AT HOME WITH A NEWBORN

In the days of our grandmothers, questions relating to newborn difficulties were answered immediately, as there was always a grandmother or a great-grandmother nearby. Today, however, new parents have to tackle the problems on their own during the initial, uncertain times. We usually get frightened if our baby cries a lot, and a myriad of questions arise in us.

·        Is it a problem if s/he hiccups a lot? Babies can hiccup even inside the womb, and in a newborn it is usually triggered by eating too greedily. We can safely continue feeding, the hiccups will go away on their own, as it is the involuntary twitching of the diaphragm. Dripping lemon juice is not a cure for hiccups.

·        Did s/he eat enough? Normally a baby will cry every 3 hours to indicate that the tummy is empty. This is different though if you are dealing with a low birth weight or premature baby.

During breastfeeding, the contracting and relaxing capability of the muscles involved in sucking and swallowing have to be balanced. Furthermore, a normal tone is required in the neck and trunk muscles responsible for head posture. The balance can be upset due to either increased or weakened muscle tone, so the baby is not able to consume enough breast milk to last for approximately 3 hours.  

In a healthy newborn the 3-hourly and approximately half-an-hour long breastfeeding schedule will gradually work itself out during the first month. If this is not the case with your baby, then practice the facial exercises from the FittBaby program, because massaging the facial muscles can alleviate the problem of these muscles! If you are nursing almost all day, visit a Dévény therapy specialist! 

·        When does his/her belly hurt? When the baby pulls his/her legs in painfully, his/her tummy is tense, hard. This usually occurs within the first three months, especially in the afternoon and early evening. Of course, the development of the digestive system can cause unpleasant minutes, but you also need to know that with healthy, symmetrical muscles and normal muscle tone the baby is able to work these out of his/her system.

Use the FittBaby exercises for the 1st and 2nd months to move the baby’s legs and tummy. Lay him/her face down on your forearm, or rock him/her gently on your thigh, making it easier for food and unwanted air to pass through the digestive system.

I have to mention that in the past the changing of a newborn’s clothes (e.g. a shirt with ties on the back, a coprifasce) and changing the traditional textile diaper required that the baby be turned on to the tummy several times a day from birth. This not only helped the development of the balance system but also inspired his/her muscular system. Today we can still stimulate our baby’s muscular system, because the FittBaby program explains every exercise step-by-step in a clear, understandable way.