When it comes to newborn safety, it is much easier to achieve than, let’s say, the safety of a toddler. This is because infants move much less than older kids. In fact, newborns spend most of their time sleeping. Therefore, it is not necessary to make drastic changes in your home in order to make it baby-friendly.
Of course, this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do your best to ensure an utmost wellbeing of your child. There are some things you need to pay extra attention to, thus reducing the risk of any accident happening. Here are some of those things!
Ensuring the Baby’s Peaceful Sleep
Sleep is essential for proper infant development. Apart from helping them grow, sleeping also makes the baby healthier. This is why the role of the parent is to do everything in their power to ensure that the newborn gets at least 14 hours of sleep a day. The first thing you should do is find good crib and mattress for you baby!
Keep the Crib Safe
When choosing the crib, you must look beyond the colors and shape. What should matter to the parents is the mattress that goes inside it. The advice is to find a firm mattress that will fit the crib’s size perfectly. Buying such mattress means reducing the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Basically, the baby won’t sink in the mattress, not fall into the space between the crib and the mattress.
Another good advice is to buy a mattress that is made of breathable materials. This way, even if the baby turns on the belly somehow, it won’t suffocate. Also, the surface of the mattress needs to soft so that the baby would feel comfortable laying on it for hours every day. After all, the newborn is going to spend more than 15 hours every day lying on the mattress in the first few days since the birth.
Move Furniture Away From Your Baby’s Crib
It is true that newborns are small and weak to climb furniture; you still need to keep it away from the crib. Why? Because tall furniture can fall over the crib, especially if you live in an area prone to earthquakes! Even a slight movement can cause furniture, books or household appliances to fall on the crib and endanger the baby’s life.
Another advice is to move the crib away from windows, not only because of the fear that the baby could craw out the crib and fall through the window, but also because sunshine and artificial light can mess up their sleeping pattern. For the same reason, you are also advised to move away electronic appliances, such as TV, radio, and computer, away from the baby’s crib.
Make Sure the Baby Sleeps Alone
One of the most common causes of SIDS is the suffocation. It usually happens because during the sleep, which is why it is extremely important to ensure that your baby sleeps alone in its crib. Under no circumstances should you have the baby sleep in the same bed with you.
You also need to ensure that there are no bits of clothes or toys inside the crib. Of course, keeping dangerous items away from the baby goes without saying. Things like dining utensils, razors, and medicines have nothing to do near the place where the newborn sleeps!
Baby Needs to Sleep on the Back!
It is important to always put your baby on the back to sleep, not only because it promotes a proper physical development but also because it reduces the risk of SIDS. The reason is simple – when the baby is on the baby, the risk of suffocation is close to zero!
Be Careful When Changing Your Baby’s Diaper
You might think that a newborn baby is too small to roll over or make some other sudden movements; many babies do have such kind strength. That this means is that the risk of baby falling on the ground is real!
That is exactly the reason why baby cribs were invented. When your baby is in the crib, such risk does not exist. But, your newborn is in danger of rolling over and falling when you change the diapers. The rule of thumb is not to trust your baby – even if the baby is calm at one moment, it can start wiggling in no time.
When doing a diaper change, you need to focus only on that task. Everything else can wait until you’re done. The good news is that, usually, the whole process doesn’t take longer than only a couple of minutes.
Be Extra Careful When Bathing the Baby
A huge number of fatal accidents happen during the bathing of the baby. Even a tiny bit of carelessness can cause the baby to slip or drown in the bathtub. That is why it is important never to leave the newborn alone in the tub.
Another bath-related thing the parents need to pay attention to in order to ensure ultimate newborn safety is the baby cosmetics. You should know that the infant’s skin is much gentler than the skin of a toddler, for example. This is why you should use only 100% natural products for the hygiene of your newborn.
Taking Care of Baby’s Nutritional Needs
Infants spend their first few weeks of live sleeping most of the time. In fact, they wake up only to eat. That is why your job as a parent is to ensure the baby gets food every time it gets hungry. Usually, an infant eats 8-10 times each day!
Food is essential for the proper development of an infant, as well as for the newborn safety. But, what kind of food is the best for your infant – breast milk or formula? Well, there’s no ultimate answer to this question. Some pediatricians believe that there’s no alternative than mother’s milk, while others believe that formula is more nutrient-rich.
