5 things the doctor would like you to know.

New moms always have something to worry about. I’ve been there! It was a world of difference between taking care of my first child and my second. Nothing teaches like experience. But some diligent research can also go a long way. So for new moms out there, as well as expectant moms, we gathered our Top 5 Facts You Need to Know About Your Baby.

Confident moms aren’t born, they’re made. Arming yourself with knowledge can help you through those first few months with a little more confidence. To lessen the worrying that often comes along with caring for a new baby, there are a few things you should know.

1. It’s normal for many babies to lose weight after birth.

They can lose about 10 percent of their body weight by day three of life. Breast-fed babies tend to drop more than bottle-fed counterparts because breast milk doesn’t usually come in until the third day after birth. Why the newborn’s weight loss? Exhausted from the birth experience, babies are so sleepy, more than they are hungry. They are also losing some of the fluids they were born with. But don’t panic. “Babies enter the world with enough fluid on board to get them through the first three to five days, whether they feed or not,” says Dr. Suzanne Corrigan, spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics. After a week, your baby will start gaining weight again.

2. Rashes are routine.

Baby skin is known for being soft and smooth and lovely. In reality, that’s not the case in the first few days or weeks. Baby acne is very common in the first days of life because the mother’s estrogen is still circulating in the baby’s body. Overactive hormones do wreak havoc on the skin. When hormones normalize, baby acne will disappear. Seborrheic dermatitis, or cradle cap is another common skin problem for newborns. This causes scaly, flaking skin on baby’s eyebrows, behind her ears, and on the neck. Like baby acne, no treatment is necessary — just cleanse with a mild, hypoallergenic soap.

3. Spit happens.

This used to freak me out with my firstborn son. I thought he was vomiting — Is this spit or is it vomit and is he suffering from some serious stomach disease? The fact is, muscles that close the stomach are still underdeveloped in newborns so milk tends to come right back up. Aside from this, mucus also gets regurgitated. Milk plus mucus looks like vomit more than just spit. You only worry if your baby is projectile vomiting — meaning the vomits shoots out of his mouth and not just drips onto his clothes. Burp your baby after every feed and keep her upright for a few minutes to lessen the spit up and help keep the food down.

4. Pooping can be peculiar.

Baby poop is very different from grown-up poop. Breast-fed babies typically have loose, yellowy, mustard-like stools with every feeding. Bottle-fed babies, whose stools have more of a mayonnaisey texture, may go only two or three times a day. “Newborns often have an active gastro-colic reflex,” says Dr. Miriam Bar-on, professor of pediatrics at Loyola University Chicago. “Eating relaxes the reflex, which makes them poop.” But even if your baby isn’t pooping after every feed, don’t worry. “Breast-fed babies can have a stool with every feeding, every other day, or even every four days and then have a big blowout,” says Dr. Bar-on. “All are normal. And bottle-fed babies can poop three to four times a day, then twice a day, and then just once a day. As their digestive systems mature, they tend to have fewer stools.”

5. Babies cry, yes that’s what they do.

Many new parents are surprised about the amount of noise such a tiny person can make. But crying is what babies do to communicate, as they still don’t know how to talk. When they’re hungry, wet, soiled with poop, hot, cold or uncomfortable — crying is how they will let you know. Parents usually will get the hang of their baby’s signals or learn their daily rhythms better after a few weeks of caring for them. The crying should lessen when you anticipate their needs better. You’ll even be amazed by how a hug or a cuddle from you can do wonders to calm your child!

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