General Baby Health
I don’t know about you, but I learned as it came when I had my first baby. In fact, I’m still learning as it comes and my baby is almost five!
There are many things we are confronted with in the first weeks with a newborn. Despite the research we do ahead of time and how prepared we think we are, there are always some things we just don’t know. Here are a couple of the “I should know about this but don’t” questions I had during those first weeks.
These Questions & Answers can be found in with many others in the chapter General Baby Health from my book Babies 0-6 months.
There are soft spots on my newborn’s head. Is this normal?
These soft spots are called Fontanelles. The bones in a newborn’s head are like a puzzle. 50% of the head’s growth occurs in the first year. Having areas that haven’t joined yet allows for this growth and that of the baby’s brain. The soft spots have generally closed by the 2nd birthday. There are two soft spots, one in the front and one in the back. The back one closes around six to eight weeks, the front one closer to two years. You can touch these spots when i.e. bathing but don’t put too much pressure on them. It should also look flat and not sunken in or bulging. Sunken in can mean dehydration especially if also vomiting, diarrhea etc. are occurring. A bulging soft spot can be a sign of meningitis.
My baby has dandruff on his head. How do I get rid of it?
This kind of scaling like thing on the scalp is called Cradle Cap. It generally goes away on its own but if it really bothers you, you can rub oil on the scalp and gently rub or comb it off. You usually have to do this more than once.
How do I clean my baby’s ears?
Don’t clean the inside of your baby’s ears. You could puncture her eardrum and it’s not necessary. The wax inside is there to protect. If there is an over-build up then your pediatrician will remove the excess. It is important however to clean behind the ears and the outer part of the ears. You can do this with wet warm cloths.
Lianne is a Canadian mother of four, entrepreneur and author of Lianne’s Quick Guide – for the busy woman. Her first title is called Babies 0-6 months and can be purchased directly from her website: www.liannesquickguide.com. She lives & works just outside of Amsterdam and can usually be found biking around on her bicycle built for six.
You can follow her on facebook http://www.facebook.com/LiannesQuickGuide and on twitter http://twitter.com/liannesguide
