Babies, Babies, Babies – Top tips for mums of newborns by paediatric osteopath

At Octopus Clinic we see a lot of pregnant women who have questions about life on the other side, I hope you find this useful and don’t forget we do home visits if it’s difficult for you to make it into the clinic after you have had the baby.

Trust your gut. You are doing a great job.

The world of new-borns is a minefield. And I don’t just mean poonamis. You can literally offend someone with whatever it is you choose to do. You bottle-feed, you breastfeed, you co-sleep you let your baby cry it out, you have a homebirth , you ask for an elective c-section. There will always be someone happily dishing out advice- whether you asked for it or not – most likely accompanied by research.

I have my personal preferences of what I believe to be right for my family and my children but every family unit is their own little unit that does what it needs to stay afloat and get through that first stage of life with a new-born and beyond- and that is OK.

Trust your gut and go with what is right for yours. Because let’s face it nothing prepared you for the extreme sleep deprivation, being vomited on, pooed on, screamed at, at regular intervals and yet despite all of that it is the most magical thing you have experienced to date . To love so complete and so unconditionally.

So here are my top tips which might help a little if you need it.

Baby Talk

Watch this video. I came across this when I had Nr 2 and it was absolutely mind-blowing. In summary it talks about the universal language- sounds/cries babies make in their first 3 months of live based on various primitive reflexes.

Ne- means Hungry
Eh- means I need to burp
He- means Im uncomfortable- change my nappy, positions or check if I’m too hot/cold
Owe- I’m tired
Airrrrr- I have lower gas help me get it out

Feeding

Try and leave at least one hour between feeds if you have a baby that is struggling with gas or might be colic.
New-borns have a reflex related to feeding. Whenever they feed existing food/ stools is being pushed forward within the digestive track. That is why they often pass wind or do a poo as soon as they start a feed. This can become a problem if lactose has not yet been fully digested yet in the small intestines, which usually takes about an hour. If a feed occurs prior to that undigested milk and lactose enters the large intestines. An area where water get reabsorbed. However because of the lactose more water gets drawn into the large intestines via osmotic pressure now causing everything to ferment and become gassy and uncomfortable.

The benefits of dummies

Dummies can have their place. The above situation might be a good example. If your baby is upset 30 min after a feed and you know that feeding/suckling will resolve the upset in the short term maybe think about whether you would feel comfortable offering a dummy to pass the time until the next feed.

Thrush

This is quite common. Symptoms would include a white coated tongue in your baby as well has being very unhappy on the breast. A breastfeeding mum would feel a deep pain in the breast when starting the feed. It is important to treat both you and the baby to prevent you from passing it back and forth. There have been numerous times I have come across just baby being treated yet thrush staying the same as they continuously got thrush again from the boob.

I hope you found some this useful and if you think you would like someone to have a look at you and/or your newborn in the comfort of your own home don’t forget we offer home visits.

Get in touch at info@octopusclinic.com or call 02075838288.

I look forward to hearing from you. 

Anna Aydinc

Registered Osteopath