Feeding and Bathing your Little One
Babies are undeniably more susceptible to mishaps and accidents than adults because they are defenseless and need to have everything done for them. Helping your baby out with everything could be unnerving if it’s your first time being a mom.
You may be anxious and agitated about your new chores, always thinking something bad will happen, thinking you may drop your baby, or choke your baby or any other bad thing you can dredge up in your mind. While being careful is vital, you should however note that there is a difference between being cautious and being flat out paranoid. Do not get paranoid, as it may do your child further harm.
Although drowning is a real likelihood for your child, it’s absolutely avoidable. You have to be very watchful of your baby anytime he’s close to water. For the most part, children usually drown in pools, but then again, bath tubs, toilets, hot tubs and even buckets can also pose real threats to your child. This is not to say you have to avoid all these things all together, you just have be more cautious and never leave your baby alone with them.
As a parent, you have to be extremely cautious with anything that has to do with water. If your child is very little, under no circumstances should he be left unaccompanied by any type of water at all. Your baby could drown in the little time it will take you to answer a phone call. Always set up safety locks round the house and on all seats of the toilets in the house. One inch of water can sink your child, and because of this, for no reason should buckets or basins of water be left around the house.
As new parents, you should take precautionary measures if you have a pool in the house. Measures such as fencing your pool (about four to five feet should be okay), installing an automatic lock on the pool gate with the lock on the inside so your child is unable to tamper with it, learn how to perform CPR and connect a phone to the pool side. You should also never totally count on floating tools as they cannot always save your baby if he is drowning.
If you feed your child with foods that are suitable for his age, he will not choke. Always keep tiny objects like coins, tiny toy parts, little batteries away from your baby as they are more likely to choke him. When your child is old enough for solid foods, make a point of always cooking his food till it’s very soft and can be mashed and always cut the food into little bits. Do not begin to give him things like hot dog, popcorn, chips or gum at this time.
Ensure your baby is sitting upright when eating. He should never be allowed to eat lying down, leaning back or lounging. Above all, you must know to give back blows and CPR on your baby.