Known Best Practices
There are a lot of ways to stay healthy as a mom, and to help your newborn be at peak health continuously from birth. That said, anything with a good outcome will require work. There’s an old saying: anything worth doing is worth doing well.
That’s doubly true when it comes to parenthood, and triply true when you consider you responsibilities as a mom. Following we’ll briefly explore three ways you can help your infant be at its healthiest.
1. Be There as Continuously as Possible – Within Reason
Babies need you more in their first three years of life than at any other time. Granted, toddlers, elementary schoolers, and teenagers still need Mom. But at a physical level, your baby needs you from the moment you bring that little bundle of joy into the world.
The WHO says you should nurse your child up to two years for best health. Does your job allow that level of maternity leave? It’s something to think about.
2. Breastfeed Your Child Instead of Using Formula
There is no better nutrition for your baby than the milk your body produces; unless you’re sickly or have some exceptionally rare medical condition, this will always be the case. Also, when you consider the recent formula shortage, it’s worth considering that you may have no other choice. Accordingly, lean into breastfeeding, it’s good for you and the baby.
There can, however, be complications rooted in your health, your newborn’s health, and your technique. When breastfeeding, the way in which your baby latches can be quite important.
Check out this link to Nest Collaborative concerning different latch positions. Sometimes the issue is, you just need to switch how you and your baby configure yourselves during feeding.
3. Take Care of Yourself For Your Child’s Sake
If you’re not doing well, that will directly affect the health of your child. For one thing, your personal constitution will affect your ability to produce breastmilk, and what level of quality defines what you’re expressing. For another, your psychological wellbeing will directly impact how you treat your newborn. Mothers are patient and loving, but motherhood is hard.
When a baby is fussy for reasons you can’t determine, and you’re already sleep-deprived, that can lead you, literally, to the end of your ability to cope; and the child may be impacted by that emotionally draining reality.
Accordingly, you’ve got to take care of yourself physically and mentally to handle the strain. There will be strain, and you can handle it; but it’s best to know it’s coming.
Providing Your Infant With a Strong Head Start
Being there, breastfeeding, and assuring you’re in a good place to take care of your baby represent three key ways to help your infant develop in the healthiest way possible. When your baby has you, nutrition, and your best self, then they’re going to be happier and healthier.
