Do you know that babies tend to go in various phases in their infancy? They usually make their transitions in order to grow out in the newborn phase. This phase is the first twelve weeks of the baby when new parents learn to care for their little child.
In this article, we will discuss the signs of the newborn phase, and several useful tips on what to do for transitioning.
Signs of Newborn Phase
According to the book “The Big Book of Birth”, the newborn time period is about the parents getting used to what it means to feed a baby every two to three hours around the clock. It is also about learning to soothe a crying baby and learning to bathe a baby.
Sometimes called fourth trimester, a period described by expert Dr. Harvey Karp as the first three months of your baby, this time is when a newborn is adjusting to life outside the mother’s womb. It’s filled with an enormous amount of changes and development for the baby, and is becoming more and more prominent as an essential phase of a baby’s early days.
Social and Emotional Development
Here are some signs of newborn phase based on the article from the Better Health Channel:
- Don’t understand what is happening to them, or realize they are a separate person
- Don’t know who is feeding them, or who helps them when they cry
- Cry when they are hungry or tired, but don’t know they are being cared for
- Can’t cry for attention’ or to ‘get at’ their parents – a newborn is not capable of responding to you with any conscious purpose
- Can feel, but not think
- Smile by five to seven weeks
- Laugh out loud by three months.
Physical Development
Below are some signs that you will notice during their physical development.
- Many babies who are under three months cry a lot, especially in the late afternoon or evening. (‘Jiggling’ babies is not a good way to help them settle and can be very scary or even painful for the baby, even if they stop crying. It is very important not to shake a baby.)
- Your baby is bombarded by external stimuli (shapes, sounds, colours) and can easily feel overwhelmed.
Hearing and Seeing
These are some signs that you will see as they develop their hearing and seeing abilities.
- In the first two months, they are attracted by bright light, primary colours, stripes, dots and patterns.
- Eyes move in unison, most of the time, by six weeks.
- The human face is the first ‘object’ they recognize.
- Over the first three months, they begin to recognize particular faces and other things (like their teddy bear) in their world.
Body Movements
Below are some of the signs for growing and improving their body movements.
- Sucking, grasping, startling and pulling to stand are all reflexes.
- They start to work out how to lift their heads when lying on their tummy, and kick their legs by about eight weeks.
- In their third month, they begin to watch their hands and feet wave in the air, and also begin to wave that fist towards your face or some other desired object.
Speech and Language
Here are some signs that your baby is developing his or her speech and language abilities.
- By seven or eight weeks, they begin to discover their voice and make cooing noises and vowel sounds.
- Even by about eight weeks, they will listen to what you say, then make noises back as they ‘talk’ to you.
Tips on What to Do for Transitioning
While your baby grows and slowly graduates from the newborn stage, you will find yourself entering a phase of increased enjoyment and satisfaction in parenting. During these months, your baby will progress from being a pure “taker” of your love and energy to a “giver” as well, someone who can flash a smile and carry on irresistible interactions with anyone.
For a baby, these months are full of intense exploration. Crying is not only his method of gaining your attention but your baby is now finding all sorts of ways to investigate and what effect goes on around him. To know if your baby grows out of the newborn phase, you can check an interesting article from Popsugar.
So, what do I need to do in managing the problems of my baby’s transition in the newborn phase?
Please continue reading below the useful tips that you can do for you and your baby.
In this section, we provide you some useful tips in dealing with the difficulties of your baby’s transition in the newborn phase according to Rachel Norman from A Mother Far From Home:
- Start out how you can hold out – Don’t start doing things that you aren’t willing to keep doing. Start habits early that you’d like to continue. By doing some hard work on the front end, you will save yourself from getting stressed.
- Work on the sleep – Help your baby develop good sleeping habits from the start that will transition naturally into babies who start sleeping through the night and who nap well.
- Get some “you” time – It’s very important to have wind down and recharge time in your schedule. Try to get a 30-45 minute nap daily.
- Don’t fill your emotional basement – Some mothers out there have baby blues and postpartum depression. Even if you don’t have those, you may still feel a wide range of emotions after delivery. Don’t just ignore it. You must be real with how you are feeling.
- Let your husband help – If your husband is at home, let him help you.But if he’s very busy at work, you may ask a family member or a friend.
CONCLUSION
Babies have different kinds of stages that they need to accomplish in order to have their healthy growth and development. Knowing fully well about these stages will help you, your child, and your family to relish all the moments while successfully helping one another in the process of transition. For more reliable information and guides related to baby care, seek help from your family doctor, and physician.
