Raising a Newborn

As a parent, one of the first responsibilities is to keep your children safe. Everyday of your child’s life will be full of growing, changing and learning. Protection starts before they are born. Once they have arrived in the world, newborns need to be placed in a safe environment, fed, turned frequently, kept warm, and observed to be certain that they are adequately eating, sleeping and breathing. Newborns are totally dependent upon adults for their survival. Newborns should be interacted with and stimulated to grow up strong. Newborns need to be supported when lifted because their head is not fully formed. Newborns begin to explore the crib, gain control of their arm and leg movements, and learn how their fingers work during the first three months of their life. Their bottle should be fed in your arms to provide them proper nutrition, Bottles propped up on objects can cause damage to the teeth and middle ear due to improper drainage. Babies need an interactive parent who talks to them, laughs, sings and hugs them while they eat and explore everything with their eyes.