Everyone loves new babies! The new baby smell, the cuddles and chubbiness almost guarantee a request from family members, friends and strangers alike to hold, touch or kiss baby. Handling these requests can be a little tricky when trying to protect baby from catching anything. This week on the TJMSHOW, I talked about tips and tricks for handling guests around your new baby.
It is important to remember that your newborn’s immune system is immature at birth. This means that baby is more susceptible to getting sick and has a harder time fighting infections. At birth most of baby’s immunity will come from mom, either transmitted through the placenta during pregnancy or through breastfeeding.
Balancing baby’s health with requests to hold baby can be tricky and so here are some quick tips for managing through the first few weeks after you bring baby home:
1. Breastfeeding! Yep, once again breastfeeding is at the top of the list. Through breastfeeding, moms directly provide babies with immunity. Many studies show that breastfed babies are less likely to catch upper respiratory infections including colds, ear infections, etc. I can not stress enough the importance of breastfeeding or pumping & giving baby breastmilk. So work with your provider and lactation consultant to optimize and maximize your experience with breastfeeding.
2. Say No!! Mothers of newborns should be empowered to turn down requests for someone, especially nice strangers, to hold their baby, even from family members. There are a couple of ways to handle what can be an awkward situation:
- Enlist your partner as a bad cop who can field and diffuse some of these requests
- Be prepared for the inevitable and set boundaries on the interaction such as asking people to wash their hands or use a hand sanitizer, requesting they only kiss baby’s feet or leg and stay away from the face or hands; and finally have your own swaddle blanket that can be used by guests to hold baby. Bonus: swaddling your newborn will keep them calm & make the visit even more pleasant for your guests.
3. Create a breastfeeding/ visitors basket. One of the best advice I ever got as a new mom was from a friend and mentor of mine who was herself a mom as well as a midwife. My breastfeeding basket was a time & life saver and allowed me to breastfeed anytime, anywhere in the house and most importantly I didn’t have to interrupt myself when visitors dropped by. What was in my basket:
- Hand sanitizer
- Hand wipes
- Receiving blankets ( 3 )
- Crib shoes
- Nursing pads
- lanolin cream
- nursing necklace
- Water bottle
- Magazines
These tricks got me through the first few weeks of visitation with both of my children. I probably upset a few people who did not understand the boundaries I set, but the health and safety of my children was worth it!
PS Nursing basket can also have some toys and activity books to keep your toddler distracted while you breastfeed!