Wednesday 12 August 2015

PARENTHOOD: 10 Things that Worried us with our Newborn Baby

PARENTHOOD: 10 Things that Worried us with our Newborn Baby
We had so many worries in those early weeks of parenthood, anything that didn't seem 'normal' was a concern. We would ring the midwife, ask the Health Visitor or look online for advice about anything and everything our baby was going through.
The following 10 things we experienced within the first month of Isabella's life that worried us but were actually totally normal and to be expected. Having said that, I'd always recommend you get any concern you have about your baby checked out by a professional, you can never be too careful. 

1) Lime green poo - when my milk came in she had a nappy with like green poo in, a very alarming colour! We rang the midwife and she said it was probably as a result of my milk coming in. Isabella probably wasn't getting enough of the hind milk (fatter milk), which can make her poo go bright green. As with anything the midwife said to ring again if it continued but luckily we only had one nappy with that colour poo in it. 
2) Milk spots - almost overnight she got these angry looking white spots over the sides of her face. They were in fact milk spots (also known as baby acne) and should clear up on their own in a couple of weeks. 
3) Smelly umbilical cord - when her umbilical cord was drying up, ready to drop off, it smelt pretty bad! At the start we thought it was her nappy but after changing it the smell didn't disappear. The midwife checked her over as said that was completely normal, after all it is rotting flesh! However it took a long time for Isabella's umbilical cord to fall off, so the midwife sent us to the doctors to check it wasn't infected, which luckily it wasn't and in fact it fell off the next day. 
4) Bleeding belly button - after her umbilical cord fell off we saw blood on her vest from her belly button. Again, this was fine and the Health Visitor explained that the belly button is a wound to begin with, so may bleed slightly. It cleared up after a few days, which was a relief. 
5) Posseting - after some feeds Isabella would be 'sick', just milky sick but sick nonetheless. I find being sick pretty traumatic but Isabella didn't seem bothered.
6) Trapped wind - after every feed we were told how important it is to burp Isabella to help prevent trapped wind. After a couple of weeks we could tell if she was suffering from a tummy ache and had trapped wind, so we tried Infacol (safe to use from birth) and spent longer burping her. My husband seems to have the technique mastered, within seconds he can get up a good long burp! Funny how you congratulate a baby for burping but disapprove if an adult does.
7) One eye opening slower than the other - her right eye would open slower than her left when she was first born. I was worried she had an eye infection or something of that nature but the midwife explained that they simply don't have control of their eye muscles yet. This can mean they go cross eyed or their eye lids don't open at exactly the same time. They check when the baby is a certain age, once they've had a chance to master the control of their eye muscles. Isabella now opens her eyes in unison, but it was a worry in the early days. 
8) Small amount of blood in her nappy - early on we found a small amount of blood in a couple of her nappies, cue mummy panic. But the midwife said that it was essentially her first 'period', as she had hormones flying around her body. 
9) Constantly feeding - I can remember at around 2 weeks old she would not stop feeding all day. I was exhausted, she wanted to do nothing but feed and I was getting emotional thinking I wasn't producing enough milk. But really I knew I was a) because the human body is very clever and b) because I had been expressing 100ml+. This constant feeding ended up being her first growth spurt, she literally grew out of baby grows overnight! 
10) Weight loss - the flip side of the growth spurt was weight loss in the first few days after birth. Isabella lost 6% of her weight at her 5 day check up, so well below the 10% they allow before becoming concerned. That didn't stop me worrying that she had lost weight, so silly now I look back but those first few days are overwhelming and emotional. 

I hope this post reassures other new mummies out there that you're not the only one to worry about things that end up being normal. But like I said at the start, any concerns are worth getting checked out by a professional first. Peace of mind is a wonderful thing.

Did/do you worry about things with your baby that turn out to be completely normal? 

Feel free to leave me a comment :)

Helen x 

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11 comments

  1. These are the kind of posts that I need right now! With Baby Skerritt due any day, I know I'll be worrying about the exact same things. (Well firstly labour, obvs) and breastfeeding!

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  2. I remember worrying about almost all of these with my first. I have been far more relaxed the third time around, but I guess you learn from your first. You never totally stop worrying though, so you? They're just to precious #ShareWithMe

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  3. Yep, yep, yep! I worried about everything but it was all normal! x

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  4. This kind of post is good for mums to be, like me :), so thanks!

    Gem x
    gemsi2011.blogspot.com

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  5. I can relate to most of these! I was so worried that Madeleines umbilical cord was infected too because it stunk but it was fine! Also the milk spots. Winding took a few days for us to get our head around. Great post!!

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  6. Thank you so much for writing this! All of these things would terrify me and I feel so unprepared for life with a newborn that these little blog posts really help me feel better. I'll be sure to remember all points and come back if I do forget!

    Paula ♥ | http://www.la-vida-fresa.com xo

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  7. oooooeeh I remember the umbilical cord! No one tells you that its meant to smell as bad as it does! lol. Thanks for the tip on the hormones and girls nappies would have never occurred to me! Just incase we have another xx #kidscorner

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  8. This is great, I wish I had read it before I had my first baby as I worried about almost all of these things too! #thelist

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  9. I think most first time parents worry/panic over all sorts of things! I was definitely more relaxed second time around! x

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  10. I remember so many of these myself as a new parent. Totally normal and I think we all worry about them. lol Thank you for linking up to Share With Me #sharewithme

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  11. Yep literally had all of these the belly buttons are gross aren't they! Great resource for new parents will really help put minds at rest Thanks for linking up to #kidscorner

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