Having a baby is a beautiful experience. With all the available information, it’s no wonder that parents now feel like they are fully prepared and ready for the arrival of their little one. With the abundance of books and websites to hand, they can prepare for everything….or are they?
Whether it’s the birth, the sleepless nights or frequent feedings you do start to think you can handle it but in reality, it’s ok to become completely lost, and chances are at times there will be no book or website that can help. Then when you start to notice some scary, yet normal things about your newborn you can be led down a road of worry, but you’ve got this! Have a look below at some of the scary but ordinary things to expect from your newborn. When you want to get your newborn photography done, you hope these things won’t occur during the session!
Sneezing
The world is an entirely new environment for newborns so. Therefore, it’s essential to understand that they are going to be a little extra sensitive to it. Don’t worry if it seems like your little one is continually sneezing away, and it’s entirely reasonable for hem to react to their new world. They sneeze so they can help remove any tiny foreign particles that may have made their way up into their nose. They may even sneeze a considerable amount in the first few days after his birth to banish extra mucus or amniotic fluid that may still be in their tiny nostrils. If however, there is any wheezing or temperature along with the sneezing, it’s best to have them seen by a medical professional.
Jerky Movements
It’s common for first-time parents, in particular, to get concerned over the way their baby is moving. You can expect your little one to have jerky movements, limbs flailing, and it all happens randomly. You can relax, though, and this is entirely normal. As time passes, your baby is going to go through several developmental changes, and one of these is their reflexes. It should settle down after about three months, and this is often why very young babies are seen swaddled.
Cradle Cap
This is very common among newborns and even seen with some toddlers. The good news is that it’ll go away quite quickly, generally within the first few months. You can try things such as rubbing baby oil onto the patches every other day, and it’s said that merely applying baby oil and using a fine baby comb will help for it to lift away. In some cases, you may need to see a professional, but this is only on the rare occasions that it becomes irritable or infected.
Poo Explosions
Everyone who is expecting a baby will of heard the horror stories about the explosive poo, and unfortunately, they aren’t wrong. Although some people may have experienced it to different degrees that runny poo does exist, and there is just no avoiding it. Newborns are famous for having explosive liquid poop. It’s almost like a right of passage as a parent. Don’t worry though it’s completely normal.
Head Shape
Have real good think about how your body and your babies body and how they work together to welcome them into the world through the birth canal. Now think about their slightly odd-shaped head, and it will start to make sense. Both you and your baby go through a lot of changes during childbirth and one of them is that head-shaped flattens slightly because they are so malleable and soft, this is normal, and it’s utterly natural for delivery to take place. It will soon start to come back to a more normal shape. Bear in mind that a baby can get a flattened again on the head if they are left on their back too often, so make sure you lay them on their fronts and sides also.
Baby Acne
Most commonly referred to as ‘baby acne’ newborns at a time can have acne all over their little faces, try not to get too worried about it. It’s nothing more than a rash that has been caused by your annoying hormones (yes they affect the little one too), it will clear up within a few weeks. You will also often find milia known as ‘milk spots’ this aren’t related to acne, but they’re little white bumps that will also disappear within weeks.
Loads Of Body Hair
You may find that your little bundle of joy is a bit hairier than you expected, as well as having hair on their heads babies can be born with a considerable amount of hair on their bodies. Particularly their shoulders, back, and even the feet! The hair is known as lanugo and is the first type of body hair made; it plays an essential role in regulating the temperature of the baby in the womb. So don’t stress, it will come away soon, without you even noticing. Babies tend to lose the majority of the hair they were born with, and you may be left wondering what to do if your baby starts to lose their hair, it’s best not to panic as it’s going to grow back.
Soft Spot
All new parents and anyone who has seen a newborn will have been warned about the ‘soft spot.’ It’s a small area on top of the babies skull that remains soft for a while after birth, and this is due to needing to change shape for delivery, you do have to be very careful of this area. As your baby’s brain pulses in their head, you will notice that the soft spot can bulge and pulse too, a little gross but completely normal. If you have any concerns over the soft spot, it’s always worth having it checked by a professional.
Hiccups That Won’t Go
Although troublesome little hiccups are very common for a newborn to have, it may at the time seem like they have the after every single feed, and it can be a little scary yes, however, it’s normal for them to have a considerable amount of hiccups. It’s said that it’s because of learning to breathe in their new environment and that their ability to breathe and swallow isn’t yet synchronized. When they learn to do this, the hiccups will soon slow down.
Although some of these can seem very scary, especially for new parents, they are all completely normal. Do you have any other everyday scary things that you can expect from a newborn that should be on this list? Please share them in the comments section below.
This post was contributed by Simone Devonshire.