Three major concerns as a parent to a newborn

Bringing home, a newborn can be exciting and scary at the same time. Expect your baby to grow and develop at his or her own pace.

1. Motor skills. Your newborn's head will be wobbly at first. But soon your baby will be able to lift his or her head and chest while lying on his or her stomach, as well as stretch and kick his or her legs in that position. If you offer a toy, your baby might grasp it and hold on tight for a few moments.
2. Another common cause of concern is hearing. You can expect a newborn to begin responding to the sound of your voice by smiling and gurgling back at you. Turning towards the direction of sound is also a good indication of a healthy baby.
3. Your baby will probably focus on your face, particularly your eyes, during feedings. At age 1 month, your baby will prefer to look at bold patterns in sharply contrasting colors or black-and-white. By age 2 months, your baby's eyes will become more coordinated, allowing for tracking an object. Soon your baby will begin to recognise familiar objects and people at a distance.

1. Feed well - breast feed 20-40minutes, every 2-4hours. Some babies may feed as often as every hour, also known as cluster feeding. In general, they should be feeding around 8-12times in 24hours.
2. Poop well - at birth, baby’s stool is darkish black (meconium). After 4-5days of life, their stool will gradually turn into yellowish. Baby should have regular motion as frequent as 3-5times a day.
3. Pee well - changing of at least 5 fully soaked Heavy diapers in a day indicates adequate hydration.
4. Sleep well - babies have different sleep cycles than adults. They generally sleep about 16hours in a day, 8-9hours in the daytime, about 8hours at night.
5. Grow well - in the first 7-10days, it’s acceptable for babies to lose around 5-10% of their birth weight. However, they should regain their birth weight after that.

Besides, you should also pay attention to their head size and length. Hence, a regular follow-up is extremely important.

This article was contributed by Dr Goh Chun Hwee, Consultant Paediatrician at Pantai Hospital Ampang. To know more about where and when to see Dr Goh Chun Hwee at his clinic, click here.