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Child care up to 1 month. What is the first thing a mother needs to know about newborns? How do the senses develop during this period?

A newborn baby is an amazing creature. Weak and helpless, he is able to withstand stress relatively easily that would overwhelm an adult. It’s no joke - to suddenly find yourself in a completely unfamiliar external environment, and even if necessary, instantly switch to a new way of breathing, blood circulation, and then nutrition!

A newborn is very small, but this small fragile body contains the most powerful growth potential. His digestive organs are capable of absorbing 600-700 g of mother’s milk per day, but this is a fifth of his body weight!

A newborn comes into the world with a sufficient supply of expedient reflexes. As soon as you touch his lips with your finger, he stretches them out with his proboscis, getting ready to suck. Drop some sweet solution onto your child's tongue, and he will begin to suck it in, smack his lips, and in response to something sour, salty or bitter, he will wrinkle his face, scream, and try to clear his throat. A loud sudden sound will make him wary - the child will wrinkle his forehead, as if listening, and become worried. The baby distinguishes smells and recognizes his mother by the smell of milk, which for him is associated with pleasant sensations.

But the most amazing thing is that a newborn is already an individual, already a character!

Perhaps, first, we should understand the truth that a child is not a miniature adult, but has its own very specific characteristics that must be taken into account. Each age has its own characteristics.

You can evaluate your child’s mental development yourself. For example, check for the presence of basic reflexes:

- “plantar” reflex - you run your finger along the sole, and the child withdraws the foot,
- “sucking” reflex - you run your finger over the child’s lips, and he readily folds his lips into a tube and smacks his lips, makes sucking movements,
- “grasping” reflex - you put the tip of your finger in the child’s hand, and he squeezes it tightly.

If the listed (you must admit, quite funny) reflexes are present, your newborn baby is normal.

Remember that a child’s character is formed from the first days of his life, including in communication with you. Character formation begins with conditioned reflexes: positive and negative. The concern of parents is that there be more positive conditioned reflexes, and, naturally, fewer negative ones. Positive conditioned reflexes arise in response to regular nutrition, regular hygiene procedures, communication, and affection. There should be a sense of order and routine in everything that concerns the child. The child must feel cared for.

But if you are inconsistent, irritable, and sometimes even angry (after all, sometimes you don’t want to get up at night to swaddle the baby, and even if you, dad, have to go to work early in the morning), then the child will develop a nervous character - and this will interfere him (and not only him) all his life.

In the very first days after you arrive home from the maternity hospital, you and your child will definitely be visited by a nurse and a local pediatrician. Don't hesitate to ask them any questions you have about your baby and his care.

It is recommended to weigh your baby regularly. This can be done in a clinic setting. But it’s more convenient, of course, at home. In the first year of life, it doesn’t hurt to monitor your own weight gain using a table in which the x-axis is the child’s weight in grams, and the y-axis is months or weeks of life. Normally, the curved line that you get on this table should be smooth - without sharp jumps up or down. If the line stays at the same level for several days, you should not worry. When a child is healthy and has a good appetite, he will gain the desired weight. If the line goes down, immediately bring this to the attention of your pediatrician.

Pediatricians determine the individual appropriate weight of a child, resorting to all sorts of clever formulas and calculations. It is enough for parents to know that their child in the first three months of life, with normal development, should gain from 20 to 30 grams of weight daily.

Don't overfeed your children. A fat child does not mean beautiful. Increased weight is not a guarantee against diseases.

As a rule, young mothers and fathers are afraid to even hold their newborn in their arms at first. And this is no coincidence. They don’t know how to properly hold a baby. He is so fragile and tender, small.

You cannot lift a child by the arms.

You cannot hold the baby so that his head is thrown back. The child's head must be supported.

It’s not difficult to learn how to hold a baby correctly: the baby practically lies on your left hand, and the head is supported by your elbow; With your right hand you support your legs.

In other words: it is necessary that the baby’s body has three places of support - the back of the head, at the level of the shoulder blades and at the level of the pelvis.

From the very first days, there is no need to coddle the child excessively and carry him in your arms all day. The child quickly gets used to such treatment and can no longer live without it, demands it, and becomes capricious. And if the mother, who is busy another time, cannot babysit him again, the child goes to great lengths - he starts screaming. Like it or not, you have to give in. There is no need to panic at the first cry of the child. Come and find out the reason for crying - newborns have 4 such reasons: wet, something hurtsI'm hungry, I want to go to my mom. It happens that as soon as the baby changes his diaper, he immediately calms down.

In the first case, the child must be swaddled. In the second case, reconsider his clothes (experienced mothers know, of course, that baby undershirts are put on inside out - with the seams facing out, so that they do not rub or put pressure on the baby’s delicate skin). Well, in the third case, you just need to look at the clock to see if it’s time to feed your baby.

Due to the fact that the baby is still too weak and his neck muscles are not developed, head movements are limited; in less ventilated places - on the back of the head, on the neck - sweat appears from time to time. If it is not removed in a timely manner, irritation may occur in the indicated areas - in the form of pinpoint red rashes. Parents usually call it sweating sweat. If you continue to ignore it, irritation under the influence of new sweat may intensify. When an infection occurs, even pustules appear. And this is already a serious complication. To prevent it, remove excess sweat from time to time with a napkin.

If you monitor your child’s weight using a chart, remember that the weight curve should rise slowly and smoothly. By the end of the first month of life, the baby should weigh about four kilograms. But don't worry if he weighs three and a half kilograms. Individual characteristics must also be taken into account.

The same goes for growth. A normal full-term baby has an average length of fifty centimeters. In the first few months of life, the child grows by five centimeters. But if you find out that someone's child is bigger, don't worry.

Don't forget to pay attention to the condition of your baby's navel. In some children - especially restless ones who “love” to scream - the navel protrudes somewhat when screaming. Sometimes the navel forms a rather significant bulge when screaming or coughing, sometimes reaching the size of a walnut or more. This is an umbilical hernia, which occurs due to weakness of the abdominal wall. If you notice such a hernia, consult your local pediatrician immediately. There are cases when an operation has to be performed, but most often the hernia is eliminated on its own when the child gains weight in a few months and when adipose tissue develops more strongly.

Never forget that children's skin is very delicate, and the child himself is still weak to successfully withstand some unfavorable external factors. You cannot frivolously leave a child lying on a wet bed for a long time; this can cause diaper rash to appear on the baby’s body. Diaper rash appears in the form of redness of areas of the skin. The skin is inflamed, very sensitive, painful. The child is naturally restless and cries. If appropriate measures are not taken, blisters may form at the site of redness. The blisters then burst and the picture becomes unpleasant.

How to prevent diaper rash: do not use diapers longer than three hours or in the hot season,strive to change the baby on time;pay attention to the quality of washing of diapers and onesies (the fabric may contain uric acid residues, which, even with dry diapers, can irritate delicate skin).

If your baby is prone to diaper rash, when changing it, you should wipe it with a clean damp cloth - wipe the wet areas, and treat the diaper rash areas with rich baby cream.

One of the features of the first month of a child’s life is scabs on the scalp. Scabs occur when there is an excess of secretions from the skin glands. The discharge dries up and can be difficult to remove later. The scabs are yellowish in color, sometimes translucent, sometimes scaly and flaky. In no case should you be too active in cleaning your child's head of these scabs, as this can injure the skin and cause infection. Even the smallest infection is fraught with danger for the child - he is still so weak. Scabs are removed using a cotton swab with sterilized vegetable oil and only after bathing the child.

Do not leave your child lying in one position for a long time. He is still small and cannot turn around on his own. From lying for a long time without changing position, the child's muscles get tired, and the child begins to worry. In addition, prolonged lying in one position, especially in the first months of life, has an adverse effect on the formation of the child's head. For example, if a child constantly lies on his back, then over time his head may have a slightly sloping occiput. This is explained by the fact that the “fontanelles” - the growth zone - on the child’s head are still open, the skull is plastic.

Hearing of a newborn baby in the first month of life

Some young parents, from the first day they bring their child from the hospital, tiptoe around the apartment, afraid of disturbing the newborn. Perhaps this is unnecessary. In the first few days after birth - about a week - the baby still does not hear very well. The auditory nerve develops fully throughout the first year of life. Accordingly, the baby’s hearing develops gradually.

From the first day of life, pay attention to your baby's hearing. It has been reliably established that the child, even in the womb, hears sounds - muffled, of course - the sounds of music, voices. By the way, the child already distinguishes the mother’s voice from others: he hears this voice louder; the child perceives it not only with the organ of hearing, but also with the body - the so-called tissue conduction (do you know how Beethoven listened to music when he became completely deaf? He listened to music with his body - hugging the piano). When the baby is born and brought to you for the first time, he already recognizes your voice. This voice is his own. Talk to him often. And remember: from the first days the child already distinguishes intonations well, and can distinguish a gentle tone from a strict one.

Regarding the development of hearing (not only physiological, but also musical), try to let your child, as recommended by some authors, “bathe in sound.” Of course, these “baths” should be carried out while the child is awake. In the first month of life, your baby sleeps almost all the time, but now he has grown a little, and the time for communication comes more and more often. Talk to your baby, develop his hearing; let music sound in your home during your waking moments - quiet, calm music, something from the classics, with an easily guessable melodic pattern. But the baby should sleep in peace and quiet.

Vision of a newborn baby in the first month of life

The eyes, as a complex optical device, are also not yet fully developed in a newborn. It has been established, and you yourself will notice, that in the first days the child cannot yet fix his gaze. Soon the baby will be able to cope with this task, but for some time he will not be able to adapt to near and distant objects. He seems to see at the same distance. And this distance is 25-30 cm. Hence the recommendations...

If you want to show your baby something - a bright toy, for example - hold it in front of him at a distance of 25-30 cm. If you want the child to look at the expression on your face (and he already distinguishes a gentle face from a calm one, and even more so from a stern one) ), approach the child at a distance of 25-30 cm. Here it would be appropriate to recall the recommendations of scientists for reading: that the book should be at a distance of 25-30 cm from the person reading. What do you think: is this a coincidence?

When a child sees your face, let him see a gentle smile. In this case, he feels protected, and his mood will be better. The baby understands everything. “Understanding” is provided to him by instincts. They are like an “autopilot” for him in a sea of emotions and sensations.

Touch of a newborn in the first month of life

A child discovering the world should have all his senses involved from the first days of life. We have already talked about auditory and visual impressions. The child’s organs of smell and taste are also quite developed and “work” - this has been established experimentally. Now about the sense of touch... When a child is awake, he needs to feel his body, feel touches on the body. This is important both for the correct formation of the organs of perception and for subsequent correct orientation in space. If the child does not sleep, fuss with him more. He likes it, it's useful for him. Play with him, take him by the hands, stroke him.

Swaddling a newborn

This is not the first year that pediatricians and orthopedists have been telling parents that they should not swaddle their baby tightly, with their legs stretched out, standing at attention. Recently, this call has become especially relevant, because children are more likely to experience dysplasia - underdevelopment of the hip joint. The defect itself is small and outwardly completely invisible, but if it progresses, dislocation of the hip joint may occur. And this will require long-term treatment, even surgical treatment in advanced cases.

It is very simple to create conditions to prevent dysplasia from progressing: so-called wide swaddling will help. A pose with slightly spread hips is natural and physiological for the child; it creates favorable conditions for the proper development of the hip joints.

For wide swaddling, various panties and diapers have been invented, but you can get by with an ordinary flannel diaper, folding it lengthwise several times and placing it between the baby’s legs, under the diaper.

Traditionally, a child in the first months was swaddled “with arms”, but it is more correct to leave the arms free by sewing up the ends of the sleeves of the vest. Put on a cap or scarf only after swimming. The main heat exchange in a newborn occurs through the scalp, and it is important to prevent “overheating”.

Breastfeeding a newborn

Do we need to prove that breastfeeding is the best? It was beyond competition when it could only be replaced with cow’s milk, and it remains beyond competition now, when many dry milk formulas made using advanced technologies have appeared. These mixtures accurately reproduce the chemical composition of human milk and are enriched with vitamins and other beneficial additives. This is a fairly complete diet for a child. But - only food. And mother's milk is more than nutrition. It contains something that is not and cannot be in artificial mixtures: biologically active substances, hormones, antibodies that protect against diseases. Antibodies against the pathogen that caused the baby’s disease even appear in mother’s milk.

But, moreover, breastfeeding has enormous psychological significance for both: mother and child are united here. After cutting the umbilical cord, a living, warm stream of milk flowing from mother to child reconnects them, promoting mutual understanding.

Although the sucking reflex is dominant and is formed in utero, not all children immediately take the breast well. Difficulties may arise if the mother's nipples are flat and not convex enough. Such nipples should be prepared for feeding during pregnancy by carefully pulling them out with your fingers several times a day. The same must be done before each feeding, and when starting to feed, use your middle and index fingers to lightly squeeze the breast at the edge of the areola (nipple circle) - the nipple will move forward and it will be easier to put it into the baby’s mouth. It is necessary to invest not only the nipple, but also the areola - this way the baby will swallow less air, and this is the prevention of regurgitation. Mother's breasts may be too tight for your baby. You can help by expressing the first drops of milk. But this is done only as a last resort, because just the first drops of mother’s milk are a drink for the baby, and the rest are food. Sometimes it becomes uncomfortable for a child to suckle simply because the mother does not think to lift her breast with her hand, and she covers his nose, preventing him from breathing. It happens that the mother presses the baby too tightly to herself, and this makes him reflexively throw back his head.

Pediatricians have long noted that among infants, actively sucking and lazy ones are clearly distinguished. The active one, having made several searching movements with his head, finds the nipple himself, sucks rhythmically, without interruption, and having “obtained” what is required, he releases the nipple and falls asleep. The lazy one (this is often weakened, and not just phlegmatic), after sucking for a few minutes, begins to doze off at the chest, occasionally making sluggish and unproductive sucking movements in his sleep. This one has to be encouraged to eat, stirred up, woken up, sometimes even unswaddled for a minute so that he finally wakes up and begins to eat.

A great expert on all the intricacies of feeding, Professor A.F. Tur also identified a group of children who seemed to be afraid of the breast - they would suck on it a little and lean back with a grimace, almost expressing disgust. Perhaps this is a gourmet who will not like the smell of milk that appears after mom eats onions, garlic or some kind of spicy herbs. It’s better not to eat anything “smelly” at first, but try it later, little by little, checking the child’s reaction. Avoid such obviously allergenic foods as citrus fruits, chocolate, and strawberries.

Normally, feeding lasts 15-20 minutes, but in the first days, while the details of this procedure are being worked out, it can drag on for half an hour.

The usual rhythm of feeding a newborn is 7 times a day, every three hours with a night break. However, it is advisable to feed a child born with low body weight (below three kilograms) more often and feed at night. In general, feed not clockwise, but according to need. Recently, pediatricians almost unanimously recommend feeding the child as needed, but mothers often misunderstand this phrase. According to need - this does not mean random feeding, but means establishing a feeding regimen that is individual for your baby. When a child eats every day at a certain time, digestion works better, gases do not bother him, and the child behaves much calmer.

A child born with a body weight of more than four kilograms is a candidate for becoming fat, do not overfeed him. As a rule, babies do not suck from the breast more than necessary, but large children sometimes initially have an increased appetite. If such an assumption arises, it is necessary to determine by control weighing before and after feeding how much he sucks. And if it turns out that it is more than 120-130 g, then it is better not to allow additional feedings. Human fat cells are formed in the first years of life and appear in adulthood.

After feeding, hold the baby upright for a few minutes so that he burps the air - this will reduce the likelihood of regurgitation. And then be sure to put him on his side, because if he does burp, he may choke in the position on his back.

The first weeks of breastfeeding are a time of concessions, compromises, and mutual adaptation. Feeding may turn out to be somewhat chaotic, but by the end of the month a rhythm should still be formed that is close to the generally accepted one, and with corrections made by the child’s characteristics.

What is natural and what is alarming

If an abscess appears on the body, looking like a vesicle filled with a yellowish liquid with a red rim, and, moreover, if there are several such pustules, this may be the beginning of a purulent-inflammatory disease. Call a doctor, and quickly!

In medicine, there is the concept of “entry gate of infection”. In a newborn, such a “gate” is often used to create an umbilical wound. If, after the crust falls off, the bottom remains wet and oozes, a doctor or nurse should take care of the navel. Before they arrive, you can only drop a little 3% hydrogen peroxide into the wound, and when it foams, dry it with a clean, sterile cotton wick.

Drastic sudden changes in a child’s behavior can be alarming if, for example, he, who has always suckled willingly, suddenly stubbornly refuses to eat. Or, previously relatively calm, he begins to cry continuously, even scream, without calming down either after he is swaddled, or from warmth, or in arms, or with a pacifier, or after eating. And if he doesn’t eat, even more so! Of course, this can happen to a healthy child, but it’s better not to take risks, not to speculate, but to consult a doctor. This is the rule forever!

What should a newborn be able to do by the end of the first month of life?

By the end of 1 month of life, the newborn:

Winces and blinks at a sharp sound.
For example, from 9-11 days, the child already distinguishes sounds, reacting by crying to sharp, loud ones, but does not yet listen to them. He begins to listen between 3 and 5 weeks of life. The baby calms down at a strong sound (auditory concentration reaction) for 10-15 seconds, listens to the adult’s voice, the sound of the toy.
Keeps a stationary object in the field of vision, i.e. capable of visual concentration.
By days 20-22, uncoordinated movements of the eyeballs disappear. Visual concentration occurs on days 15-30; gaze retention on something else is short-lived. The baby fixes his gaze on a stationary object in his field of vision for 5-10 seconds. General movements are still slowed down.
While lying on his stomach, he lifts and holds the head for 5-20 seconds.
For example, already at 8–10 days the child tries to raise his head if he is placed on his tummy, and at two weeks of age he turns it towards the source of the sound.
During this period, the first smile appears in response to addressed speech.
A smile is a call for mutual understanding, an invitation to communicate, an expression of positive emotions!
The baby may make individual sounds in response to conversation, sometimes the reaction is still delayed for several seconds.
For example, some babies, within a few hours of birth, can imitate if someone sticks out their tongue or opens their mouth. At the very beginning, the baby cries or screams, then begins to make throat sounds, which become less and less as the month progresses. In the second month, the baby will begin to pronounce sounds reminiscent of “a”, “kh”, “ah”, etc... When the baby is sleeping, you can often hear quiet snoring or even “snoring”.
The movements are not yet coordinated.
For example, already on the first day of life, more than 170 are recorded in a healthy newborn, and on the 10th day of life, more than 550 individual and general movements per minute! Of course, we are talking about immature, uncoordinated movements that are a consequence of the excitation of immature centers of the brain. But all these movements are very important for the development of the child!

After 2-3 weeks, you can already walk outside with your newborn baby, away from older children. Dress your child appropriately for the weather. But even before that, often ventilate the room in which the baby is located (naturally, by moving the child to another room for this time or by dressing appropriately). In the summer, you can sunbathe in front of an open window to prevent neonatal jaundice and rickets. Let your baby grow up healthy!

It would seem that one month is a very short period of time, but for a baby it is a whole life milestone, marked by a number of important changes and the acquisition of new skills. When the child is 1 month old, parents should devote every effort not only to properly caring for him, but also to develop his physical and psychological abilities.

1 month old baby – weight and height

One of the main questions that worries almost all young mothers is how much a newborn gains in the first month of life. If in the first week most babies lose weight (by about 10%), which is due to the presence of an additional supply of fluid in the body upon birth, then subsequently they begin to gain weight. At 3-4 weeks of life, under conditions of adequate care, nutrition and the absence of pathologies, weight increases rapidly and steadily - by 15-30 g daily.

How much a baby weighs at 1 month depends on his initial weight at birth, which increases over a thirty-day period by about 600-1000 g, sometimes a little more. It is worth noting that when bottle-fed, babies gain weight faster. According to the standards of the World Health Organization, the average weight of a child at 1 month is:

for girls – 4.2 kg;
for boys – 4.5 kg.

As for the growth of one-month-old babies, this parameter increases by 3-4.5 units, and the following are considered to be the average norms:

for girls – 53.7 cm;
for boys – 54.7 cm.

1 month baby – development

The baby’s nervous system is still at the initial stage of formation, but he can already do a lot, and the child’s development at 1 month is proceeding at an accelerated pace. It is very important that parents realize that one-month-old babies are full participants in everything that happens and are sensitive to the emotional background prevailing around them. That is why if a calm, joyful mother and father are nearby, the child feels comfortable, and if someone is irritated and angry, the baby becomes anxious and cries.

What can a 1 month old baby do?

In order for the baby to adapt to the world around him and prepare for conscious movements, nature has endowed him with important reflexes. In a healthy baby, they are clearly visible, and if desired, parents can check them (the child should not be hungry, tired, or wet). Let's look at the basic reflexes inherent in a 1 month old baby:

Sucking– if any object (pacifier, nipple) gets into the baby’s mouth, he begins to make rhythmic sucking movements.
Search– with a gentle touch on the cheek and corners of the baby’s mouth, he stretches out his lower lip and begins to look for the mother’s breast.
Upper protective– if you lay the baby down with his stomach, he immediately turns his head to the side.
Prehensile– the baby involuntarily clenches his hand into a fist and firmly holds the finger placed in his palm.
Crawling reflex– when you touch the baby’s soles with your palm in a tummy position, he will try to push off, as if trying to crawl.
Automatic gait reflex– when holding the baby vertically and bringing his feet closer to a solid support, he will begin to make movements with his legs that resemble walking.

By studying the behavior of a newborn in the first month of life, you can easily learn to understand his needs and desires. Crying is still the only way to communicate with adults, but an attentive mother may notice that it is not always the same, but has different intonations, volume, and so on. So, if the baby does not see anyone nearby, but needs communication and is bored, his crying is characterized by the fact that it sounds for several seconds with small pauses. Hungry crying often gradually increases in volume, and crying from pain is monotonous, continuous, with periodic intensification of the scream.

What many kids at this age can already do:

hold your head suspended for several seconds when placing it on your tummy;
react to surrounding sounds (blinks or flinches at sharp sounds, listens to the ringing of a bell, turns his head towards sounds);
recognize mother's voice;
during feeding, focus your gaze on the mother’s face, examine stationary and smoothly moving objects at a distance of 20-30 cm;
distinguish bright solid colors;
consciously smile when seeing familiar faces;
try to repeat the facial expressions of your “interlocutor”;
pronounce “gurgling”, sniffling and guttural sounds, “answer” when addressed to him.

While awake, the baby makes uncoordinated movements with its arms and legs, which is associated with physiological hypertonicity of its muscles, which often disappears by the fourth month of life. My favorite sleeping position is the “frog pose” - lying on your back, bent arms raised up, bent legs spread apart. When the baby lies on his stomach, his knees are pulled up to his chest, his arms are bent at the elbows.

Toys for 1 month old babies

When a child turns 1 month old, the development of his psychological abilities and motor skills can already be improved through toys. These should be safe and beneficial objects that develop tactile sensations, visual and auditory perception:

a mechanical carousel attached to the crib, with soft music and a small number of different toys in calm colors;
rattles that can be held in the handle;
soft rattle bracelets for the leg or arm;
toys attached with an elastic band (color and black and white).

You can put small toys, strings with knots, and ribbons in the baby’s hands. Having drawn black and white geometric shapes, a smiling or sad face on cardboard, it is useful to let him look at such images. In addition, it is important already at this age to tell the baby poems, short fairy tales, and sing songs. You should pick him up more often, talk, commenting on your actions, and name the objects around him.

Nutrition for a 1 month old baby

Feeding a one-month-old baby is the most important ritual, necessary not only for satiation, but also for close tactile contact with the mother, giving the baby psycho-emotional comfort. Without a doubt, the healthiest thing is breastfeeding for a one-month-old baby, in which the baby’s body receives a maximum of valuable substances, and all senses are stimulated.

Breastfeeding at 1 month

Often, when the baby is 1 month old, the mother is already well-established, and feedings occur according to the established schedule or on demand. It is also important to support night feedings, which guarantee stable lactation and the receipt of the most valuable components in milk, produced only at night. How much a baby should eat at 1 month when breastfeeding depends on his needs, and pediatricians advise allowing infants to regulate the duration of breastfeeding themselves.

Artificial feeding at 1 month

Feeding a one-month-old baby with formula is used when the mother does not produce milk or for some reason the baby cannot or does not want to drink milk. If you had to suddenly stop breastfeeding and switch to artificial, the issue of selecting a suitable formula should be discussed with your doctor. When feeding with formula, it is advisable to position the baby in the same way as during natural feeding, without depriving him of body contact. It must be remembered that the amount of the mixture must be dosed. When a child is 1 month old, the daily food intake is one fifth of his weight.

Mixed feeding at 1 month

This type is practiced when there is reduced lactation, a lack of nutrients in milk due to poor health of the mother, and if it is necessary to administer medicinal formulas for the baby. In this case, it is important how much a child eats in 1 month, for which they weigh before and after feeding. The lack of milk is made up for with an artificial substitute, which it is advisable to offer from a spoon, a syringe without a needle, or a pipette.

1 month baby routine

The first month of a newborn’s life, as well as the next few, mostly passes in sleep, but you can begin to gradually accustom him to natural biorhythms. To do this, it is recommended to play and talk with him during the day, and to avoid excessive activity at night. By the end of 1 month, the baby will stay awake longer and sleep more soundly at night.

How long does a 1 month old baby sleep?

Sleep at 1 month is irregular and mostly consists of a phase of shallow REM sleep, which is why babies can wake up as suddenly as they fall asleep. The average daily sleep duration is approximately 18-20 hours, with periods of wakefulness lasting about 30-60 minutes. During the daytime, the baby often sleeps 5-8 times. It is recommended that mother sleep with the baby 1-2 times during the day to restore her strength.

Walks at 1 month

The first month of life should definitely include walks in the fresh air. In good weather, in both warm and cold seasons, you should go outside two to three times a day. The minimum time in the air required to harden the baby, saturate its body with oxygen, and produce it is 1.5 hours a day. When using a stroller for walks, during wakefulness you should sometimes hold the baby in your arms, allowing him to look at everything around him.

In the first month after birth, the child undergoes adaptation to a new life outside the mother’s body. This is an important time for both the baby and his parents. Let's look at the main features of the baby's first month of life.

To assess the dynamics of development, it is necessary to know the height and weight of the baby at birth

Calculate your vaccination schedule

Physiological changes

Read about what a newborn looks like in another article. Significant changes occur in the baby’s body in the first weeks of life:

Postpartum swelling goes away.
The bones of the skull become stronger.
Certain features appear on the face.
Vision changes. Improves eye coordination and focus.
The digestive tract adapts to the new diet and is populated with beneficial microflora.
Blood formation and circulation are rebuilt. The red blood cells carrying fetal hemoglobin are destroyed, and new red blood cells appear in their place.

A child in the first month of life urinates quite frequently and occurs at least 6 times a day. At the same time, the urine excreted by the baby is almost transparent. A baby at the age of 1 month has bowel movements up to 12 times a day (usually immediately after feedings). His stool is yellow in color and has a mushy consistency.

The first month is very important in a baby’s life, so contact with strangers should be minimal

Height and weight

The weight and height of a newborn baby are influenced by various factors, from heredity to the health of the baby. To determine whether everything is okay with the baby, parents and doctors weigh the baby monthly and measure the length of his body.

In addition to the baby’s body weight and length, the baby’s head circumference and the child’s chest circumference are also taken into account.

The indicators of newborn babies are as follows:

How much weight does a baby gain in the first month?

In the first month, the baby gains an average of 600 grams of weight. Note that normally, in the maternity hospital, the baby loses up to 10% of the weight with which it was born, but even before discharge it begins to gain weight back and after that only weight gain is considered normal. The baby's height increases by about 3 centimeters in the first month.

The first weighing of the baby will take place in the maternity hospital immediately after birth.

The indicators of babies at 1 month look like this:

Reflexes

The health of a newborn baby is always checked by the presence of reflexes that a baby should have. Many of these reflexes disappear over time, but their presence in a newborn is an important sign of the baby's health.

The presence of reflexes indicates the correct development of the child

The following reflexes are determined in a newly born baby:

Sucking. This is the main reflex that provides nutrition to the baby.
Prehensile. When you touch your baby's palm with a finger or a toy, you will see how the baby reflexively grabs it.
Search. When stroking or touching the cheek, the child turns his head.
Swimming. When you place the baby on your tummy, you will see that the baby makes movements similar to swimming.
Babinsky. If you run your finger along the baby's foot (along its outer edge), the foot turns and the toes on it diverge.
Walking. By supporting your baby's body so that his feet are touching a solid surface, you will notice how the baby begins to perform movements similar to walking.
Mora. With a sudden loud sound, the baby will move his legs and arms together and spread them apart.
Babkina. Press the baby's palm and see how the baby opens his mouth and turns his head.

Mode

As such, a baby does not have a routine in the first month of life - the baby sleeps for several hours, then stays awake for up to 30-60 minutes, eats and falls asleep again. A certain daily routine, individual for each baby, is formed only in the second month of life, and during the newborn period the child does not care whether it is night or day.

Newborn babies sleep an average of 18 hours a day

For information about what needs to be done in the first weeks after the baby is born, see the TV show “Baby Boom.”

Dream

A newborn spends most of the day sleeping, while the baby’s sleep is represented by three phases:

Deep sleep, during which the baby breathes calmly and deeply, and the baby's eyes are closed.
Shallow sleep, during which the baby's breathing may be erratic, and the legs and arms may twitch, as well as the eyeballs covered by the eyelids.
Drowsiness, which often occurs during feedings or when falling asleep. The baby's eyes are half-closed during this phase.

During the waking period, the baby can either lie quietly or communicate its discomfort by crying.

Nutrition

The food that is considered ideal for a newborn baby is colostrum. This is the name given to the milk that is released from the female breast immediately after childbirth and is extremely rich in substances that are beneficial for the baby. Breast milk is rightly called the best nutrition for a baby who has just been born, because even the best formula manufacturers cannot reproduce its unique composition.

It is recommended to feed a newborn baby on demand, putting the baby to the breast if the child is restless. At first there will be a lot of feedings, but as the baby grows, he will develop his own feeding pattern with pauses between feedings.

In situations where breastfeeding is not possible, it is important to choose the right formula for your baby. To do this, you should consult with a pediatrician and take into account all the nuances so that nutrition does not harm the still immature digestive system of the newborn.

When breastfeeding, it is important to ensure that the baby grasps the nipple correctly - along with the nipple area. However, the baby will still swallow some of the air, so after feeding you need to help the baby release the air (burp).

During natural childbirth, colostrum comes quickly; after the baby is born, you will be able to breastfeed almost immediately

Development

A newborn baby can still do very little. During the waking period, the baby moves its arms and legs chaotically, and the baby reacts to any irritant, be it a wet diaper or a feeling of hunger, by crying. When a child hears a sharp sound, he freezes, blinks frequently and may cry.

By the end of the first month of life, the baby can:

Smile in response to an adult’s speech.
Raise your head when lying on your stomach, holding it for up to five seconds.
Watch for stationary objects and the mother’s face, as well as moving large brightly colored objects.
Walk. The sounds made by a baby are similar to “gee”, “ha”, “gu”, so this kind of “conversation” of the baby is also called cooing.

About what happens to the baby in the first month of his life, watch the video by Larisa Sviridova.

What does a child need?

First of all, after birth, a baby needs tactile contact with his mother, so the child needs to be hugged, held, and stroked more often.
Smile at your baby more often, then the baby will quickly please you with a conscious smile.
In order for the child to develop better, talk to the baby during periods of wakefulness and often change the position of the baby - lay it on the tummy, turn it on its side, carry it vertically, supporting the head.
For better hearing development, you can not only talk to your baby with different intonations and timbres, but also play classical music for your baby. Let your child listen to it for about ten minutes every day.
Proper care of the baby is also important, which includes daily hygiene (washing, washing, cleaning eyes, nose, ears, combing, cutting nails), bathing, walks, massage, air baths.

There will be hundreds of months and dozens of years in the life of this person, but the FIRST month is four weeks of special responsibility and attention of parents, thirty days of new sensations and recognition of this world by the baby, new extraordinary impressions and experiences of mom and dad.

Physical development

There will be hundreds of months and dozens of years in the life of this person, but the first month is four weeks of special responsibility and attention of parents, thirty days of new sensations and recognition of this world by the baby, new extraordinary impressions and experiences of mom and dad. This is the month when new life literally and figuratively flows into your home. In the maternity hospital, like the shot of a starting pistol, the cry of a new citizen of our planet is heard. The start has been given, and ahead is a marathon distance of a lifetime.

During the first month after birth, the baby is usually called a newborn. Only after being born, after a difficult first breath and a deafening birth catharsis, the baby’s organs and systems begin to actively adapt to extrauterine life. Immediately in the maternity hospital, according to the rules, in the first 12 hours of life, the newborn is given the first vaccination against viral hepatitis in his life, and within 3–7 days he is vaccinated against tuberculosis (BCG). The next vaccination will be a booster vaccination against hepatitis B at 1 month of age.

The circulatory system is significantly reconstructed, red blood cells with the fetal type of hemoglobin (also called fetal) are rapidly destroyed, now irrelevant for the body, the immune system is activated, the kidneys, digestive and endocrine systems of the child, and his skin, respiratory tract and intestines solve their first problems for the first time they encounter previously unfamiliar microbes.

It is possible that in the first week after birth, the baby will lose about ten percent of its body weight. This is a consequence of the newborn’s body adapting to the extrauterine environment. Parents should not panic or worry about this. In the future, the baby will quickly recover and gain weight. In the first week, the entire body of the newborn works under great stress, and a more stable and calm state occurs only at the beginning of the second week.

Indicators of a child from birth to 1 month

Growth chart and

And a weight chart

Height

3.330-3.530 kg

Head circumference

Chest circumference

The baby spends a significant part of the day (up to 20 hours) sleeping during the first month. A newborn, as a rule, sleeps in the frog position, that is, lying on his back, with his arms bent at the elbows and raised up, and with his legs bent at the knee joints and spread apart.

During this period, a newborn has five sleep states:

deep sleep, when the baby is absolutely relaxed, breathing slowly and evenly, eyes closed and face relaxed;
shallow sleep, when the child has more rapid, not quite even breathing, possible twitching of the arms and legs, you can see how the eyeballs move under the eyelids;
a drowsy state that occurs during feeding or before falling asleep, characterized by half-closed eyes;
wakefulness, when the baby is active, makes movements with the whole body, arms and legs;
Crying to indicate that the newborn is in discomfort, such as being hungry, scared, or wet.

In the first month, the baby exhibits the following motor skills: lying on his stomach, he tries to raise his head, and sometimes he even manages to hold it in this state for several seconds. In the first thirty days, the newborn will add about 600 grams to its initial weight and grow by approximately 3 centimeters, the head circumference will increase by 1.5 - 2 centimeters.

In the first month it is very important to establish feeding the baby

Obviously, the best food for him is mother's milk. In the first days of a child's life, the amount of milk in women gradually increases, but for some (especially first-time mothers) this increase is not enough. In this regard, doctors’ recommendations for stimulating lactation are relevant. One of the main ways to stimulate lactation is to put the baby to the breast more often at the first sign of the baby's anxiety. This method is called “free feeding mode” or “feeding on demand”. Thus, some mothers get 10–12 feedings per day.

It is important to place the nipple correctly in the baby's mouth- it should cover the entire isola. It has been established that the baby sucks out the bulk of breast milk in the first 5 to 10 minutes of feeding. However, there are children who quickly get tired and fall asleep at the breast; they need to be encouraged to suck by lightly patting their cheeks, removing the nipple from their mouth and reinserting it. When sucking, the baby swallows not only milk, but also air, which the baby tries to get rid of, along with the nutrient fluid. Therefore, the procedure of regurgitation, when excess accumulated air is released, is very important. When breastfeeding, burping is optimal every 5 minutes (or when changing breasts) and every 50 g when bottle feeding. This is usually done in three ways - upright on your shoulder, face down on your lap or in a sitting position - and it's a good idea to try all three ways to see which works best for you and your baby.

Bloating, intestinal cramps, colic- frequent companions in the first months of life even in practically healthy children. Home ways to help a child with these conditions: light massage of the tummy in a clockwise direction; vertical position in the arms of an adult or the so-called “skin to skin” contact - the baby is placed with his tummy on the bare chest of the mother, reclining in a chair, covered with a blanket on top, the mother strokes his back; using a gas tube, laying the baby on his stomach for 3-5 minutes, taking Plantex (containing dill). All these methods help prevent “colic” by promoting the removal of gases from the intestines.

A very important moment in the first weeks of a child’s life is the healing of the umbilical wound. When discharged from the maternity hospital at the usual time (fifth - seventh day), the umbilical wound does not have time to heal completely.

Traditionally, it is customary to treat the navel with a solution of brilliant green (brilliant green). And this must be done daily, until the wound becomes completely dry in the morning when the child goes to the toilet and in the evening after daily bathing. Until the crust falls off, it is recommended to add a faint pink solution of potassium permanganate, an infusion of chamomile or St. John's wort to the bathing water. The temperature of the water for swimming is 37–37.5°C, the duration of bathing is no more than 5–7 minutes. If your child has discharge from the umbilical wound or redness and swelling of the umbilical ring, you should consult a doctor. You should also consult a doctor if the crust from the umbilical wound does not fall off when the child reaches 14–15 days of age.

Mental development

Innate reflexes contribute to the baby’s adaptation to the extrauterine environment. Some of them disappear in the first months of life, others transform into acquired reflexes, reaching the level of consciousness. Such innate reflexes as the reflex of sneezing, wincing, blinking, yawning, and knee-jerk reflexes are preserved in the baby for life. During the first month of life, a child has seven main reflexes:

Prehensile- appears when stroking or lightly touching the child’s palm. Reflexively, the baby grabs and holds everything that touches his palm.
Search- the baby turns his head if his cheek is touched or stroked. This reflex is a necessary component of the instinct to search for food and nutrition.
Sucking- the baby has noticeable sucking movements of the lips if you run a finger or pacifier around the mouth. The sucking reflex, like the search reflex, is firmly connected with the feeding instinct.
Babinski reflex- when running a finger along the outer edge of the foot, the toes diverge in different directions along with the rotation of the foot.
Mohr's reflex- the newborn spreads and closes his arms and legs, reacting to a loud and sudden sound.
Babkin reflex- when pressing on the baby’s palm, he turns his head and opens his mouth.
Swimming reflex- the baby makes movements similar to swimming if you put him on his stomach.
Walking Reflex- a newborn makes movements that imitate walking if you support him under his arms so that his legs touch any surface.

How do the senses develop during this period?

By the middle of the second week of life, many newborns are able to hold a moving object in their field of vision, for example, a bright rattle with a diameter of about ten centimeters. If you place a bright toy at a distance of 40–50 cm from a baby lying on his back and begin to slowly move it left and right, the child will fixate the toy with his gaze for a few seconds. A three-week-old baby is usually already able to fix with his gaze more or less large stationary objects, for example, the face of mom or dad. If you approach a newborn lying on his back at a distance of 40–50 cm and attract his attention by talking, and then fall silent, remaining motionless, the baby will also freeze, carefully peering into your face. By the fourth week, the movements of the baby's eyeballs are already smoother and more coordinated.

In this article:

Four weeks have already passed since the birth of your child - a whole month of a new life filled with care and love. You have already become accustomed to sleepless nights, have studied the character of your baby, and have become very attached to him. Time passes, the child is growing, he has already adapted to extrauterine life, and his body has become accustomed to the new “role”.

And now you are not worried about the course of pregnancy and the upcoming birth, but about how a newborn should develop at 1 month, what is considered normal and what is not.

Physiology

The moment a child is born, his body undergoes enormous changes - the lungs open and begin to independently supply the body with oxygen. The circulatory system also begins independent “work” on blood circulation, in which, by the way, changes have also occurred - red blood cells belonging to the fruit type of hemoglobin are destroyed, the blood is completely renewed.

And the digestive and endocrine systems began to master a new “duty” for themselves - now they must protect the body from bacteria that they did not have to encounter in uterine life.

All these postpartum processes lead to great stress on the body, as a result of which a child can lose up to 15% of weight in the first week of his life - this phenomenon is considered natural. After a week, the situation should normalize and the baby will begin to actively gain weight - a newborn baby should gain approximately 800 - 1000 g in 1 month. And his height will increase by 4 - 7 cm.

As soon as the baby is one month old, it is necessary to visit a local pediatrician, who will comprehensively examine the child - measure weight and height, and prescribe tests. Every month, the newborn receives vaccinations + ultrasound of internal organs. It is also recommended to see a surgeon and a neurologist, who will identify pathologies (if any) and prescribe appropriate treatment.

Dream

Sleeping in the life of a newborn takes a lot of time - almost 20 hours a day. During this time, his body does a lot of work - it adapts to extrauterine life.

There are two phases of newborn sleep:

Deep sleep phase;
Light sleep phase.

In the first case, the child is completely relaxed, his breathing is calm and uniform. In the second case, the baby experiences uneven breathing, and he may jerk his arms and legs.

The position in which babies sleep during this period is as follows: lying on their backs, they bend their arms at the elbows and press their chests. The legs also involuntarily bend at the knees and move apart.

The baby's waking time takes approximately 4 to 5 hours. But even at this time he can doze, for example, during feeding.

Food

Feeding is one of the important processes in the life of a newborn. His digestive system begins to adjust to a new way, as a result of which young mothers are faced with such problems as the appearance of colic in the baby, cramps and bloating. Therefore, if a 1-month-old baby is bottle-fed, you should be more careful in choosing formula milk. Expensiveness does not always mean quality. Sometimes cheap milk formulas are much better suited for a child than expensive ones - they do not cause discomfort in the stomach and do not disrupt intestinal function.

However, it is worth noting that there is nothing better than breast milk for a newborn. No milk formula can replace it. Mother's milk contains a huge amount of substances and microelements that not only help normalize the functioning of the digestive system, but also increase immunity, which will subsequently have a beneficial effect on the baby's health.

According to doctors' recommendations, the number of feedings per day should not exceed 6 - 7 times. That is, a newborn baby needs to be fed every 3 – 3.5 hours, while the night break between meals should be 5 – 6 hours. Thus, the young mother will form a daily routine for her baby, which in the future will affect the psychological and physiological development of the baby.

However, there are often children who cannot withstand the break between feedings - they feel a strong feeling of hunger, which they report by crying and movements (a hungry child opens his mouth and tries to grab his mother’s nipple with it). In this case, it is necessary to feed the newborn as needed, so feeding will occur approximately 10 - 12 times per day. But there's nothing wrong with that. In the future, when complementary foods begin to be introduced, the number of feedings will decrease and it will be possible to normalize the baby’s daily routine.
After feeding, you do not need to immediately put your baby to bed. It is necessary to carry him in a “column” so that he burps and releases all the air that entered his body along with the milk.

Psychology

The level of psychological development of a newborn at 1 month of life is measured by reflex movements, some of which will remain with him forever, and some will disappear as he grows up.

Basic reflexes of the first month of life, which indicate the normal psychological development of the child:

sucking reflex;
proboscis reflex;
grasp reflex;
support reflex;
Bauer reflex (crawling);
Babkin reflex;
protective reflex.

The sucking reflex is the most important reflex for life support. Its presence can be easily detected - the baby needs to be attached to the breast or given a pacifier. If he begins rhythmic sucking movements, then everything is in order.

The proboscis reflex, like the sucking reflex, is the most important reflex for full life support. Disappears in about 2–3 months. It is checked by lightly and abruptly touching the baby’s lips with a finger. If the reflex is present, the newborn will extend his lips like a “proboscis”.

The grasping reflex is detected when you press your finger on the baby’s palm. If it is present, the baby tightly squeezes the adult’s finger. The grasping reflex disappears at about 5–6 months and is replaced by a conscious grasping movement.

Support reflex - this reflex is very important, since its presence shows the normal formation of the musculoskeletal system. It is also very easy to check - you need to take the baby and “put” him in an upright position on a hard surface so that his feet touch it. When the baby feels support, his natural reaction will be to straighten his legs. If you slightly change the center of gravity, that is, slightly tilt the child forward or backward, he will imitate walking.

The Bauer reflex is also one of the main indicators of normal child development. It is checked as follows:

the newborn is placed on his tummy;
lightly press on his feet;
in the presence of a reflex, as a rule, infants at 1 month should make movements similar to movements when crawling.

Babkin's reflex - also called the palm-oral reflex. It is checked by pressing the fingertips on the baby’s palm. The child should turn his head towards the stimulus.

Protective reflex - its presence is also very important for a newborn in the first month of his life. It is checked by shifting the baby from his back to his stomach. The child must independently turn his head so that nothing interferes with his breathing.

When examining a child, doctors also check other vital reflexes, most of which disappear before one year of age. Others transform from reflexes into conscious movements.

Motor development

At one month old, newborn babies already begin to actively twitch their legs and arms. If you put them on their tummy, they begin to turn their head. And some even manage to pick it up and look around.

During this period of time, it is very important that new parents help the baby’s muscles develop. To do this, while the child is awake, it is necessary to shift him from his back to his side, place him on his tummy, and lightly stroke his back, legs and arms. Stroking will help not only develop muscles, but also help the baby feel his body.

It is worth noting that babies who have not been swaddled tightly with diapers from birth begin to walk and talk faster and have an increased appetite. Also, these babies have increased activity. The constraining movements of the diaper prevent the baby from fully developing.

Games

Even at the age of one month, babies are already actively starting to play. They listen to sounds and look at their hands.

Rattles and bells that make different sounds can be used as toys for the baby. The main thing is that these sounds are not too loud, as the baby may be frightened by them and will not like playing with such objects.

Since a one-month-old baby begins to actively twitch his arms and legs, you can tie small bells to them during wakefulness or wear jingling bracelets. Thus, the baby will learn not only to respond to sounds, but also to distinguish their character.

Also during this period of life you can begin to develop finger motor skills. To do this, you need to give the child a small object, preferably one with an uneven surface. So he will learn to recognize the shape of objects and their texture. Naturally, at this moment there should be an adult next to him, since the child can reach the mouth with the handle that contains the object and swallow it.

What does the baby feel, hear and understand?

By the end of the first month, the child’s “revival” reflex begins to work, that is, every time an adult approaches him, he begins to twitch his arms and legs, smile, snort, or try to babble.

The child already clearly hears all the sounds, but he is still unable to match them with faces. He can distinguish his mother by smell, and also react to her mood - frown or smile in response.

Doctors recommend playing calm classical music for your child for about ten minutes. But some children get very tired of it and begin to be capricious. Therefore, if you have any instrument and you know how to play it, play something for your child. If your baby doesn’t like this, try singing him a lullaby or reading fairy tales. The main thing is that the song or stories are calm and have a beneficial effect on the child’s psychological development.

During this period, it is very important to communicate more with the baby. Talk to him as an adult who currently has a need for new experiences, touch his legs and arms, stroke his back and tummy. All this will help you establish contact with your baby - he will feel protected with you.