When it comes to your baby, health information is some of the most important stuff that you need to pay attention to. If you are a new parent, there are probably lots of little tips and tricks that you will soon learn. But, to help you get started, here are three important bits of information concerning your baby's health that you might not have known before.
Keep your baby warm, but not too warm
Dr. William Sears, a father of eight children and a practicing pediatrician for over 30 years, advises new parents all the time. He says that many parents try to keep their baby too warm. A young child does not need to be at a temperature much higher than room temperature. Over-bundling your child can lead to a lot of health problems - foremost, overheating can lead to the disruption of a baby's neurological systems. This could cause your baby to stop breathing or to slow breathing to the point where brain damage might actually occur.
You should also be careful to keep your baby at a constant temperature. A baby's brain does not react well to abrupt changes in temperature. So, in the winter months when it is time to take your baby outside into the cold, you should bundle them up inside to allow their body heat to create a barrier to the cold. In the same way, during the summer you should always be mindful of taking your baby from an air conditioned home out into the heat.
Think about using baby massage
Baby massage techniques have been used for centuries throughout different cultures around the world - but, it still remains some of the least known baby health information in modern North America. A baby massage is the simple act of rubbing and massaging your baby very gently and with love. A 10 minute massage one or two times each week will really help to strengthen the parent-child relationship. Children need touch just as much as they need food, so setting some time aside to gently massage your baby is a great way to make them feel more comfortable with you and relax them at the same time.
Try swaddling
Swaddling refers to covering your baby from head to toe with a small blanket. Swaddling has been used in just about every culture and is really making some headway in the modern baby health information age. Swaddling does a lot to help nurture the relationship that a parent has with their child. However, it has some additional benefits as well. Swaddling helps to regulate a child's internal body temperature and it just makes the baby into a cute little package!
You can safely swaddle your child until they are about four months old. If they start to get a little bit squirmy, you can free their arms and give them a little bit more room to move. However, it is likely that your baby will get used to swaddling quickly and enjoy being so close to you.
Perhaps you have never heard of these baby health information tips, but I suggest that you look into them a bit further. You can always ask for advice or help from a midwife or a pediatrician. The bottom line is that you should find out what your baby really needs and make sure that they get it.