Newborn Care 101: 3 Basics for New Parents

Having your first baby can be extremely exciting and completely terrifying all at once. While you work to prepare for labor and delivery, it’s what comes after that can be even more overwhelming to think about – actually taking care of a newborn! While there are many aspects to caring for your new baby that you will learn over time, it can be extremely helpful to already know some of the tried and true basics under your belt to be as prepared as possible. Let’s explore Newborn Care 101 and all the basics for new parents! ⤵️

Be Prepared to Be Your Best Self as a Parent

Understanding newborn care is as much a gift for you as it is for a newborn. A confident and empowered parent is truly one of the best gifts you can give your baby. Why?

Babies can actually sense anxiety in their primary caregivers and can even be affected by their stress. You may have heard something like “Your baby can sense your fear” and scientifically, this is pretty accurate. By preparing yourself with the basics ahead of time, you can alleviate at least some of the stress of caring for a newborn and help make your first few months together as smooth as possible.

So, what are the basics of newborn care?

Newborn Care 101

The Basics of Newborn Care

Let us preface our basics of newborn care list with the understanding that there are tons of areas of care, however, this will not be an exhaustive list. The goal of this list is to help provide guidance around some of the more misunderstood elements of newborn care and to inspire you to explore additional education around newborn care.

Let’s dive in!

Basic #1: How to Hold Your Newborn

One of the scarier things for a lot of new parents is how to actually hold their baby – especially if they haven’t been around babies a lot previously. 

You might be worried you’ll do it wrong or hurt your baby, or even “break” them (we get it – you’re not alone 🙂) but fear not, we’ve got some tips for you!

• Always support their head, neck, and spine regardless of the position you’re holding them in. This is a pretty basic one but it’s fairly intuitive too. Just remember that while your baby cannot hold their head up yet and needs support, they are also resilient so you don’t have to get this perfectly right every time.
• “Scoop” your baby up. You’ll want to support the baby’s head and one of the easiest ways to do this is by putting one hand under the head with the other hand supporting the spine.

Basic #2: How to Bathe Your Newborn

While that first bath is absolutely adorable, you may also find yourself scared about the right and safest way to go about it. Let’s break down the when and how:

• You’ll likely want to give your baby their first bath within about a week of delivery.
• Try their first bath in the evening when they are winding down for the day and will be more likely to relax and not be alert and potentially upset by it if baths are not their favorite.
• Be careful with the temperature of the water and be sure to run it completely, check that it is warm but not hot, before placing your baby in.
• Also, pay attention to the temperature of the room and make sure it’s warm enough so that they don’t become cold since they won’t be completely immersed.
• Have your baby’s bathing supplies ready to go as well as a towel.
• To make it easier you can choose to have their first bath in the sink or you can place a baby bath in your normal tub.
• Don’t overthink it! Keep your baby as warm and comfy as possible, use soap sparingly as their young skin can be dry, and enjoy the sweet moment together!

Basic #3: How to Put Your Newborn to Sleep

While there are so many elements to sleep for newborns – including getting them to actually do it – what we’re talking about here is more around the idea of how to safely start the sleep process. Here are a few tips to put your mind at ease about laying your baby down for a nap or the night.

• Always make sure there are no loose bedding, blankets, or stuffed animals in their crib, bassinet, or sleeping area.
• Lie your baby down on his/her back.
• Invest in a quality monitor system to be able to easily see or hear if your baby has any problems.
• Don’t be alarmed if your baby makes funny noises from time to time. It’s rarely a cause for serious issues but can be a little freaky for new parents. Babies are still learning how to navigate the world outside of the womb, especially during sleep, so while you should always trust your intuition, it is likely very normal. 

How Newborn Care Education Classes Can Help

These are just 3 simple basics to inspire your newborn care education journey. While these are all important concepts to understand, they are just the beginning of getting to know how to care for your new baby. Newborn care education classes can be hugely beneficial in helping you not only understand newborn care but truly thrive in the 4th trimester as your family grows. 

Newborn care education classes provide many benefits including a dedicated newborn care expert that can help lead you through this new journey of parenthood. A newborn care expert can provide instruction with whatever you need. You’ll be able to ask questions and learn the tips and tricks to newborn success with hands-on guidance.

If you’re interested in exploring newborn care education classes, you can find more information about our offerings right here.