You need a confinement nanny to ensure you get adequate rest while recovering from delivery, but there is an even bigger reason to open the door to a nanny: their knowledge. If this is your first baby, then there will be a lot of things that you don't know. In many cases, you won't even realize how much you don't know until you are in awkward situations with your new baby.
If you aren't sure what you may not already know, consider this quick list of just five basic things new mothers can learn from a knowledgeable confinement nanny.
1. How to properly bathe a newborn baby.
Many new mothers are comfortable caring for their babies when they are dry and happy, but they freeze when it comes to giving the tiny babies their baths. Most babies don't like being wiped down with a wet cloth and they protest even more if you strip them down and try to place them in an infant tub with water. This protesting comes in the form of screaming, and that can bring many mothers to tears.
That is where the confinement nanny comes in handy. They know just how to give the littlest babies their first baths with the least amount of protest. If nothing else, they can calm a nervous mother and assure her that the crying is normal and will stop as soon as the bath is over. With this soothing, a new mother can learn to endure the crying and then enjoy the peace that comes when the baby is clean, dry, warm and ready for a nap.
2. How to develop a healthy feeding schedule that works for baby and mommy.
One of the most difficult aspects of caring for a newborn is trying to determine when the baby needs fed and when something else might be wrong. Should you wake up a sleeping baby if it is their scheduled time to eat? Should you offer a bottle every time they cry, just to make sure they aren't hungry? How do you know for sure that the baby is getting the nourishment they need?
These are all questions that a confinement nanny will answer. A good nanny will also work with mother and baby to develop a feeding schedule that keeps the baby healthy and satisfied while giving the mother adequate times to rest. This is extremely important for breastfeeding mothers.
3. How to train a baby to sleep through the night.
At some point, babies will need to learn to sleep when it is dark out and wake up when it is light out. New mothers benefit from keeping their confinement nannies on board long enough get their little ones adjusted to their daily schedule. At the very least, the nanny should be asked for tips on getting the baby to sleep through the night before letting the nanny go.
4. Proper diaper and clothes changing routines.
New mothers often worry about changing diapers at the appropriate time and may waste diapers by changing too often or cause diaper rash by not changing often enough. There can be some anxiety over changing clothing as well, since many newborns will scream through the process. A confinement nanny will teach the best strategies to keeping the baby comfortable at all times.
5. How to eat healthy so your breast milk is healthy for the baby.
Finally, a confinement nanny can ensure the mother consumes a healthy diet, so the proper nutrients are passed to the baby through breast milk. This is one of the hardest parts of confinement for new mothers.
# 1 leading
