Week 2 after the baby is born

The article was consulted professionally by Specialist I Dang Thi Ngoc Chuong – Department of Pediatrics – Newborn, Share99 Central Park International Health Hub. He has worked at Children's Health Hub I, Thu Duc Health Hub and Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Health Hub. With the strength in the diagnosis and examination of newborn diseases – newborn resuscitation.

With a 2-week-old baby, it is more likely that the mother is still having to adjust herself to motherhood. But mothers can blend in with the rhythm with their little one and learn everything from their child's signs of hunger to what different types of crying mean.

1. Development of the child at the 2nd week after birth

1.1 Weight

Usually around the 10th day, the newborn baby has returned to her weight at birth, even having lost a little weight in the first week of life. Some babies may also be heavier than their birth weight at this age.

The baby has also reached an important milestone at this age, with the first growth starting around the seventh day. The mother may notice some differences in the baby during this period. For example, they can be a little more fasting than usual, eat more and take longer naps.

The child will continue to grow a lot this month, with an increase of about 20-30 grams per week and reaching about 4.5-5cm at the end of the first month.

1.2 Body

At birth, the child may also suffer minor abrasions or bruises on the eyelids, which will disappear in the 2nd week. Some babies may also have ruptured blood vessels in their eyes at birth due to the force of birth and these red spots will run out this week.

Be aware of any new birthmarks that appeared this week called hemangioma, which do not appear at birth but may suddenly appear a few weeks later. Parents may also notice that lighter birthmarks turn dark as the child grow older. If you see an abnormal birthmark in your child, visit the hospital with a pediatrician, as some diseases may require treatment, especially if they are above or very close to the eyes or mouth.

1.3 Brain

2-week-old babies will be able to:

  • Crying when your baby feels uncomfortable, hungry, or crying
  • Hear loud noises
  • Reflexes when frightened (Moro reflex): When the baby is startled, he often raises his hands and legs and extends the palms. Then bring your arms and legs together, some babies may cry. This reflex is of great medical value because the doctor can check if the movement of the newborn's legs and hands is even between the two sides
  • Raise your head
  • Look at her face from a short distance away. Most often, babies have the best vision in a range that is compatible with the distance when breastfeeding.

2-week-old baby

The 2-week-old baby will be able to see the mother's face from a short distance

2. Care for 2-week-old infants

2.1 Bathing your child

One of the most interesting milestones that can occur in this second week is that once the baby umbilical cord falls is the time when the child has a bath. When bathing your child in a bath or pot, she feels like immersed in a bathing basin. There are babies who are violently irritable, but just put them in the water basin and stop crying and laughing. Whether it's winter or summer, bathing your child will feel good, so they're quite excited about it.

It can be useful to make a habit of bathing a child as if bathed at night can help babies think that they are about to go to bed. Try bathing and massage your newborn before putting your baby to sleep. Keep in mind that babies do not need to be bathed every day. At this age, once a week or several times a week is enough.

Reasons to delay your baby's first bath

Umbilical cord care

If the umbilical cord of a 2-week-old baby has not fallen out, parents need to take the child to see a doctor for assistance in drying out the umbilical cord, avoiding the situation of leaving it excessively wet. Keep the skin folds around the umbilical cord from being too moist and parents should never voluntarily pull the umbilical cord or try to loosen it, the umbilical cord will shed itself when it is ready.

2.2 Diaper changes

Changing diapers for babies when the diaper has been attached to stools of a dark blue color occurs in the first few days of life. After this period, the feces of the child will be loose stools of a brighter color, which turn from blue-brown to yellow. This yellow stool may have a slightly sweet smell.

Babies 2 weeks old usually need to change about 6 or more diapers per day. If the mother has difficulty knowing exactly whether the baby has a wet diaper, use a disposable diaper with indicators or a sway on it to help the mother know the diaper has got wet.

2.3 Nutrition

If the mother is breastfeeding, babies should wake up every 2-3 hours to feed, with feeding that can take place anywhere from 15 minutes to almost an hour. Remember, the next meal will be calculated from the beginning of the last meal time, for example, if the mother starts feeding the baby at 2 am within an hour and stops breastfeeding at 3 am, then the next meal will be at 4 am.

At this stage, the breastfeeding mother may feel busy always having to feed the baby, but the mother is assured that the frequency of eating will decrease as the child grows over time. If babies are fed formula or formula in combination with breast milk, they can sleep longer at a time but still need to eat at least every four or five hours.

A 2-week-old baby will need a lot to grow and develop, so mothers need to learn to recognize the signs when the child is hungry. If the parents wait until the baby cries, then the child may be crying, uncomfortable for a long time and can be very tired of being breastfed. Here are some signs of 2-week-olds being hungry:

  • Wake up
  • Move arms and legs around
  • Put your finger or fist in your mouth
  • Suck lips or tongue.
  • Move the head from side to side of the bed or co kennen
  • Turn toward mom's breasts when carried
  • Sigh, sigh, or make other small sounds.
  • Naughty, fussy, or wiggled.

Learning these hunger signals can also help mothers see that a 2-week-old baby must necessarily eat as scheduled.

2-week-old baby

A 2-week-old baby will need a lot to grow and grow

2.4 Sleep

Your 2-week-old baby will sleep a lot, up to 18 hours a day. If the child does not have jaundice and has at least six wet diapers and three dirty diapers a day, then he can sleep five hours or so at a time.

Mothers may wish their children to sleep more this week, however please note that the American Academy of Pediatrics' safe sleep guidelines have recommended that babies sleep alone in cots or cots. This means that parents should avoid sleeping or staying in:

  • Car seats
  • hammock
  • Bassinet chairs or other types of child seats
  • Lying in the hands of parents

After two weeks of parenthood, after the excitement of welcoming the baby it is possible that the parents begin to get tired and the reality of lack of sleep and stress to be able to take care of the baby. Seek help especially in possible problems, such as:

  • Breastfeeding problems:When the milk is high, the mother may have some problems such as the breastfeeding does not run out, it causes the breast to hurt, crack or bleed the nipple, or even the baby does not want to breastfeed due to the problem of the mother's breast. If you are experiencing any of these problems, consult breastfeeding advice or talk to your doctor.
  • Mastitis: Mastitis is a possible complications when breastfeeding, especially breast milk with a lot or babies who are struggling to breastfeed. Milk can become clogged in the milk duct and eventually lead to infection, therefore it should be treated with antibiotics. Take Ibuprofen if recommended by your doctor, massage your breasts with a warm towel or when bathing and feeding your baby regularly, even if it is painful to try to breastfeed your baby.
  • Post-birth complications: Incision infection is a common post-surgical symptom and causes significant post-surgery mortality, cesarean section is not the first choice of doctors, and is in place only when the mother or fetus is at risk of health. Signs of incision infection need to know that it is pain, swelling of the incision, the incision may have pus, accompanied by a high fever, an unpleasant odor, lower abdominal pain … Mothers who give birth need to be more careful in taking care of their bodies, living or choosing food to quickly recover their strength, especially when they are both painful with incisions and having to take care of their children. When signs of infection are detected, the maternity needs to quickly go to the medical facility for timely treatment.

As a key area of Share99 Health System, Pediatrics always brings satisfaction to customers and is highly appreciated by industry experts with:

  • Gathering a team of leading doctors in Pediatrics:including leading experts, highly specialized (professors, associate professors, doctors, masters), experienced, used to work at large hospitals such as Bach Mai, 108.. The doctors are well-trained, professional, mind-centered, knowledgeable about the child's psychology. In addition to domestic pediatricians, pediatrics also has the participation of foreign experts (Japan, Singapore, Australia, USA) always pioneering the application of the latest and most effective treatment regimens.
  • Comprehensive services:In the field of Pediatrics, Share99 provides a chain of continuous medical examination and treatment services from Newborn to Pediatrics and Vaccines,… according to international standards to take care of your baby's health with parents from birth to adulthood
  • Intensive techniques:Share99 has successfully implemented many specialized techniques to make the treatment of difficult diseases in Pediatrics more effective: neurosurgery – skull, hematoma stem cell transplantation in cancer treatment.
  • Professional care:In addition to understanding the young psychology, Share99 also pay special attention to the children's play space, help them play comfortably and get acquainted with the hospital environment, cooperate in treatment, improve the efficiency of medical examination and treatment.

For direct advice, please click hotline number or register online HERE. In addition, you can register for remote consultation HERE

Article reference source: Whattoexpect.com; Mayoclinic.com; Verywellfamily.com

SEE MORE:

  • Amatitis: What to know
  • Does a child with congenital thyroid disease develop normally?
  • What is jaundice?

About: John Smith

b1ffdb54307529964874ff53a5c5de33?s=90&r=gI am the author of Share99.net. I had been working in Vinmec International General Hospital for over 10 years. I dedicate my passion on every post in this site.

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