How to hold a newborn baby

A newborn baby seems very fragile, so many young mothers may be afraid to take the baby in their arms. Someone is afraid of accidentally injuring a child, someone is simply unsure, so his movements become awkward. In reality, infants have a very high “safety margin” and harming a child is not as easy as it seems at first glance. The best way to learn how to wear it is to learn in advance how to properly hold a child in your arms and how to hold it properly.

Why pick it up?

No matter how absurd this question may seem, there is an opinion in society that taking a child in your arms is as rare as possible. Widespread fears of “hands-on training” make some moms keep their carrying a baby to a minimum. If you are not a supporter of cribs and playpens, you will have to carry the baby in your arms quite often. For a baby, this is very useful for some reasons:

• For the child, bodily contact with the mother is simply necessary, this is a confirmation of her love and the strengthening of affection between the mother and the baby;
• In the arms of an adult baby, he actively learns the world, sees space from a new angle, has the opportunity to get acquainted with people, objects and phenomena;
• Proper carrying of the child in his arms contributes to his harmonious physical development.

Take the baby on the hands

If the child is lying on a horizontal surface, taking him in his arms is a special ritual. There is nothing complicated in this, but there are some rules that must be observed in order not to frighten the crumbs and not harm him.

Raise the baby with two hands. With the palm of one hand we hold the back of the head, and with the palm of the second hand - the butt. All movements should be smooth and careful.

Put the child on a horizontal surface

To put the baby back into the crib, you also need to be able to correctly. Lower the baby in the same way as raised, supporting the head and ass. It is very important to lower not only hands, but also lean forward with the whole body. In this position, it is easier to coordinate hand movements, so the child is "insured" by falling onto a crib or simply by a careless landing.

After the baby touched the surface, you need to count down a few seconds, and only then remove your hands. This is done so that the child has time to adapt to a new position in the body, a new support, and is not afraid.

We hold the baby in our arms

In the arms of an adult, a newborn baby can be in different positions. Using different poses is useful for both parents and the peanut himself.Parents - to prevent muscle strain, because each way of supporting the child involves different muscles. For the baby - also for reasons of training different muscles, and for a variety of foreshortenings of the review of the surrounding space.

Cradle

The classic way to hold your child horizontally. The baby is in the arms of an adult in a cradle. The head of the crumb is located on the elbow of the adult, with the other hand the parent grasps the body and holds the legs, butt and back. The child himself with this method of wearing is, as it were, deployed to an adult, stomach to stomach.

If the child is often in such a position with mom or dad, adults need to alternate their hands, laying the baby with his head on the left, then on the right side. This is necessary for the child himself as prevention of spinal curvature and torticollis.

Column

The column is usually worn by babies after feeding. In this position, it is easier for the child to burp excess air that accumulates in the stomach during feeding. In this position, it is very important to provide support throughout the spine and hold the head. The child is held facing him, his chin lies on the shoulder of an adult, the adult's hands hold the baby in the neck and lower back.

In general, the vertical load on the spine is not useful for a newborn child, therefore, it is better to carry the child with a column in a dosage, 5-10 minutes after feeding.

You can hold the child with a column in the same way and from yourself. The baby's head rests on the shoulder, and we hold the legs and breast with our hands.

On the tummy

Many kids love to “fly” in the arms of their mother or father face down. This situation also helps to improve the discharge of gases and is the prevention of infant colic. Parents are afraid lay baby on tummy in his crib, since various “horror stories” constantly hang around this pose, so carrying a child in his arms face down is much calmer.

To hold the baby in her arms with her tummy down, we place the palm of one hand on the baby’s breast, while the baby’s chin is on the elbow. We pass the other hand between the legs, holding the crumbs by the tummy with the palm of our hands.

Sitting like a Buddha

The child in this pose resembles a seated Buddha, although apart from the outward resemblance, this pose has nothing to do with the actual sitting. With the back and head, the child rests on the chest of the adult holding it. An adult holds the baby by the chest with one hand, and holds the legs with the feet folded together with the other hand. The kid seems to be sitting in the Lotus position.

Despite the apparent “torsion”, this situation is quite physiological for the child. It is enough to recall in which position the child is in her mother’s stomach. Breeding the hips at this angle is also useful for crumbs: this is a good prevention of hip dysplasia.

Video how to hold a child

What can not be done

I would also like to “walk” through precautionary measures and outline how to take and hold the child in her arms.

• You can not lift the child by the hands and wrists. The joints of the newborn baby are still very weak.
• Do not lift the crumbs without holding the head. The neck muscles are also not yet strong, without support the head tilts back.
• If the baby is already on hand, make sure that his arms and legs do not hang down.
• In an upright position, you should always monitor the back support. The vertical load on the spine for a newborn baby is very harmful, and the consequences may not appear immediately, but only closer to preschool age.
• You need to hold the baby in your arms very carefully, without holding it too tightly.

We watch the video: how to carry a child in her arms. Wrong grabs:

We hold the child correctly during hygiene procedures

A separate narrow question is how to keep a newborn baby while washing and bathing. Usually this is told by nurses at the hospital or during nursing patronage after discharge. However, a small cheat sheet for parents will not be superfluous.

1. During washing, the baby should be face up. In fact, we hold the child with one hand and wash it with the other. The baby's head is located on the elbow, the body on the forearm. With the same hand on which the baby lies, hold it by the thigh. The second leg hangs while opening the crotch for washing. In this position, it is the newborns who are washed. Older children can be washed in the “face down” position.
2. While bathing, the baby is held by the head and ass. The most important thing is to ensure that the chin of the baby is always above the water level.

Read more: Hygiene of newborns (washing boys and girls)

For grandmothers and representatives of the older generation, some ways of carrying the baby in their arms are new and “exotic,” because before, babies were almost always worn in a cradle position. Do not be afraid to depart from the old recommendations and try different ways to carry a child. Subject to all the rules, the baby will only benefit from such a variety of provisions.

Read on: How to wean a child by the hand

GUIDE video: how to properly hold and wear a newborn