Being a parent is one of the most challenging tasks you’ll ever have, particularly the starting few months with your child. Parenting is a process in which you make mistakes and eventually master the art. However, even being aware of some typical mistakes can make the entire process easier and less stressful.
To sum it up for you, we’ve brought about common mistakes that you should avoid as a new parent.
Worrying About Anything and Everything
Many new parents have overstated physical reactions to vomiting, spitting up, and other things that a baby usually does in the first few months. There’s no need to panic about everything. All this is normal.
Your baby senses your anxiety and becomes cranky and anxious as well. Instead of worrying about minor details, you might lose an entire year of your child’s life, which is the most memorable time of your life, in stress and unwanted tension.
Are they crying too much or too little? Do they have too few or too many bowel movements? Are they spitting up excessively? Are they getting enough food or not enough? Do any of these things ring a bell? If yes, you need to stop doing this right away.
Not Letting Your Baby Cry
As parents, you’d always want your child to smile and sleep peacefully. You don’t want your baby to cry as you believe it to be an indicator of something that’s not right with them. This is not the case. Babies are born with the ability to cry. They will be well-fed, perfectly diapered, and still howl as if you’re yanking their arm. That’s because babies communicate in this manner.
That doesn’t mean you don’t have to cradle or console them. You can, but there’s no need to make it an issue that your child is always crying.
Crying is a normal part of being a baby. However, if your child is crying for long and has a swollen abdomen, rash, fever, or anything unusual, contacting your pediatrician is the best thing to do.
Waking Up Your Baby to Feed Them
A well-fed baby should and can sleep the entire night peacefully. There’s a common misconception that a mother’s milk is not thick enough and that the baby has to be fed in between the night.
As a result, many mothers tend to wake their babies up in the middle of the night to breastfeed them. This is not true at all, and you don’t have to wake your child up from sleep to feed them. If they’re hungry, they’ll wake up themselves. Till then, enjoy being a mom and have a good night’s sleep.
Ignoring Your Baby Warm Body Temperature
In the first three months of a baby’s life, any temperature over 100.4 rectally is an emergency. However, a fever that occurs within 24 hours of an infant’s first dose of vaccines is an exception.
Parents often ignore the fever, thinking they just feel warm and nothing else. This is a parenting blunder. The immune system of a newborn baby is not equipped to deal with an illness on its own. They have a very weak immune system that even the slightest change will have to be taken care of externally.
Take your child’s temperature if they feel feverish. Contact your pediatrician right away if your child’s temperature rises above 100.4.
If you are a new parent, reach out to A thru Z Pediatrics for a one-stop solution for your child’s needs. We have it all from vaccination, sports physical, to emergency treatment for newborns.
We have a team of expert pediatrician in San Antonio TX, Schertz, and Stone Oak to ensure your newborn stays fit and healthy.
Contact us for more details.