborn, massage is important because it makes their bones and muscles stronger. It’s an amazing way to bond with your little one. All you have to do is lay your baby on a towel that’s placed on a comfortable surface like a bed. Always massage using a good baby massage oil. Start with the legs, followed by the arms, then the chest, and finally the baby’s back. In India, pure coconut oil and mustard oil is widely used for massaging a baby. Many parents are also using Johnson’s baby massage oil, Olive oil etc.

Baby Care Skills #10 Bonding with the baby

Bonding is very important to establish a strong connection between the baby and its parents. As soon as the baby is born, bonding should start. In the beginning, it is gentle skin-to-skin touch. Another important thing is to look into the baby’s eyes and talk to them and it does help build that connection. Since a baby’s eyesight isn’t that good, you have to get real close to them while interacting. Be sure to sneak in lots of kisses while you’re face-to-face and after bathing.

Final Thoughts

Hope that the above information is helpful for you to learn the basic baby care skills to take care of your baby. In the present world, most new parents are staying far from their homes and are busy with their work. They find it really difficult to take care of their babies.

Recommended for further reading

Did I leave anything out when it comes to caring for a newborn? Let me know in the comments! 

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