Avoid upright positions in newborns and be cool, advises new parents Jitka Rubesova
Manipulation of the baby is one of the scares of new parents. Also because there are countless publications, advice and approaches and it is difficult not to get lost in it. So how to hold the baby in the best possible way?
When babies are born, they have what is called a flexion posture. This is because they are in such a knot in the tummy because they have limited space. Flexible holding means that the ligaments around the joints are not yet loose. When you put a newborn on a mat, they curl up completely into a ball. Even if you put him on his tummy, he'll tuck his knees in. Around the third month, thanks to the involvement of the muscle chains, the baby starts to lift his arms and legs above the mat and with that he starts to strengthen his pectoral muscles and also his abdominal muscles. Around the fourth month, the cerebral hemispheres begin to connect, the baby is able to walk his arm across the axis of his body, begins to roll onto his hips and gradually rolls over onto his tummy. All this strengthens the straight abdominal muscles, then the oblique ones, and gradually a muscular corset is formed. We have to adapt the handling to this natural development and only when the muscle corset is formed, it is appropriate to carry the baby in a vertical position. But mothers often don't know this.
When we take a newborn who weighs three or four kilograms, he is tiny and we can easily put him on our shoulder in a vertical position. It's just that the head weighs a full third of its weight, and as you hold the baby upright, that heavy head is pushing down on the spine from above, which is not yet held by anything. So it starts to tilt. Add to this the fact that we unconsciously carry the baby on one side all the time, simply because we are right or left handed and automatically put the baby on one shoulder all the time. On top of that, the baby's head is still turned to one side on the shoulder. Now, we have to realize, how many times a day does a mom do this?
So what would you recommend for newborns?
Definitely not to carry him upright. If I'm gonna let him burp, I should go for the tiger position. You've got him on your forearm and he's in a forty-five-degree angle position. When I want to hold him to calm him down, I choose the ball position. That's where he feels safe because he's curled up in my arms on his stomach. I really try to avoid the upright position as much as possible.
This brings us to a common question and that is carriers and swaddles. Which is better for babies in terms of their development? A carrier and scarves or a stroller?
I am of the opinion that if the newborn is sleeping and calm, then he should sleep normally lying down. We're not bats and we're not monkeys that cling to mommy alone. We should respect the psychomotor development that is recorded, and it's a clear curve of how a baby develops.
But on the other hand, every child is individual. For example, if I've had a difficult birth or the baby is very restless, crying, then in short, despite all that, it's important to calm him down. At that point, I don't worry about a crooked back in the future. I would say to moms whose babies cry a lot, even when they are fed, changed, etc, feel free to get a carrier or a swaddle if it will calm the baby down. Because if we try to follow the right development, we won't support it anyway, because a crying baby will be in distress and therefore the most important thing is to calm it down at that moment. A scarf is better than a baby carrier, because in a baby carrier the baby is always upright, whereas in a scarf you can adjust the position and tie the baby in a ball.
Babies should sleep on a flat matPhoto: Jitka Rubešová/se svolením
Even if the carrier is ergonomic, the baby's legs are very much spread out in the carrier. The abdomen is disconnected and the baby is bent at the hips. And there's that big head pushing down from above. Several times I've seen a mother come in, bring the baby in the carrier, unwrap the baby and put it on a flat mat, and the baby just lay there for maybe a minute in the arch of its back before the little body relaxed. And I haven't even mentioned the cervical spine. In the third month, babies start to perceive the world around them, and in order to see anything, they have to have their head turned or tilted.
How to support the proper development of the baby?
First of all, we need to create the right conditions for adaptation in the first month after birth. In the first month of life, the baby has only one task: to get used to new conditions. He doesn't know gravity, cold, sounds... We can make it easier for him to adjust by swaddling him and thus actually create conditions similar to those he had in his mother's tummy. In addition, we have to think about not exposing the baby to harsh light, so we don't put the cot against a window where the sun is shining on it. We will be careful about loud noises and it is very important to choose a slow approach to the baby. Slowly lift him out of the cot into your arms, because the baby has no idea that you want to lift him. Pay attention to proper handling and then it's also a daily routine.
Up to about two years of age, babies are guided by rituals and it is important to set a daily routine for them. It's a brainwashing for moms, but really it's ideal to do everything the same way, ideally at the same time of day. For example, breastfeeding in one chair, putting them to sleep in one place at night. That way you give the baby a chance to get his bearings, because he understandably has no idea whether it's noon or 5 pm. These same, repetitive things will calm him down.
And very importantly: don't let children cry it out. That is absolutely essential. Children, unless something major is happening to them, don't cry. So definitely don't believe in letting children cry. They have no other way of letting you know that something is wrong with them. Leaving a crying baby in a closed room, in my opinion, should be criminal.
What shouldn't we miss at home before the baby is born?
Of course it's the place where the baby will sleep at night, so the crib. During the day you can keep it out of the cot, so maybe a basket of some sort or maybe a pram cot. He'll be comfortable in that because it's a confined space and babies are very comfortable with that. Of course bathing supplies and I recommend a swaddle. This is plenty enough and I would wait until after the birth to get the other stuff.
You mentioned a swaddle. How do you choose the best one?
It depends on what time of year the baby is born. If it's summer, I would choose either a wrap made of stretch material, which tightens the arms and legs a lot and some babies like it a lot, or a feather wrap. Personally, I would choose the feather one because it is breathable and the air circulates under the baby. You can also leave the baby unwrapped in it and the feathers do him a beautiful service because they adapt to his body and create a kind of a trough into which the baby sort of falls. And that's great for him because of the aforementioned muscle flexion of newborns. The fact that they sink into the feathers slightly makes them feel more secure and stable. For example, in high temperatures, you can just leave the baby in the swaddle, wrap them in a cloth diaper and lay them on a feather swaddle. In winter, a feather swaddle is the obvious choice.
And what, on the other hand, do you think is unnecessary and moms and dads can comfortably do without?
It's definitely the swaddles. A lot of arguments are made about not letting the baby fall. But by the third or fourth month, there's nowhere to fall, because it hasn't rolled over yet. Wherever you put it, there it lies. If I want to help the baby adapt, I get a swaddle. And then putting the baby in a swaddle in the nest is really pointless. So it's either the nest or the swaddle. But here again, I have to go back to the natural development, and from that point of view, the swaddle is definitely better.
Another useless thing is so-called white noise. The manufacturers claim that the baby hears the noise in mummy's tummy, and when he is restless, crying, it is the white noise that can calm him down. So some people run a vacuum cleaner, a hairdryer or buy a special white noise source next to the baby. But it is necessary to remember that the baby from the tummy knows not only the murmur of mom's blood, but also her voice. So it is more important to talk to him, sing to him, tell him - in short, to create a bond with the baby. And this is important for mothers too. In today's fast-paced world, it's an opportunity to sit with baby, calm down and connect.
Moms and dads sometimes need to relieve themselves, and one of the options is a vibrating lounger. Will it harm the baby?
Again, the baby doesn't have a vertical position in the recliner, so if you put, say, a two-month-old baby in it, the spine will be overstressed. Try to imagine how it feels to fall asleep on a beach lounger that you are reclined in, or on a long car ride. It's not pleasant. The baby may be lulled to sleep by the vibration and eventually fall asleep, but it's not good for his spine.
I would therefore prefer, for example, a Moses basket. You can pick it up and carry it easily to the kitchen, for example, because you are cooking. You put it next to you, the baby can see you, and at the same time he is lying on a flat mat.
How to position the baby when sleeping and why is it so important?
This is because the bones in the head are not reinforced and therefore it is necessary to prevent the head from flattening. Because it can be a matter of a week or two before it starts to happen. You also have to remember that about ninety percent of babies have their heads curled to one side from the tummy because they were curled up in the tummy and had little room. And when they come into the world, the muscles on that one side are a little shortened. It's a little thing that mommy usually doesn't recognize, and pediatricians don't really address it much because a lot of babies have it.
Babies should sleep on a flat matPhoto: Jitka Rubešová/se svolením
When you put the baby on a firm mat, like a crib, they automatically curl their head further to one side. And if you don't watch it, it's not just the head that flattens. The baby's whole body is tilted behind the head, so at that moment the muscle chains are asymmetrical and he will put one little hand in his mouth more often, touch one little foot and thus one half of the body will be more developed. And even the flattening can show up in the face. So positioning is really very important. I recommend changing the position after every breastfeeding. One breastfeeding, right side, second breastfeeding, left side, next breastfeeding, on your tummy, then on your back, and so on and so on.
What else should new parents look out for?
There are a number of innate reflexes and one of them is grasping. This means that the newborn baby has his hands in a fist with his thumb in. And that fist is really tightly clenched. Parents will often give the baby a finger to clench. It's important for the baby's development not to encourage this reflex and not to hold on to the baby like that. Because right here in the first month of life, it actually starts to shape how the baby will one day write.
And the same goes for the walking reflex. That's checked by the paediatrician and it means that he puts the baby on its feet and it actually takes steps and has its legs stretched out. It's to see if the baby is neurologically okay. But we're not allowed to encourage this reflex, so we need to check the size of the onesie to see if it's too tight. Because as soon as he feels the tight end, he's gonna stretch his legs. And to make sure his feet are no longer touching the edge of the basket or the pram seat. She still has to have enough room.
Jitka Rubešová advises on correct handling also in coursesPhoto: Jitka Rubešová/se svolením
A great clue for moms that something is going on with their baby that makes him uncomfortable is the Moro reflex, also called the startle reflex. This works until about the third month, and when the baby gets scared, his little hands fly out and his fingers spread wide. At that point, it's important to calm him down, give him time to calm down.
And then of course there's daddy, a partner, or simply support from someone close. Mothers after childbirth need help not to get into a vicious circle where baby cries, mommy cries. There is a need for moms to rest, because the famous "happy mom, happy baby" applies. So don't be afraid to let the baby sleep with daddy at night and go to sleep in another room. And if you don't know how to go on, just make some tea, sit in the chair, take the baby to you and drop everything at that moment. It's unbelievable how babies are programmed to mom. They can sense that something is going on, they can feel our emotions, our moods, and then their behaviour is based on that. And it works for a long time. I can see in my 10 year old daughter that she is uncomfortable if I am nervous. It's important to remember that children perceive the world through us, we are their anchor.
