Babies: Wellbeing

I'm worried my baby isn't eating enough, what should I do?

Parents sometimes worry especially if they're breastfeeding, because they can't see how much their baby's taking. But provided your baby's gaining weight and your health visits are satisfied and they're happy, contented, and sleeping well, you can be sure they're getting enough.

My baby isn't putting on weight, should I be worried?

One of the ways in which you can monitor if your baby is getting enough food is by the fact that they keep gaining weight. Yes, you should be worried if your baby isn't gaining weight and you should be checking it with your health ministerial baby clinic. Sometimes, they're maybe not getting enough milk or it needs to be looked at. You should actually get advice if you find that happening.

I'm worried my baby isn't sleeping enough, what should I do?

Babies always take the sleep they need. It may not seem enough to parents to fit in with your sleep patterns, but babies take exactly the sleep they need, especially very little babies. You can't keep them awake if they want to sleep, but equally, you can't force them to sleep when they want to be awake. It's a little bit complicated, because little babies will be taking exactly the sleep they need.

My baby doesn't sleep through the night, should I be worried?

Little babies don't know the difference between night and day, and they have very small stomach's so they really have to eat very often. Every newborn baby will be waking up in the middle of the night. It's just part of the slightly difficult bit about being a parent, and gradually over the months they will get into a better routine and be recognizing night and taking more sleep at night. Parents can begin to help them with that by gradually putting them down in the same room at night, keeping it dark, setting up a little recognizable bed time routine. For little babies, that's going to take a while. It will be a few months before you get them settled in that way.

My baby doesn't like being held, is this normal?

It seems odd, but not every baby is a cuddly sort of baby. It's much nicer for parents if you get a very cuddly baby, but occasionally babies are actually resistant to that and are quite happy to be laid down. Or they seem like they just want to hurry up and grow up, they don't want to be babies. And it's a little bit tough on parents, but just understanding it's one of a range of the ways babies are can be helpful. It's not rejecting you as a parent.

My baby rarely coos or makes noises, should I be worried?

When babies begin to smile socially, it is usually around six weeks. Soon after that, around six to eight weeks, parents notice them making lots of new, little noises. Crying, as their main language, begins to broaden out and they make noises that their parents just love - little cooing and gurgling and babbling sounds. That's part of normal speech development, even at that early stage. If your baby is not doing that, it is important to first of all get their hearing checked by the health facility, by the baby clinic, just to make sure that everything is going along normally.

At what age is it OK to leave my baby with other adults?

It's quite natural for new parents with a new baby not to want to have them out of their sight, and usually most parents don't want a babysitter for the first few weeks. They're gradually getting to know their baby. It's sometimes quite useful to introduce babies to a lot of new people before they get to the stage where they're going to be strange with them, around six months. So it's actually quite helpful to have grandparents, your partner, friends, or a babysitter taking care of your baby, for a short while, in those early months just so they get the idea that other people can also look after them.