So, you are at a low start in the maternity hospital. Everything has been thought through, we are in full combat readiness.
Time to pack your things for the hospital. Those same notorious “three bags”. Or four... Just in this article we will discuss the quantity.
Earlier - in this article - we talked about two bags for the mother in the maternity hospital.
And here I want to talk about what to take with you to the maternity hospital for a new resident of this world.
Let me remind you that all the names under the pictures are clickable. Click through to see the things I show.
How to dress a newborn: general recommendations
1) When sleeping, the child should be covered with a blanket, blanket, diaper, etc.
2) Clothes should consist of several layers.
Air spaces between layers of clothing allow you to retain heat. Therefore, it is better to wear two light shirts than one thick jacket. At the same time, it is important not to overdo it so that the child does not become hot or cramped in these clothes.
3) Change layers of clothing.
For example, if instead of an autumn jumpsuit you are wearing a winter one, you can remove one layer of clothing.
If you are swaddling a baby, then the layers of clothing are the number of swaddles. In the warm season - cotton diapers, in the cold - flannel.
4) Underwear and the second layer must be made of natural fabrics.
They allow the skin to “breathe”, are able to provide hygroscopicity, protect the child from overheating, freezing and skin irritation,
5) Clothing should not damage the skin.
This means that clothing in contact with the body should not have rough seams, buttons, tight elastic bands, hard lace or other rough fittings. For babies in the first two months of life, underwear with seams facing out is recommended.
6) Clothing should protect the baby from hypothermia.
Since babies still have immature thermoregulation centers, the baby can freeze very quickly, especially in drafty and windy conditions.
It is worth making sure that the child’s arms and legs do not lack warmth, since they are less well supplied with blood. In the maternity hospital, on the first day the baby is dressed in woolen socks. In addition, if woolen socks are worn on bare feet, they stimulate the reflexogenic zones of the foot.
7) It is better to choose clothes for walking, such as slips, rompers with fasteners on the shoulders or bodysuits, so that the clothes do not accidentally get tangled and the baby’s tummy or back do not become hypothermic.
Clothes should not be tight or too loose.
Tight clothing will compress the child’s body, disrupting blood flow and heat exchange. Loose clothing, in turn, will not protect against hypothermia, since large areas of skin will be exposed. And if you “adjust” it to size by tucking it, the resulting “seams” will restrict the baby’s movements and can also damage the baby’s delicate skin.
It is recommended to dress your child in things that are slightly too big for him to grow.
Does a newborn need clothes for the maternity hospital?
It is traditionally believed that a baby in the maternity hospital only needs things for discharge. Historically, in maternity hospitals it was customary for the baby to be in “official” clothes from birth until discharge.
This “tradition,” in particular, was associated with the fact that newborn children in the maternity hospital were separated from their mothers. So they dressed the kids in what was at hand.
This is not the case now. Most often, after birth, babies are in the maternity hospital with their mother, and not in a separate children's department. Therefore, the mother has every opportunity to dress up her newborn in the maternity hospital the way she wants.
At the same time, “official” clothes for newborns remain in maternity hospitals, and you can dress your baby in them. So all that remains is to decide: yours or the maternity hospital’s.
The only thing is, when concluding a contract with a maternity hospital, try to find out in advance what the baby will be dressed in if you decide to use maternity hospital clothes. If slips are used in the maternity hospital, that’s normal. But undershirts and diapers are very uncomfortable.
So, let’s say you decide to take your baby home clothes to the maternity hospital. Let's now discuss
How to dress a newborn in summer?
Usually, children under six months go outside in a stroller, which protects from the wind, or in a sling, where the child retains warmth thanks to the parent’s body. In this case, the baby can be dressed as if indoors.
It is acceptable to wear a bodysuit with long sleeves, rompers, cotton socks and anti-scratch mittens, and a thin cap or panama hat on your head.
To avoid overheating, do not stay in direct sunlight for a long time.
For children over 6 months old, in warm weather you can safely wear short pants and shirts; a Panama hat is still necessary.
In calm weather, children can have short-term sunbathing naked.
What to prefer - soap or powder?
Intrusive advertising persistently persuades that baby powder is much better than baby soap and does not harm the baby at all. However, there is a strong belief that the best detergent for children's prophetic laundry is laundry soap. It's hard to disagree with this. Laundry soap contains only real substances, therefore it does not cause an allergic reaction. In Soviet times, grated laundry soap, in which baby diapers were boiled, was a mandatory sign of the presence of a newborn child in the house. Up to 2 months, washing baby clothes is allowed only with baby or laundry soap. Fortunately, times have changed, and mothers no longer have to rub calluses, endlessly washing and rinsing grimy children's clothes. Automatic washing machines came to the rescue. However, the task of choosing a detergent remains. Children's doctors remain in their opinion - up to 2 months, washing children's clothes is allowed only with baby or laundry soap. However, doctors are well-known conservatives, and therefore you can trust your own healthy sense. If you decide to purchase baby powder, pay attention to its composition. It is desirable that the base of the powder be a soap composition, and the “hypoallergenic” mark would also be useful. That's all, there shouldn't be any additives in the powder. Only in this case can you be sure that its use will not cause unpleasant consequences for your baby.
How to dress a baby in the fall?
A cotton slip or long-sleeve bodysuit plus rompers are suitable as the first layer.
The first layer is added at a temperature:
- from +15°С it is enough to wear a terry suit and the same hat,
- +10 – fleece or wool set or envelope
- below +10 - demi-season overalls, demi-season shoes and a thin woolen hat, the neck must be covered, thin cotton mittens or gloves must be worn on the hands. Cover the sleeping child with a blanket or rug.
What to take your baby to the maternity hospital
You definitely don’t need to take diapers for your baby with you to the maternity hospital - the maternity hospital already has plenty of this stuff, and it’s all brand new, clean, sterile.
They will also give you diapers, and probably good ones, because diaper manufacturers strive to win the love of mothers from the very birth of the baby.
As for clothes, for 3-4 days in the maternity hospital you will need this:
- Knitted slip and/or bodysuit size 56 - 4 pieces
If this is your first baby, then until you learn how to put on a diaper, you will have leaks. Therefore, I suggested the quantity at the rate: 3 dry - we wear one.
Bodysuit with closed handles
Jumpsuit with closed handles
Make sure that slips and bodysuits can be completely unzipped - otherwise you won’t be able to put them on for such a baby.
And try to choose bodysuits and slips with closed handles (so that your palms do not stick out): newborns often have very long nails, and the skin on their face is very delicate. They flail their little arms and can hurt themselves quite badly if their fingers are not covered.
- Socks size 8 - 1 pair
Socks will be required to hold the legs of the overalls in place. The fact is that even the tiniest overalls, size 56, are slightly too big for a newborn, and without socks, the legs will constantly “run away” from place.
Children's socks Janus
Choose cool socks with a good elastic band - they will stay more firmly on little feet.
- Cap or knitted hat - 1 piece
At your discretion, you can choose what you like best. For the maternity hospital, it doesn’t matter whether the hat has strings. A hat is perhaps even more comfortable.
Lemonade hat Little Fox
In babies, as a rule, the head is very cold, and the baby may be restless and have difficulty sleeping.
If the baby is crying and nervous, but not sick or hungry, try putting a hat on him: most likely he will calm down and fall asleep.
- Baby body moisturizer
Many babies are born with dry skin (you would have the same thing if you spent so much time bathing)
