10 Things to Know About The Baby in The First Year

The first year of a baby is full of questions and self-doubts for any mom. Why isn’t my child walking yet? Is her tummy full on just breast milk? Why does my baby throw up curdled milk? –are just some questions that are going on in a first-time mom’s mind. Being a mother is a rollercoaster ride—well almost! There are innumerable highs and lows in the journey—from the first step your little one took to the first illness--the ride starts right from day one. So, in your arms is your bundle of joy and now starts the journey of parenting.

Read on to find out about your baby’s first year and some of the most common first-year experiences.

What If Your Baby in First Year?

Here, I have put together 10 pointers from my experience that should help alleviate some stress and answer some concerns of new parents.

Check with your doctor for a safe gel that can be massaged on your baby’s gums in case the baby is very irritable. Also, to reduce the swelling and to give the baby relief: tie a piece of frozen cucumber/carrot/apple slice in a sterilized muslin cloth and give it to the baby to put in her mouth. Once it becomes soft, discard it.

Spread a mat and lay the child on her tummy. Keep a toy in front of her and support her leg with your hand so that by pushing your hand backward, she will gain the force to try to grab that toy or you could lie at a distance and call your child to come to you. No infant will be able to resist a mother’s loving call.

What to do? Hold your child’s hand and help them take a few steps, or leave them near a stable piece of furniture, such as the bed so that she can hold the bed for support and walk. Using a walker? No, it is a big no as it increases the chances of an accident since the baby has no control over it! Moreover, let the child learn by themselves.

1. Infant Jaundice: If your newborn has pale eyes, with a yellowish tinge in the skin. The doctor informs you it is jaundice. And now you are worried!

   • Don’t get too stressed as this is common and known as infant jaundice. The liver filters bilirubin from the bloodstream and releases it into the intestinal tract
   • A newborn's immature liver often can't remove bilirubin quickly enough, causing an excess of bilirubin which leads to jaundice
   • This normally appears 2-3 days after the birth
2. Keep Away from Direct Sun: Expose Child to the indirect sun in the morning hours. Remove the baby’s clothing and hold her next to a large window and let the child soak in the sun and within a week or 10 days she should be fine.

3. Breastfeeding: Breast milk is life’s nectar for your little one. Experts advise feeding the infant every two hours...

   • Initially, it seems very tiring and sometimes frustrating as well, and it will take time to become an expert on this but don’t give up
   • Try to ensure your child latches on properly (baby should latch onto the entire areola rather than just the nipple)
   • Also with baby’s it's more of a demand and supply process, and so more you feed, more would the supply be 

4. What If Baby is Not Feeding Well?

   If the infant is wetting 12 to 14 nappies in 24 hours, it is assumed she is well fed (the body will be able to excrete something only if there is sufficient intake!). Another parameter to judge whether the baby is getting enough breast milk is that the infant should be able to gain 1 kg every month on an average. Having said that for the first three months, a little up and down, is nothing to worry about much. Your pediatrician will be your best guide on this

5. Throwing Milk/Curdled Milk:

   An infant throwing up a little milk after a feed, or burp, is also common up till six months of age
   • In fact, most people agree that the child spitting curdled milk is a sigh on digestion
6. But there are a couple of watch-outs here:

   What to do? Keep calm and don’t worry too much. Help the baby burp after every feed, feed frequently but in small quantities. Also, don’t put the child onto the bed straight away, after a feed but hold him in your arms and then put on the bed. Also, avoid cuddling the child (which will press his tummy against your body causing the milk to ride up).

   • The infant throwing up a spoonful or two of milk is okay, but more than that might be an issue
   • If the infant consistently throws up un-curdled milk
   • If the weight of the baby is not increasing. In my case, my daughter threw milk as if she is vomiting and we spent a lot of time at the pediatrician's but without a solution. I finally realized that this also goes away only with time

7. Teething:

   Every child is different and reaches different milestone at different times. And also loose motions, irritation, fever, an urge to bite and chew on things are common symptoms of a child’s teething

8. Tummy time:

   Make your infant lie on her tummy after 3 months (once the neck is completely stable), for 5 minutes every day. This is an exercise for the infant’s muscles as the baby will strain to roll the right side up, lift up her head to look at her environment, and also attempt to crawl. These activities help in strengthening the muscles of the baby

9. Crawling:

   Mostly the baby’s attempt crawling by 6 months. But then again, this is not a fixed timeline. Some infants don’t have patience and start crawling much earlier, while some take more time, and there are some babies who do not crawl at all but instead walk straight away

10. Weaning foods:

    Once the child has to be started on a diet besides just breast milk, many questions come to the mother’s mind--when and what and how to feed? The biggest concern right? As per the standards, you can introduce soft, semi-solid foods after 6 months. Some simple foods you can start with are a mashed banana, mashed mango, apple puree, carrot puree, and mashed-boiled potato. [Read - 4-7 Months Baby Weaning Food Guide]
11. Sitting-up on Her Own? Rollover? We first-time mother start worrying if the child is not sitting up independently or rolling over by 3-4 months, but again like mentioned earlier each child moves on her own pace to achieve those milestones. Generally, by the 5 or 6th month, babies start sitting up with support and eventually independently. Also, the rolling over starts at approximately the same time. But wait, don’t start thinking and comparing. Infants with a little higher weight, start late…I can say from experience as my daughter is chubby and she started after 7 months to sit

12. Walk:

    Many children start as early as 8 months to walk whole others walk closer to their first birthdays, so do not worry. [Read - Common Baby Genital Problems]

A parent is wired to be stressed out about their child. However, we hope that with this information we have been able to help relieve some of your stress so that you know what you can expect. Happy parenting!

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