with Dr. Whitney Haase

Do you have a new baby at home? Congratulations!!

Since Dr. Nolan and I both welcomed new babies in March (2020), I thought it would be fitting to talk about some tips for handling your newborn in the first 6 weeks.

Just like in utero, babies' first year is a prime time for development. It’s important to give your newborn an environment that will help their developing brain and body. Some key ways to do this are by:

• Providing your baby with the support that she needs (especially for the head and neck)

• Varying her position

Support your new baby

On the first point, newborns require external support. This probably seems like common sense, but it’s worth stating anyway. It’s important to give your baby mechanical head and neck support whether you’re nursing or feeding, helping them change positions, or just snuggling together. Good support in the first few weeks will help your baby feel secure and safe, and this sense of security will help with both their emotional and physical development.

Vary your baby’s position

In the first few months, babies aren’t able to move themselves, so it’s up to you to help them get into different positions. Babies should spend time on their bellies, both sides, and on their backs. It’s important to not put your baby in the same position all the time (usually this ends up being placed on the back in a crib, rocker, swing, etc.), because this limits how your baby is able to interact with her environment. Baby’s muscles and bones will develop best when baby is allowed to work on supporting herself from her belly, both sides, and also her back. You should avoid changing your baby’s position quickly, since this can cause your baby to startle.

I recommend that babies change their position multiple times each hour — when awake. No need to wake baby up from a nap to change position, unless you really want to!

In a perfect world, your baby would spend ¼ of their awake time on their back, ¼ on each side, and ¼ on their belly. Realistically, this can be difficult to hit, but it’s a good goal to work towards.

Here’s a sample 1-hour schedule for what I’ve been doing at home with my little one (he’s currently 2 weeks old):

• 15 minutes of tummy time, switching the direction his head is facing about every 4-5 minutes. He’s now starting to occasionally change direction on his own, but I’ll help him halfway if he hasn’t changed direction yet.

• 5-10 minutes on each side, again switching more frequently when he gets fussy

• 15 minutes on his back

• The rest is cuddles!

It’s VERY likely that your baby will be fussy during tummy time — it’s some serious work — but the fussiness should taper off after a few weeks once your baby gets stronger. Tummy time is really important for the development of the mid-back spinal curve, proper stabilization of the shoulders, and neck muscles, so you should aim to start your baby on their belly for at least 15 min a few times each day. You can’t start tummy time too soon either — we started with our little guy on day 1!

I also recommend changing feeding position regularly, since many newborns spend a lot of their awake time nursing. In addition to typical seated nursing, feeding in the side-lying and laid-back positions are good ways to incorporate more position changes for baby and give mom’s upper back a break. Win-win!

Do you have questions about your child’s movement development or your postpartum recovery? Schedule an evaluation with Dr. Whitney Haase at the link below or give our office a call.