So much happens so fast as your baby adjusts to life outside the womb and you adjust to life with this little person. Knowing what to expect and understanding why babies do what they do will help you ease more comfortably into parenting.
The Newborn’s Body
Weight Changes.
Newborns usually lose around 6-10 ounces (170-280 grams), or about 5-8 percent of their birth weight, during the first week. Babies are born with extra fluid and fat to tide them over until their mother’s milk can supply sufficient fluid and nutrition. How much weight a newborn loses depends on the following factors.
Large babies with a lot of extra fluid tend to lose the most weight; babies who are fed frequently on cue and room-in with their mothers tend to lose the least weight. How quickly your milk appears also influences your newborn’s weight loss. If you room-in with your baby and breastfeed every two hours, you high-calorie hindmilk will appear sooner, and bay will lose less weight. Babies who are separated from their mothers a lot during the first week or who are fed on a three-to four-hour schedule, tend to lose the most weight. Remember to record your baby’s weight upon discharge from the hospital. This is an important reference for measuring weight gain at your baby’s first checkup.
Normal lumps.
When you run your hand over baby’s head you may feel lots of bumps and ridges, especially on top of the head, on the back of the head, and behind the ears. Babies’ skull bones consist of many small bones that are unconnected to allow for brain growth and also for molding to the birth canal. During the second year baby’s head will feel much smoother.
Another normal lump is a hard lump in the center of baby’s chest, just above the tummy. This is the end of the breastbone, and in some babies it sticks out for a few months. Around the second or their month you will find several pea-sized lumps beneath the skin on the back of the head and along the neck. These are normal lymph glands.
Swollen scrotum.
The testicles begin inside the abdominal cavity and, usually before birth, push through the groin tissue forming a scrotal sac. (Occasionally, one or both testes do not descend into the scrotum by birth time but may come down later. If the testes remain undescended by one year of age, they can be brought down by hormonal or surgical treatment.) The opening in the abdominal wall through which the testes migrated usually closes. Sometimes this passageway remains open, allowing fluid to accumulate around the testis. Called a hydrocele, this swelling seldom bothers baby and usually subsides by the first birthday. During your son-s checkup the doctor may shine a penlight on the scrotum, illuminating the water around the testicle to confirm the diagnosis.
Occasionally a loop of intestines may poke through this opening into the scrotum. This is called an inguinal hernia. Unlike a hydrocele, which is round and soft, a hernia feels more firm and oblong, about the size of a thumb. A hernia swelling comes and goes, usually disappearing back into the abdomen when baby is asleep or relaxed and bulging out again during crying. Mention this swelling to the doctor on baby’s next checkup. The hernia will need to be repaired by a minor surgical procedure, usually without an overnight stay in the hospital.
Rarely, the loop of intestines gets stuck in the scrotum, prompting immediate surgical release to prevent damage to the intestines. Call your doctor right away if the swelling suddenly gets larger, harder, darker, tender, or baby is vomiting and suffering colicky pain.
Lump in the labia.
The labia are equivalent to the scrotal sac in males, Sometimes an ovary can migrate into the labia and feels like a movable marble beneath the skin. Mention this to your doctor, who will arrange to have the ovary repositioned in the abdominal cavity by a minor surgical procedure. chauffeur melbourne airport
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