Baby Care Basics - Swaddling and Burping the Baby

I could still remember that time when my husband and I were expecting to have our first baby. We had to prepare ourselves about baby care because we were on our own - no parents or relatives to do things for us.

I did a lot of reading. A dear friend gave us a very good book - Dr. Miriam Stoppard's Complete Baby and Child Care - as a wedding gift. This helped us a lot. Being an inexperienced first time dad and mom, it eased our anxious feelings.

It is my pleasure to share some of the basics of baby care in a series. If available on the net, I would also include links to how-to videos and/or related news.

For starters, I will talk about Swaddling and Burping the baby. The new mother has to learn these 2 things immediately after giving birth as the nurses would soon room-in the baby.

The baby needs to be swaddled in the first month or so before putting her down. This gives the baby a great feeling of security. This also gives her the warmth that she is used to in the mother's womb. Thus it helps calm her to sleep.

Here's a video of how to swaddle a baby:



Burping or winding the baby after feeding on milk releases any air that has been swallowed during feeding. It prevents the baby from having any stomach discomfort whatsoever. In addition, it makes mom and baby pause, relax and slow down, which is good for both of them.

To do this, hold the baby close to you and stike or pat him gently to help him bring up air bubbles. Here is a video of more burping tips.