Holding Your Baby

Holding babies can be a puzzle for their dads who dread hurting their soft cuddly bodies and crushing the delicate babies with their loving embraces. Mom's hugs and dad's embraces are the right of every child that enters this world and makes a new baby feel loved and cared for. The reassurances communicated by the firm and secure arms of a father and soothing touches of a mother is irreplaceable by anything else and plays an important role in the development of a child's reactions to the world. Similarly, swaddling the baby is also an ancient way to soothe a child when mothers cannot afford to hold or hug the child and have to leave him/her alone for sometime to finish the other household chores. Here are some useful tips for holding your baby safely.
How to Hold Your Baby

• The head of the infants need a firm support, as the muscles of their neck are still not strong enough to hold the head in position.
• Pick the baby very gently and keep your movements slow and smooth.
• Be confident and do not pick the baby when your hands are shaking for you may drop the child accidentally.
• If the baby is sleepy, hold them upright against your shoulder. Rest their head against the shoulder; place one hand on their upper back and other on their bottom.
• To lift the baby or talk to them, cradle them in arms while resting their little heads just above the crook of the arm and allowing the lower arm support the rest of their body. Use the other hand to rest their bottom and make sure that their head is at a slightly raised position than the bottom.
• See if your baby really gets soothed when being swaddled or becomes more frantic. However, most babies do calm down by swaddling as they feel as if they are being held securely.
• To swaddle the baby, lay them on a cotton blanket or sheet spread on a flat surface. The neck of the baby should be in line with the long edge. One side of the sheet should be passed diagonally across the baby's shoulder and tucked under the body snugly. The arms of the baby should be free to move and the sheet should not be very tight. Bring the other side across the other shoulder of the baby and tuck it under the other side of their body safely. The bottom of the baby may also be tucked under baby's feet.
• If you have tightly swaddled the baby and the little one falls asleep, keep an eye on the temperature and breathing pattern of the baby as overheating may cause a problem.