What's New For Infants

It has now been a month since your beautiful baby was born. By now the newness of the experience and the excitement may be starting to wear off, and you might be feeling like a zombie from the lack of sleep you have been getting, and the long days you have been putting in. Your partner probably went back to work a couple of weeks ago, and at this point you might be starting to feel like you are all alone, in raising your baby. You might be reminiscing and wishing you were still pregnant, as it seemed easier then.

The Baby Blues are normal. You may experience mood swings from one minute to the next and go from crying for no reason to feeling exuberant within a matter of moments. This is all due to hormonal changes in your body, and in time it will get better.

Some women however experience a form of depression called postpartum depression, or PPD. This is when you feel sad, lonely, overcome with anxiety and a lack of energy day after day. You might find yourself wishing that you didn’t have a baby. In severe cases of PPD you might even have thoughts of harming yourself, or you baby. If you think you have PPD, please contact your health care provider immediately. Roughly 10% of new moms suffer from PPD, and there is help available.

Week 5 Milestones

By this point, your baby will be smiling more and more, and might start smiling in response to you smiling or playing with him. He will be able to respond to bells and whistles by turning his head, cooing, crying, and smiling. Since he should have mastered lifting his head 45 degrees in the first month, he should be able to hold it up for an extended period of time by now.

What Might Concern You at 5 Weeks

Some babies develop cradle cap. This is white flakes on the baby’s head that will remind you of adult dandruff. This is quite normal in many babies, and there are things you can do to try to clear up the flakes.

Simple shampooing on a daily basis may make it worse. As with adults, daily shampooing can dry out your babies scalp and make the flakes worse. For minor cases of cradle cap, try massaging mineral oil or Vaseline on your baby’s head before shampooing. Let it sit and loosen the flakes, then shampoo as normal. Keep your babies head cool and dry as sweat can make the flakes increase in consistency. Cradle cap is not dangerous to your baby, but when in doubt, check with your pediatrician.

This time last year...

You weren't even pregnant yet!   Can you believe it? Time flies too fast! Be sure you start chronicling these newborn memories now by creating your free baby journal today!

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