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How a newborn baby changes - articles from the specialists of the clinic "Mother and Child"

Babin Evgeny Alexandrovich

Pediatric surgeon, Orthopedic traumatologist, Pediatric orthopedic surgeon

Mother and Child Clinic South-West, Mother and Child Clinic Kuntsevo,

The baby was born, and we expect him to look like beautiful and pink babies from advertising pictures. And he is some kind of red, then suddenly turned yellow, on the skin or a rash, or peeling. In addition, the weight is still unstable, the chair is incomprehensible - is the child healthy? Healthy, and all these changes are the so-called transient (transitional) states. Where do they come from, what do they look like and what to do with it all?

The child sat in the mother's stomach for nine months, swam in the water and received oxygen through the placenta. As soon as the baby was born, his world immediately became different: instead of water around him, air, the ambient temperature dropped from 36.6-37 ° C to 22-25 ° C, plus gravity, sounds, smells, bright light. And now you have to breathe (lungs) yourself, eat differently, and then also remove metabolic products. And just like that, it is not easy for a newborn to immediately switch from one lifestyle to another, it takes time. That is why, from the point of view of physiology, in the first month of life, “something happens all the time” with children, and much more often and brighter than in later life. These are the transitory (transitional, boundary) states. All of them surprise and even frighten young parents, especially since transition states appear and disappear very quickly. But for newborns, they are completely natural. What moms and dads see most often are transitional states of skin, stool, weight, plus or minus a couple more conditions.

How the skin changes

The child was born, and we see that he is all sort of bluish-purple, and then his skin color immediately turns red. On the second day after birth, the baby "blushes" the brightest. Doctors call this redness "erythema simple" and it appears due to the fact that the skin adapts to a new environment. Then the child's skin turns pale and by the end of the first week of life it becomes the pale pink color we are used to.

But that is not all. On the third or fifth day of life, the baby's skin may begin to peel off, especially on the abdomen and chest. What is this? Does the child lack vitamins, something with nutrition, is the air too dry in the house? No, this is also a transitional state - physiological peeling, and it is also associated with the fact that the skin is adapting to a new life. The skin flakes for about a week, and then everything goes away. You don't need to do anything with it. Of course, you can treat the skin with various softening lotions and creams, but there will be no significant effect from them. Very soon, the baby's skin will become smooth and soft on its own.

Most of all, parents are afraid of a rash on the baby's skin, which does not often, but sometimes still appears in the first week of life. This is the so-called toxic erythema - spots with grayish-yellow seals in the center. The rash is most often located on the extensor surfaces of the arms and legs around the joints, on the chest. Less often, such spots can be on the whole body (except for the palms, feet and mucous membranes). “Maybe it’s chickenpox, rubella, or some other disease?” parents are afraid. No, this is a kind of reaction of the skin of a newly born baby to its environment, especially to hypothermia, overheating, contact with clothes, food. Within one to three days, new spots may appear, but more often two or three days after the onset, they all disappear without a trace. At the same time, the child’s well-being is not disturbed, the body temperature is normal and he does not need any medication. The only thing is that you need to take care of the bubbles on the skin: for example, gently blot them after bathing. And you also need to make sure that the bubbles do not rub and they do not burst (otherwise an infection may join them).

Physiological jaundice

The changes that are visible on the skin do not end there. Very often (in 60-70% of children) on the second or third day of life, the skin turns yellow, the maximum of yellowness occurs on the third or fourth day, and by the end of the first week it disappears. This is how physiological jaundice of a newborn is manifested - a condition in which the amount of bile pigment, bilirubin, increases in a child. In some children, jaundice is similar to a light tan (parents may not notice it), while in others, the skin will turn bright yellow. Very quickly, the level of bilirubin returns to normal and the skin color becomes normal again. If jaundice is mild and passes quickly, then no additional treatment is needed. But if jaundice does not disappear or the skin color is intense yellow, you should consult a doctor.

Weight loss

Do you think the baby will immediately be born well-fed, with folds and cute roundness? No, right after birth, this is still far away. In the first days of life, an already not too well-fed newborn will lose even more weight. Such weight loss is a natural process, the so-called physiological weight loss. Weight decreases because immediately after birth, the baby loses part of the water through the skin, its umbilical cord dries out, meconium (the first feces) and urine are excreted, and also because the baby still eats a small amount of milk. Maximum weight loss usually occurs by the third or fifth day and is normally no more than 6-8% of birth weight. At this time, mother and baby are usually discharged from the hospital, but there is no need to worry. By the seventh or tenth day of life, a healthy baby will restore its previous parameters.

chair changes

On the first or second day, all newborns pass the original stool (meconium): it is thick, viscous and dark green in color. Time passes, the baby begins to receive colostrum, and on the third or fourth day of life, a transitional stool appears. Now areas of dark green color alternate with greenish and yellow ones, and some lumps, mucus are also visible in the stool. It all looks like some kind of intestinal disorder, but it's not. It's just that the gastrointestinal tract is moving to a new job, now it's ready to digest food. By the end of the first week of life, the stool in most children is yellow, similar to gruel, and it will continue to be so.

Warm-cold

A typical fear of all grandmothers is that the child is freezing! Yes, indeed, in newborns, the body temperature regulation processes are still imperfect, so babies easily cool down, but they also overheat just as easily. For example, if a newborn is dressed too warmly or placed next to a heating battery, he will quickly overheat, even if this is the usual temperature in the room. At the same time, the child easily loses heat when he is undressed for a long time or he lies in wet clothes. Therefore, in the room where there is a newborn, the air temperature should be adequate - 20-22 ° C. And if she rises higher, and the child is warmly dressed, then this will also not be good.

Sometimes, very rarely (in 1% of newborns), body temperature on the third or fifth day may temporarily rise to 38–39 °C. There are no other symptoms of the disease, the body temperature quickly returns to normal, but the parents have time to get scared. It’s difficult to figure out what it is - temporary hyperthermia or still a disease - it’s difficult, so it’s better to call a doctor.

Hormonal crisis

An uncommon occurrence, but it also occurs occasionally. In some children, on the third or fourth day of life, the mammary glands become engorged (in both girls and boys). They increase as much as possible by the seventh or eighth day, and liquid discharge may even appear from them. Some girls have very little bloody discharge from the vagina for a very short time. This is the so-called hormonal crisis - it occurs due to the action of maternal hormones - estrogens (they penetrate through the placenta during childbirth). At the peak of estrogen action, the signs of a hormonal crisis are maximum, then the hormones are removed from the body and the symptoms gradually disappear. Therefore, you don’t need to apply a cabbage leaf to your chest, make compresses with camphor or something else: everything will pass by itself.

Usually, all these transitional states are pronounced in the first week of life, less often, but it happens that they drag on for up to three to four weeks. One more thing - it is not necessary that the child will show all transitional states, but almost everyone has physiological weight loss and transitional stools. And many of the transitional states are completely invisible to parents, but they also exist, they can simply be identified only by laboratory methods.

So we are not in a hurry to be frightened, noticing that the child’s skin suddenly began to peel off or he turned slightly yellow. We remember that he must adapt to a new life, that in the first time after birth, the baby has the right to some changes. Especially if, with all this, the baby is cheerful, calm and eats well. Well, if you are still somehow anxious, ask your pediatrician questions. He will definitely be able to put everything in its place.

Inset

The maximum weight loss in a newborn usually occurs by the third or fifth day and normally amounts to no more than 6-8% of body weight at birth.

From the point of view of physiology, in the first month of life, “something happens all the time” with children, and much more often and brighter than in later life. These are the transitory (transitional, boundary) states.

In infants, the body temperature regulation processes are still imperfect, so they easily become overcooled and overheated. In this regard, in the room where there is a newborn, the air temperature should be about - 20–22 ° C.

Physiological jaundice of the newborn:

• occurs on the 2-3rd day of the baby's life, reaches a maximum on the 4-5th day, and disappears by the 10th day;
• the general condition of the child does not suffer;
• the level of bilirubin in the blood does not exceed 180 µmol/l.

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Sleep of a child at 6 months - how much a child sleeps at 6 months

06/22/2015

530692

780

tables and sleep norms

3-6 months 6 --9 months

Article

Elena Muradova

Elena Muradova

Head of the Babysleep Center, first sleep consultant in Russia, author of the Babysleep

Method

The first six months of a baby's life are behind him, he knows a lot and pleases you with new skills almost every day. Sleep also changes. During the day, the child sleeps less and stays awake longer. Night sleep is not yet the same as that of a one-year-old baby: a six-month-old baby still needs nightly feedings, he cannot sleep all night without waking up.

It can be difficult to put a child to daytime or nighttime sleep: this is due to the increase in wakefulness, and with the characteristics of the developmental stage, and with the beginning of the transition from 3 to 2 daytime sleep.

The child is developing rapidly, becoming very active. It is important to sleep well in order to fully recuperate. Quality sleep for a baby at 6 months helps to learn new skills faster.

Child's crisis calendar

0015

A six-month-old baby still needs to sleep almost as much as a newborn: the norm of sleep by age is from 13 to 16 hours a day. About six months, a change in sleep patterns usually begins - a transition from 3 daytime sleep to 2. When and how this happens depends on the individual characteristics of each child. On average, babies start sleeping 2 times during the day at 6-8 months.

The total time of a child's daytime sleep is about 3-4 hours, nighttime - 10-12 hours. Waking time at the beginning of the 6th month is typically 2 hours 15 minutes to 2.5 hours. Remember that it includes not only games, but also getting ready for bed, feeding, laying down and the process of falling asleep, which also takes time.

By the end of 6 months, you may notice that it becomes more difficult to put your baby to sleep - the time to fall asleep increases, and there may be resistance to lying down. This is usually associated with age-related increase in the time of wakefulness. By the end of the first half of the year of a child's life, it increases to 2 hours 45 minutes - 3 hours.

Children at this age develop and grow very rapidly, their abilities increase rapidly, including the increase in wakefulness. Therefore, the child's sleep pattern often changes. So far, this is not a clear mode with reference to the clock, but a more or less constant rhythm of sleep and wakefulness - quite predictable, but flexibly adapting to the child.

Professor M. Weissbluth, a recognized specialist in children's sleep, notes that at this age there is usually a formation of a more or less stable afternoon nap around 12-2 pm, which usually lasts up to 3 years, as well as the inconstancy of the third daytime sleep around 15-17 hours.

Breastfeeding and 6-month-old sleep

6 months is the recommended time to start introducing complementary foods. But this does not mean that the baby no longer needs breast milk or formula. This is still the time for the baby to get acquainted with new tastes and textures, and not for a full meal that can replace breastfeeding. Most babies only eat enough solid food by the age of one. Be wary of advice to cut down on daytime feedings - a hungry baby will "fill in" the missing calories at night.

As far as the night is concerned, most babies at this age reduce the number of night feeds, the baby begins to sleep for longer periods.

It is considered normal for a 6-month-old baby to have 1 to 3 nightly breastfeedings and 1-2 formula feedings. Some children at this age may sleep one or even two continuous 5-hour intervals.

Poll

Who, apart from mother, can put your baby to bed?

(you can choose one or more options)

• Dad
• Grandmother
• Any member of the family
• Nanny
• Nobody, only mom

Voted: 16008

Stage of development

Physical development

How can I help my child?

• While awake, show your baby how to lie down "back" from a sitting position.
• Practice the new skill as much as possible during the day so that the baby quickly gets used to it.
• Educational games.

Mental development

At this age, the child is approaching a new stage of mental development. The "World of Relations" opens up to him - the realization comes that the surrounding objects are at a certain distance and each occupy its own place. Discovering this phenomenon, the baby feels tiny and helpless, he is scared and confused.

The period of anxiety may begin as early as 5 months, and this may affect the child's sleep: he begins to sleep restlessly, anxiously. Constant physical and emotional contact with the mother during this period will restore the baby's confidence and calmness.

Fear of separation from mother

Perhaps you began to notice that the child began to react painfully to your absence: a mother’s attempt to leave the room even for a minute can end in tears. The child refuses to sleep alone in the crib, does not want to stay with someone other than his mother.

This is normal. The kid grew up and realized that his mother is a separate person and can leave, leaving him alone. He's really scared! Now is not the right time to “develop independence”, it is important to show the child that you are always there and will always return if he gets scared. The first peak of separation fear usually occurs around 7–9 months, the second around a year, but in emotional, sensitive children this period can last from 6 to 18 months. Read how you can reduce a child's fear of being separated from their mother.

New skills can not only please, but also greatly excite the child, so during a developmental leap:

Many children get tired faster than usual, so you need to reduce the time of wakefulness.

Tip of the month

Create comfortable conditions for sleep: remove everything interesting, distracting, exciting; darken the room. Complete darkness is not needed - when the baby sleeps during the day, it is enough to create a slight twilight. If your child sleeps for 30-45 minutes, prolong naps in any comfortable way. Or help your baby learn to fall asleep and prolong sleep on his own so that he gets enough sleep for his age and sleeps well.

At this age, physiological awakenings after the first cycle of daytime sleep (approximately 45 minutes) can become a problem if the awakened child finds himself in a different environment in which he was used to falling asleep. If a child falls asleep only in his mother's arms, in a sling, at the chest, with motion sickness, in a moving stroller, then, having woken up in 45 minutes in the crib, he will not be able to fall asleep again on his own and continue his sleep.

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