CONCERNS

Baby gaining weight

• During the first few days of life, it's normal for both breastfed and formula-fed newborns to lose weight.2 A bottle-fed baby may lose up to 5% of their body weight, and an exclusively breastfed newborn can lose up to 10%.3 Average Newborn Weight. American Pregnancy Association.
• Most infants will gain about 1 or 2 pounds by their first month. At this age, infants are not as sleepy, they begin developing a regular feeding pattern, and they have a stronger suck during feedings.
• Generally, babies this age will continue to gain about 1.5 to 2 pounds each month. This usually puts them at about 2 to 4 pounds over birth weight at 2 months old.4 The average weight at two months old is about 11 pounds 4 ounces (5.1 kg) for girls and 12 pounds 5 ounces (5.6 kg) for boys.
• On average, babies gain about 1.5 to 2 pounds each month for the first six months. The average weight at 6 months is about 16 pounds 2 ounces (7.3 kg) for girls and 17 pounds 8 ounces (7.9 kg) for boys.
• After they turn 6 months old, your baby's weight gain slows down a little. Most babies double their birth weight by 4 to 6 months of age, and they triple it before their first birthday.5 By one year, the average weight of a baby girl is approximately 19 pounds 10 ounces (8.9 kg), with boys weighing about 21 pounds 3 ounces (9.6 kg).

Feeding your baby

Amount of Milk a Newborn Should Drink Per Feeding

• The first day or two after birth, your baby won't get much breast milk since you're only producing a small amount of colostrum. That said, any amount of colostrum that you can pump and give your baby is beneficial.
• Between the second and sixth day, your milk production will increase. Your newborn will probably take about 2 to 4 ounces every three to four hours (14 to 28 ounces per day).
• From two to five months of age, your baby will take an average of 5 to 7 ounces every four to five hours (25 to 26 oz of breast milk each day).

Settling your baby

• Gently touching your baby, such as patting or stroking your baby in their cot.
• Check they do not need a nappy change.
• Check they are not too hot or too cold.
• Check it hasn't been longer than 2 to 3 hours since their last feed.
• Using gentle shushing noises, settling music or white noise.s

passing stool (poo)

Your newborn baby's bowel movements (also called "stools") can change a lot in the days, weeks, and months after birth. The stools can come in many different colours and textures—all of which may be perfectly normal for your child.

• The first stool your baby passes is thick, greenish black, and sticky. It's called meconium.
• The stools usually change from this thick, greenish black to green in the first few days. They'll change to yellow or yellowish brown by the end of the first week
• The stools of breastfed babies tend to be more yellow than those of formula-fed babies. They may also be seedy-looking.
• TIt's normal for your baby's stool to be runny or pasty, especially if he or she is breastfed.

m for their hips and legs to move, they can be swaddled during sleep time. Don't swaddle them when they are awake and active.

BEHAVIOR BASICS

engagement cues

When babies want to interact with the people who love them (or anyone nearby), they will instinctively look, move, and make noise in specific ways. Collectively, these movements and noises are called “engagement cues.”

Your baby will have wide open eyes and look at you or a toy as if they are trying to memorize what they see. Their faces and their bodies will be relaxed and they will use smooth body movements. Older babies may smile and try to touch or taste whatever interests them. When they are very excited, babies will kick their legs and squirm with glee.

Using engagement cues, your baby is asking you to help her learn more about you and her new world. At first, your baby will be content just looking at your face and listening to your voice. Later, she’ll want to play more complicated games. Enjoy this time together but be prepared to watch for signs that your baby might be tiring. Engaging with you is hard work!

Disengagement cues

When babies need a break, either for a moment or a nap, they’ll use a different set of movements and noises to make sure you know it. These signs are called “disengagement cues.”

Your baby may close his eyes, turn his face or body away from you or he may arch or twist his body away. His muscles will be tense and he may frown or look like he is about to cry. If he’s not allowed to take a break, he will start crying to make sure you know what to do. Older babies will stiffen their hands and bring them up towards their faces; they may try to change position, have you pick them up or put them down.

Let your baby take a break! Stop whatever you were doing; reduce stimulation in the environment (noises, lights, toys, or interactions) that might have been too much for your baby. Pay close attention and see if your baby is happy with a short break or if he may need a longer one or a big change of scene. Babies who are over stimulated by what is going on around them will use disengagement cues but babies have a very limited ability to communicate.

BONDING AND ATTACHMENTS

The Ultimate Baby Body Language: Clustered Cues

It wouldn’t make sense that it could be hard to tell when a baby is hungry. If people needed a PhD to tell when babies needed to eat, babies wouldn’t survive. Babies will give parents lots of cues, called “clustered cues,” when they need them to do important things. A hungry newborn will move her head looking for something to suck on. She will pull her hands and her knees upward toward her face. She will make sucking noises and try to suck on anything she can find. If no one feeds her right away (babies don’t like to wait), she will start crying while still using all the other cues. Older babies will try to get into a breastfeeding position, or excitedly reach for the bottle or spoon. Babies use clustered cues to show they are full too. They relax their muscles, slow down in their eating, let their hands fall away from their face, and sometimes fall asleep. Making sure you know when to stop feeding is just as important to your baby as letting you know she needs to eat. It is important when parents hear their babies cry that they check for clustered hunger cues before they assume they are hungry.

Creating Your Own Special Language

Now that I’ve made it all sound so simple, I do have to warn you that some babies are not born able to give clear cues. Some babies have to develop their skills over the first few days and weeks. Fortunately, nature makes sure that things turn out well; when parents respond to babies’ signals, babies get better at using cues and parents get better at reading them. After a relatively short time, parents and babies develop their own special language and this continues as children get older and learn other ways to communicate, including using words. We’d love to hear about your baby’s special ways of communicating with you.

Understanding newborn bonding behaviour

• Babies prefer human voices and enjoy vocalizing in their first efforts at communication. Babies often enjoy just listening to your conversations, as well as your descriptions of their activities and environments..

How to bond with newborns

• Prioritize skin-to-skin contact
• Establish a soothing bedtime routine
• Engage in responsive feeding
• Talk, sing, and read to your baby
• Make eye contact

When bonding and attachment take time

• Attachment refers to the baby’s emotional connection with the parents (or the primary caregiver) and can be described as a secure, reciprocal, and long lasting bond
• The bonding process already begins before birth and is heavily influenced by experiences during pregnancy and delivery. After birth, bonding usually develops very quickly in the first days and weeks of life.
• Physical contact with the parents’ skin is the first very important component to initiate the bonding process right after birth.
• Interactions can include speaking to the baby, kangaroo-care, where the infant is held skin-to-skin by the mother or father, breastfeeding, or simply watching the baby. Even watching a picture of the baby may help to strengthen the relationship.

Bonding with more than one carer

Ways Caregivers Can Create a Meaningful Bond

• Listen to Them and Their Desires
• Ensure Your Communication is Clear
• Show Them Dignity and Respect
• Find Activities You Both Enjoy
• Take Breaks – We All Need Space Sometimest