All about newborn babies

Your tiny little bundle of joy is all fragile. Its gentle touch and fragile body pumps you up with love but makes you anxious as well. You feel clueless at times and wish there was a ‘how to’ guide that’d help you handle the baby better and are on the constant search for answers. Why is the baby making such a face? Why is it crying? How many times should I feed him? And all other similar questions inundate and intimidate you.

Amidst all the daunting concerns, the major issue that worries you is your newborn’s growth. Growth is a complex process. It involves various biological activities in the blood, organs, muscles, and bones which are all dependant on various hormones. You might have heard about the growth hormone, it plays a pivotal role in the baby’s development. It is a protein hormone which is secreted by the pituitary gland and is influenced by several factors. Balanced nutrition, adequate sleep and exercise being the most important factors amongst the rest.

Newborns: The Early Weeks

The initial 2 months are really a crucial time for the baby’s growth. For the first 40-60 days both the baby and the mother are highly prone to infections. It is a time when the baby and the folks are both trying to adjust and adapt the changed circumstances. You may find this time to be really intense as it involves more of work and less of rest. The first few things that the newborn learns to identify is your touch and the warmth of your body. It is during the initial days only that the baby learns to respond, reciprocate and communicate to you via subtle gestures like crying and gurgling.

Adequate nutrition and sleep

There is no food as nutritious and protein rich for the child as is mother’s milk. For the first 6 months it is strongly recommended that the mother should breastfeed the newborn. For the initial 30 weeks, the baby should be fed mother’s milk only. Mother’s milk has antibodies that help the newborn develop immunity while the protein helps the child grow. It is sufficient and fulfils all the nutrition requirements of your cuddly pooh.

Apart from food, sleep is an important factor for the newborn. Without adequate sleep, the child may face growth issues such as slowed or stunted growth. Growth hormone deficiency can also affect heart or lung strength or immune system function. It is thus really important to ensure that not only the newborn must get good food but a sound sleep is also equally important.

Massaging and exercising the newborn

Massaging is therapeutic. Various documented researches elaborate a variety of clinical benefits that massaging have for babies. From can help to improve digestive disorders in babies. It helps reduce anxiety and also helps to reduce the psycho-emotional distress the baby might be suffering through due to the sudden change in surroundings. It also helps to increase weight and improve muscle movements and development in premature infants. Overall, baby massaging betters the immune system’s functioning and helps the child in having a sound sleep.

Massaging is also the easiest way to exercise the baby. It helps in stimulating the growth hormone and thereby speeds up the newborn’s growth process.

Use Dabur Baby Massage Oil - An Ayurvedic blend of almond and olive oil for baby massage which can be really effective for a baby development.