Caring For Newborn Archives

Mommy Moments: New Born Days

Can you guess who is this baby? Is it Kayil? Mico? Chico or Sati? The topic this week for Mommy Moments is NEW BORN DAYS. I can’t remember when was the photo below taken but for sure the baby in there is not a newborn. Maybe 4 or 5 months.

such a natural pouter

I told you before that my kids are somewhat big during their newborn days. I gave birth to Kayil and he was 7.5 lbs. Mico, Chico and Sati are all the same, 7 lbs. And here they are in their less than a month old moments.

From the top, that’s Kayil. I think he was a month old here already. Then next to him is Mico, I think he was 3 weeks old here. Then Chico, and that, he is as fresh as egg, just some hours after I gave birth to him. The last one, of course, is Sati, and just the same, that’s one of her “fresh from the oven” moment.

Got your baby’s newborn pic? why not share it with us, click on the badge of Mommy Moments and join in the fun.

And oh can you guess who is the baby on top? The first three who will guess it right will win a blog review from me. *grins

First Time Mommy

Yes, I already got three boys before I gave birth to Sati. I have been through a lot being a mommy to them and yet with Sati, I feel like this is my first time. For one, I don’t know how to clean her parts. I am so used with boys that I have no idea when it comes to baby girls. I wish I have my baby book with me. I already gave it to my best friend, a real first time mother. Good thing that during my first few days, mother was here. So how to clean a baby girl’s private parts?

She said that I should clean the area, wiping it with wet cotton from front to back. It should always be like front to back, never the other way. Why? Well maybe to prevent infections from bacteria coming from the anus.. maybe.. but that’s the most logical thing for me.

But I am not satisfied with my mom’s advice, so I asked Fedhz for some tips on how to. I am even tempted to ask Niko and Kaye (and Seiko and Yami) since they both have baby girls too.. (Jade and Gene you might wanna book mark this, just in case). And as always, I was not contented with their answers, so I searched the net for it. And here is some that I got:

Clean the genitalia. Hold baby’s legs outward like a frog. For girls, spread the labia and using a moistened cotton ball, gently wipe between the labia. When cleaning around the vagina always wipe from front to back. You may notice that secretions and diaper creams collect and cake between the vulva and the outer labia. This area requires the most cleansing. A normal egg-white vaginal discharge is common between the inner labia and vagina. It is not necessary to clean away this normal discharge source

With a moist cloth, wipe the area from front to back to avoid transferring any bacteria from her anus to her vagina. You may notice that her genitals are swollen and red, or that she has a clear, white, or slightly bloody discharge – these are all normal in the first few weeks and result from exposure to maternal hormones during pregnancy. If these symptoms persist after the first six weeks, though, mention them to the doctor at your baby’s six-week check. source

See, I was right on the bacterial thingy. And this last one, pretty explains it all: (and took most of worries away)

Your newborn girl’s genitals have been exposed to many hormones in the uterus. Among other things, these hormones may have:

Made the outside of the vagina (“labia majora” and the “clitoris”) a little swollen and prominent.
Caused a thick, milky discharge in the vagina.

Most dramatically, at 2 or 3 days of age, your daughter may have a little bit of bleeding from her vagina. This is perfectly normal and caused by the withdrawal of the hormones she was exposed to in the womb. It will be her first and last menstrual period for another decade or so.

Caring for Your Baby Girl’s Genitals

Clean your daughter’s genitals as you would any other part of her body. Spread the labia and gently wash out the creases; there is no need to go any deeper. Nature takes care of naturally cleaning the inside of the vagina. Use warm water only — there’s no need for soaps. Remember, this sensitive tissue is the same as that inside the mouth.

When to Worry About Your Newborn’s Genitals

Contact your pediatric provider if you smell a foul odor from the discharge, which could indicate infection. And profuse bleeding or bleeding that doesn’t fade away after a few days may also need medical attention. source

There is always the first time, I guess. I still had a lot more to learn and to experience. The worst part of having a new baby girl..it’s hard calling her a she! Told you, I am so used to having boys and that me and hubby were used calling a new baby an endearment for a baby boy (pogi in our local term, handsome in yours). Most of the times (although lesser now) we refer to Sati as pogi.. when will I ever learn?

Her and History On Caring For Newborn

Host: Hello again everyone. You all know by now that the most awaited baby in blogniverse arrived last Sunday. Some of you may wonder why we were not able to update you with Sati’s arrival last Monday.. of course, most of our episodes are not live.. hihi..

As we continue with our topic this week, CARING FOR NEWBORN, our next guest is another blogger from Marce Club. I give to you, ladies and gentlemen, the woman, the teacher, Pinay from Thailand, Gene of Her And History

So tell us Gene, how does it feel being with us today?

Gene: Hello everyone, when Pehpot asked me to be a guest blogger, I was honored, but a bit nervous. I was unsure what to say about being first-time mom even though words seem to flow out. I just hope that you’ll find some lessons out from my experiences.

Host: I am pretty sure a lot of moms will learn something from you today. Since it was your first baby, how did you prepared yourself? Did you go around asking for advices or just head on to the nearest bookstore and buy lot of books about childcare?

Gene: I got pregnant 3 months after I got married and I’m prepared in every aspect of my life to welcome a new member of the family. I’m not worried or afraid giving birth in a foreign land and being away from my family. Being the eldest of 14 and a believer of God make me independent, reliable and strong-willed woman. I’m pretty sure that I could take care of a newborn baby that God will entrust to me.

I also thank God, “Babywise” came to our way. It’s an exciting infant management plan that successfully and naturally trains children to sleep through the night before the age of eight weeks. I discovered in here the positive prescription for curing sleepless nights and fussy babies. In our case, Hyzyd learned to sleep contentedly and continually before he reaches 12 weeks. We also applied swaddling to him. Modern medical studies indicate that swaddling assists babies to sleep, and to remain asleep; and that it lowers the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (cot death).

Host: I can see how brave you are, specially that you gave birth in a foreign land. I am really curious, who helped you along the way? Did your parents came all the way from the Philippines?

Gene: I’m blessed that my mother, father and youngest sister were able to come on the first week of October amidst my parents hectic schedules in the preschool ministry and speaking engagements. They’re our helpmates on the first 2 weeks of sleepless nights!

Host: That was really touching and I heard that recovery from childbirth would be easier if it is your mom is taking care of you. But is there any time where you feel uncomfortable or inadequate being a mom?

Gene: I couldn’t believe that giving birth is as easy as that! It’s painful…yeah…but I’m still expecting for the most excruciating pain to come but it didn’t so Epidural is out of the way. It’s just like having an LBM and what I just wanted to do is to poo! LOL! I’m still pushing when the nurses asked me to stop coz the baby is out already…he..he.. It’s my first time yet I’m not afraid nor worried coz I know God is with me, my family is praying for me and I had done the necessary preparation –mentally, physically, financially, emotionally and spiritually.

One thing that sometimes makes me feel like a failure is I’m unable to breastfeed. During my pregnancy I was so excited about the idea of breastfeeding but when the baby is out, I’ve tried exhaustively and unsuccessfully. Maybe nature just didn’t work for me. My baby has hard time latching on my nipple because it’s inverted, he didn’t get enough milk so he’s fussy, frustrated and unhappy. My family agreed to formula feed him.

Host: That was really hard and though I never experienced being a mom, I can see how frustrating it has been to you. What are your advice to new moms or moms to be who may experience the same difficulty with breastfeeding?

Gene: If you fail also in this area (breastfeeding), please don’t feel bad. We tried the best we can. I’m so sick and tired of the way society and “medical professionals” make women feel like failures and less of a mother when we make the decision, for whatever reason, to formula feed. It should be our decision and really nobody else’s business. You DO NOT love your child any less by not breastfeeding and if you’re anything like me, you will bond more with your baby when feeding him/her with a bottle because you will be able to enjoy each other’s company without the worry and anxiety.

Lastly, do what feels right to you. If you want your baby to sleep in his cot, go for it. If you want him to sleep in your bed, then let him be. If you decide to feed a bottle rather than breast, it’s your call. Being a Mom is a huge responsibility, and like anything else, we have to make the experiences our own. Just remember that our babies will just be babies once and this is the time we have to bond, and create a lasting healthy relationship. It can’t be avoided that we will receive all kinds of advices but the fact still remains that this is OUR baby, and we need to do what we feel is best, and if something happens out of a wrong choice..we’ll have it figured out before the next one comes.

Host: Now, if in case I decide to have a baby, I know that you will be more than willing to help me out. Thank you so much and Gene and I do enjoy our conversation and really learned a lot from it. I knew our readers feel the same too.

Aside from Her and History, Gene also authors the following blogs, so if you want to know more about her and her stuffs, go on and check it out:

Adventures with Hyzyd
Tasty Exploration
The Fashion Explorer
Away from Home
Teaching Moments

See you again next week and hopefully by then we already have our banner for our show:

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