Sister Lilian’s Babycare Companion: Complimentary and traditional care. Lilian Paramor

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СКАЧАТЬ naps and when going to sleep at night, but take her into bed with you or directly alongside you from the first time they wake after you go to bed, so that you do not have to wake altogether when attending to her needs at night.

      •There is no need to change nappies at night from about six weeks, unless Baby has a rash or a soiled nappy.

      •Do not feed or pick Baby up at the very first sound at night.

      •Do not wake Baby for a final feed just before you go to sleep thinking that this will let them sleep for longer – disrupting the ‘core night’ disturbs sleep patterns.

      •Keep interaction with your baby to a minimum at night as talking, eye contact and light will waken Baby altogether.

      •Do not fear the family bed – it is often only time that is needed until Baby’s sleep pattern matures and until this happens, you need to use any survival tips you can!

      •If Baby is wakeful at night, ensure that the daytime caregiver is not allowing her to sleep for longer than two hours at a time.

      •Have a regular wind-down routine to Baby’s day that progresses from more boisterous to calm activities.

      •Massage a poor sleeper before bedtime, and between his eyebrows and on his temples when he wakes at night.

      •Put Baby down to sleep before she falls into a deep sleep at the breast or on the bottle. Pat her to complete the process.

      •If Baby is generally restless, give homeopathic Rescue Rest or Chamomilla Tablets.

      HEALTH CONCERNS

      Every mom hates to see her baby unwell and it is especially distressing when illness strikes at such an early age. In this section, we will take a look at a few of the common health concerns of the first three months of life. But first, prevention is better than cure:

      Tips to help prevent illness at this stage

      •Continue to breastfeed exclusively.

      •Do not introduce solid food at this early stage.

      •Give your baby lots of love as a happy baby is more likely to be well.

      •Treat excess mucus promptly.

      •Treat your own illness with natural remedies as soon as possible.

      Blocked nose

      Blocked noses are quite common in small babies and are often not as bad as they seem, but mostly occur because Baby cannot blow his nose yet. It is more likely at night because Baby is not upright much, preventing mucus from draining off. A drop of saline in each nostril often sorts this out, causing Baby to sneeze it all out. Sometimes dairy and grain products in a breastfeeding mom’s diet or a dairy- and sometimes soy-based formula can trigger this too, even if just at night. If it persists, you might need to make changes in this regard. You can also use homeopathic MucoCare if it is recurrent, and/or run a humidifier at night, with a little Eucalyptus oil added. This must, however, be cleaned and dried thoroughly each morning. A few drops of Eucalyptus oil under the hot water tap when running Baby’s bath may also help for the night.

      Constipation

      Constipation is a rather common problem when weaning Baby from breastmilk to formula or introducing solid food too soon. Constipated stools are both hard and infrequent. Your exclusively breastfed baby might be passing a stool only every five days or so at this stage – this is not constipation, no matter how much they strain and go red in the face. Use these preventative and treatment tips for constipation:

      •Avoid giving cereals to Baby at this stage.

      •Choose special formula milk if dairy or soy formula causes constipation.

      •Rub a little petroleum jelly around the anus and ‘ride bicycle’ with Baby’s legs when he strains.

      •Hold Baby upright and rub his lower back when he needs to pass a stool.

      •Massage a point in the middle of the underside of the heel of his left foot with your knuckle to stimulate bowel movement – this is a very useful reflexology tip.

      •Only give seasonal fruit or yellow veggies if you have already introduced solids, although it would be better to offer more of Baby’s milk and no solids until later.

      •Add a few drops of olive oil to two bottles a day for formula-fed babies.

      •Use homeopathic remedies like Rescue Digest if all these tips fail, which is unlikely.

      Eyes that are sticky

      Sticky or watery eyes are sometimes due to a blockage in the tear duct, and seldom a real infection. Clean the sticky discharge with boiled, cooled water and cotton wool swabs, from the inner corner to the outer. If you breastfeed, express a little milk into a clean container and swab Baby’s eyes with this, as breastmilk is a powerful natural disinfectant. Massage the lower eyelid with your index finger from the outer toward the inner corner with circular movements to help dislodge any blockage. The tissue salt remedies Kali mur and Kali sulph (one tablet of each 3 times a day, dissolved in a little water) are also helpful. If your little one is often mucousy or an allergy child, this can be related. Dairy and grain products in the diet (either yours if you breastfeed, or Baby’s directly) are common triggers. The homeopathic remedy MucoCare taken orally can also be useful for this. If all else fails and it does not clear by about six months, your doctor may suggest a minor operation to probe the tear duct and remove any blockage.

      Heat rash

      Heat rash characteristically comes and goes with temperature changes. It is light pink and spotty and mostly located in the warmest areas of the body, like neck, face and skin folds, or where clothing makes the body hot. As the body cools in the evening or when Baby is undressed, the rash usually disappears. It does not seem to itch but Baby may well be restless due to discomfort from the heat. Dress Baby in pure cotton clothes and do not overdress. Summer weather might require only a vest and nappy or a light baby suit. If the rash does not disappear, or Baby seems off-colour and there have been signs of a fever or flu-like symptoms, it might be an allergy. Allergy rashes are often triggered by diet, fabric detergents or body soaps and lotions. See your doctor if Baby seems unwell so that the correct treatment can be taken. To soothe itchy rashes, add a pot of rooibos tea to bath water and give Baby the homeopathic remedy Calendula Tablets.

      Hip dislocation

      There are varying degrees of hip dislocation, commonly called ‘clicky hips’, and this is routinely tested for at birth. A fairly minor degree of this requires that Baby wears a few towelling nappies at a time for a few weeks to a few months, to keep the thigh bones at the correct angle to the hollow of the pelvic bone while the ligaments strengthen. Giving Baby the tissue salt remedies Ferrum phos and Calc fluor for improving strength and elasticity of the ligaments that secure the thigh bone into the hollow of the pelvic bone may be useful supportive treatment. Hip dislocation is fairly common, especially in breech babies, but is fortunately treatable. In the worst degree, Baby’s legs are put in an inverted V-shaped splint and held this way with a support keeping the knees apart, for several months. This takes a lot of patience and courage from parents. Stick to the schedule of checks which the doctor has advised, and ask all the questions you need to about your baby’s progress. Rest assured that the prognosis is very good, СКАЧАТЬ