The birth of the firstborn is not only the joy of motherhood, but also many new responsibilities.
One of the first questions that a young mother may have is related to walking. When can I go for a walk with a newborn for the first time, how to dress him, how much can I walk?
Answers to all these questions will help to organize the daily routine of the crumbs.
First walk with a newborn
The patronage sister, who will visit the young mother after being discharged from the maternity hospital, will tell you in detail how to care for the baby. Including will give recommendations on walking with a newborn, taking into account the time of year. It happens that patronage is delayed, but you want to walk with the baby. No matter how much this is desired, you will have to wait a bit after discharge with walks.
On the first walks with a newborn, pediatricians recommend going out a week after discharge from the hospital. First, the baby needs to settle in in a new environment, get used to the sounds and touches. Adaptation processes proceed in different ways, and a weekly handicap will be enough for any child's body.
The first walk is very important for both the newborn and his mother. Inexperienced parents have questions about clothes for crumbs, and about the duration of the walk. Fifteen minutes are enough for the first walk with a newborn, and if it is very cold outside, then ten.
From the second day, the duration of the exercise should be increased by ten minutes daily. Over time, you need to spend two to three hours on the street: this is a guarantee of good health, good mood and a long night's sleep of the baby.
In this case, seasonality must be taken into account. In the cold season, you need to walk with the baby less than in the warm. In the offseason, the duration of walks with the newborn depends on the weather.
How to dress a newborn for a walk
It is important for a young mother to understand the principles of such an important process as dressing the baby. The golden rule of an experienced mother: always get dressed first, and then take care of the baby. If you do the opposite, the child will sweat indoors and almost certainly get cold. In addition, feeling discomfort from the heat, he will begin to cry, which will spoil the mood for both mom and the baby itself.
What can facilitate the first walks.
• Thinking over your baby’s walking wardrobe, give preference to comfortable clothes. It is necessary to give preference to overalls-slip. One-piece jumpsuit provides freedom of movement, does not rub back. This is the best alternative to the undershirt and sliders.
• It is important that the entire dressing and subsequent undressing process takes as little time as possible. The faster the mother succeeds in dressing the baby and taking it out to the street, the less problems the mother will have, the calmer the baby’s sleep will be.
• Before dressing the baby, the mother must fully prepare all the things that she needs for a walk. Be sure to take a bottle of water in the summer.
• For winter walks, a fur envelope or a transformer jumpsuit is ideal. It is warm and comfortable.
• A cap for a newborn is required at any time of the year. Make sure that inside the cap there are no rough seams that will rub and press on the head. In summer, one bonnet is enough. In winter, be sure to wear a warm hat on top. Headwear for the baby should be worn in the very least, directly in front of the street door.
All actions of the mother should be quick, affectionate, devoid of nervousness. The emotional relationship of the infant with the mother in the first months and even years of life is very strong. In order not to be nervous herself and not to upset the child with inept dressing, mother needs to master a simple but very important science as soon as possible.
Rules for walking with a newborn
The most important rule of walking with a newborn - avoid both overheating and hypothermia. The fact is that in infants their own thermoregulation is practically absent. Therefore, they sweat and overheat easily and freeze just as easily.
Another golden rule for first walks: the child must be worn the same as on himself, plus another layer of fabric in season. Well, for example: in the heat, when you want to take off not only all the clothes, but also something else to boot, you can put on the baby only a thin vest and sliders. In the winter cold, you can put on a woolen blouse, another pair of socks over a cotton vest and warm overalls, and only then put the crumbs in a fur envelope.
Here are a few more rules that will help make walking with a newborn pleasant and easy.
• It is better to walk with the baby after feeding. A well-fed baby will calmly fall asleep in the fresh air, will not freeze, and will not cause any trouble to mom;
• It is no coincidence that pediatricians insist on walking in the "patterned shade of trees" away from roads and highways. A calm environment, the absence of noise and direct sunlight - ideal conditions for a leisurely walk with a stroller;
• for a winter walk, you must always take 2 pacifiers with you. If the baby cries out, it can easily be soothed with a nipple. Otherwise, and sore throat is not far. The second nipple is a spare, in case an angry baby spits out the first dummy.
Is it possible to walk in bad weather? In principle, when the baby becomes older, it can be groomed out on the street in the cold and in a drizzling rain. But with a newborn, it is better to refrain from risky actions. If the street is very hot, above 30, or very cold, below 15 degrees, stay at home.
The lack of fresh air can be made up for by a “walk” on the balcony. Another option is to put the warmly dressed fed baby to sleep with the window open. The only things to avoid are drafts, strong winds, dangerous balconies, an open wheelchair (the visor for safety needs to be lifted).
You can not walk with a baby whose temperature has risen. If the baby cries for no reason or shrieks piercingly, it does not behave as usual, turns very pale or, on the contrary, blushes, there can be no talk of walks. Call a doctor or call an ambulance.
Walking with a newborn in the summer
You can start walking with “summer” babies a little earlier than with those born in winter cold. You can go for the first walk already on the fifth day after discharge from the hospital, although it is better to wait until the seventh day.
Important, that we are talking about full-term, completely healthy newborns. The regimen for the care of children with pathologies or diseases should be prescribed by a pediatrician.
In the summer, you can walk with the baby twice at a time convenient for mom. The only caveat: you should not go out with the newborn in the middle of the day, when the sun is very active and the air temperature is high. The duration of each walk should be increased gradually. If mom has no strength for the second walk, she can be replaced by the duty "walk on the balcony."
The basic rules of summer walks with a newborn:
• wear cotton or other natural fabrics on your baby to avoid diaper rash and skin irritation;
• do not use synthetics at all, including not buying blankets, mattresses and tabs in a stroller made of non-natural materials;
• it is very easy to dress a child in the heat, as convulsions can occur from overheating;
• a cap of light fabric is required;
Be sure to put a bottle of water and two soothers in the stroller. If the child did not have a chair, it is useful to bring along a diaper, a replaceable diaper, wet wipes for babies or a clean cloth soaked in water. In an extreme case, away from home, you can quickly carry out hygiene procedures and continue the walk.
Winter walks with a newborn
“Winter” babies grow stronger, since from the first month of life they walk in the frosty winter air. It can be said that both the baby and the mother were lucky: the pathogenic bacteria die in the cold, there is little dust and allergens in the air.
However, the first walk is worth leaving only after two weeks, and walk no more than five minutes (in warm weather you can spend 7-10 minutes in the open air). Do not go out with your baby at very low temperatures, during snowfall and strong winds.
The baby’s face should be covered with a diaper from the cold air and it must be ensured that the crumbs do not freeze the forehead, cheeks and nose. If possible, you need to walk with the baby twice a day, sometimes replacing the second exit with sleep on the balcony or with an open window.
Walking times should vary with temperature. If the frost is weak, you can walk longer. Gradually, the time for a winter walk should be increased to one and a half hours (on cold days, one hour is enough).
Off-season walks with a newborn
Spring and autumn create a lot of problems for young mothers. It is often difficult to understand how to better dress a child. The weather can instantly change, and in any direction. Either the rain will freeze, the sun will begin to fry, or it will suddenly become colder. All this is not a reason to refuse to walk with the baby: fresh air is vital for the normal development of crumbs.
The first exit to the street, depending on weather conditions, can be outlined on the fifth, sixth or seventh day after discharge from the maternity hospital. For the first time, ten minutes will be enough. Every day, add 10 minutes to bring the walk time to one and a half hours.
When going outside, do not forget to bring along a raincoat and film, which in which case you can cover the stroller. All this is necessary in order to quickly return home. Walking in the rain is not a good idea. A film or raincoat with which the stroller will be closed will prevent fresh air from entering. It will be hot and stuffy for the baby in such greenhouse conditions, no use, and you can catch a cold in two counts.
For walks in the offseason, it is better to buy lightweight demi-season overalls. Even better if there are several, for different weather conditions.
For newborns, fresh air is extremely important. Properly organized daily walks allow you to form a strong immunity, have a wonderful effect on the nervous system.
