By the 6th week, your baby has spent a lot of time with you and has gotten used to you. The most important thing you can do for your baby is to respond immediately when it is crying or in distress. This helps build trust with your baby and lays the foundation for healthy development.
Baby Development
It can be able to separate you from other people; seeing your face and hearing your voice will make it feel safe. It can always smile when it sees you. When your baby realizes that it is spending more time with you and being with you, it will make a lot of purring sounds and noises. When you spend about a month and a half with your baby, your bond with it will start to get stronger day by day. As your communication improves and your schedules start to settle, you can start taking some time for yourself.
Milestones
By now your baby`s hearing abilities will be fully developed. It will be able to detect many more sounds than before, and it will also be able to understand the nuances between various tones. You can start playing light, happy and calming music for your baby. Then, when you hum this music to your baby, you can watch it listen intently and cheer with admiration.
Facial expressions and communication take on new heights as your baby begins to learn to smile and use its facial muscles to make other expressions. It puckers its lips, is surprised, raises its eyebrow, sticks out its tongue... These faces are so cute and funny; Don`t forget to immortalize it by taking a photo!
Nutrition
Feeding demands are not as frequent as they used to be, and sessions can be spread out throughout the day. Your baby has also noticed that you have more than one breast. Therefore, at each feeding, it may want to suckle from both sides.
Bottle-fed babies can sometimes be fed a little more or a little less than indicated on the package or recommended by the doctor. This is perfectly normal as long as weight gain is on track.
Sleep
The sleep pattern for a 6-week-old baby is different from the previous one. Your baby, who previously slept for long hours, may wake up within half an hour, staring at you for feeding or play. While these awakenings are natural, it`s important to put your baby back to sleep as it needs a certain number of hours of sleep each day. Ideally, from the 6th week to the 3rd month, the baby sleep pattern is generally as follows;
Number of daytime sleeps is 3-4, Daytime naps are 30 minutes-2 hours, Time to stay awake between two naps is 1 hour-1 hour 45 minutes, Nighttime sleep time is 20.00-23.00, Nighttime sleep time is 8-13 hours, Total daily sleep time 11-15.
Getting used to breastfeeding or rocking before bed can become a habit. Begin to inculcate the sleep routine you have created for your baby and for you. There are many different schools about putting the baby to sleep. Choose the one that is most ideal for you and your baby, and the one that best suits your lifestyle and conscience. Whatever you choose, know that it needs so much and will learn to get quality sleep after months.
If your baby is overstimulated by light, sound or activities, it is put to sleep before it sleeps, it is too tired or has no energy, it is not satisfied with you or the temperature of the environment, its clothes, etc., physical comfort is not provided, it may have difficulty in falling asleep.
If your baby sleeps well during the day, but has trouble sleeping at night, it may not be able to distinguish between day and night.
Routine Tips
We call the order consisting of sequential events Eat - Activity - Sleep - Your time. Babies need to know what to expect. The lack of order and stability is one of the biggest obstacles in raising children because babies and children love routine. EASY is not a clocked program. It should be formed not according to the clock, but according to the signs of the baby. It`s a daytime routine, not a nighttime routine. The baby who sleeps at night should never be awakened for activity, and when it wakes up, it should go back to sleep as quickly as possible. The importance of the activity after feeding (changing diapers is also an activity) is to prevent the baby from associating feeding with sleep and to help the baby learn to fall asleep on its own. Babies younger than 4 months may experience problems if the baby`s prematurity or jaundice or the baby`s weight is ignored in the establishment of the EASY routine. The first 6 weeks is the adaptation period. A 3-hour routine is suitable for term babies weighing 3 – 4.5 kg. A 2-hour routine is suitable for babies under 3 kg and preterm babies. Remember, not the clock, but the order and your baby`s signs are important!
- 07.00: Feed (E)
- 07.45: Diaper change and play (A)
- 08.15: Sleep (S). Put your baby to sleep by swaddling.
- 08:30: Your time (Y). Sleep or rest.
- 10.00: Feed (E).
Behavior
As your baby grows drastically during the week, you may need to buy new clothes soon. Some babies tend to gain more or less weight than others, so don`t compare your baby to other babies. As long as the weight gain is in the healthy range, your baby is fine.
Your baby is most likely smiling every time it sees you. Even simple smile means a lot between the two of you and help build a strong bond.
Crying
In this period, babies stay awake longer. This can cause them to cry if they get bored during their waking process or if they don`t get enough sleep. If a 6-week-old baby`s sleep schedule is disrupted, it may have trouble falling asleep again and may cry.
Sometimes the overstimulation of toys and people can be challenging for them. Or being alone for long periods of time may cause them to vent their frustration by crying out loud. Trying to feed or play at such times may not calm them down. Holding your baby in your arms, walking around with it and distracting it by talking can stop its crying.
Sometimes hunger, poor thermal comfort of the environment, a disturbing piece of clothing, gas pain, sleepiness or physical pain can also cause crying a lot. It is necessary to discover the reason behind your baby`s crying and to meet that need. For example, feeding a baby who is crying because of gas pain, even though it is full, will make the problem worse for it. For this reason, you should be able to get used to your baby`s rhythm and try to discover the reasons for crying types.
Care Tips
- As long as your baby`s crying isn`t very loud, frequent and long, you don`t have to worry about it. You can comfort the baby by cuddling it. Don`t listen to the cuddling rhetoric. Your baby`s greatest need and place of peace is in your lap.
- Always ensure the hygiene of the house, baby`s room, crib and linens, toys, baby clothes, feeding equipment and the like.
- Your baby still does not have full control of its hands. For this reason, you should keep your nails short so that they do not scratch its face.
- You may want to perform some rituals for your baby`s 40th day. One of them is forty flying activity! Although the content of this event changes, the belief that the wishes for the baby`s future will bring it luck does not change. If you want to celebrate this day with your relatives, you can make preparations for 40 flying treats, decorations and gifts.
Tests and Vaccines
If all is well with your baby`s development, a date is not in sight for it. However, you should visit your doctor for postpartum control.
Postpartum Control
About 6 weeks after birth, you will have your doctor or midwife do the last series of checkups, starting with your first antenatal trip. Your healthcare provider will want to make sure you`re in good shape both emotionally and physically by keeping track of the stresses of pregnancy, childbirth, and being a new parent.
During a pelvic exam, your doctor or midwife will want to see if any tears, scratches, or bruises in your vagina or cervix have healed. If your cervix has healed, you may also have a pap smear. He or she will examine your perineum if you have had an episiotomy or rupture. He or she will also press on your abdomen to make sure there is no tenderness and, if you had a cesarean section, will examine your wound to see how it has healed.
Your breasts will also be checked. If you are breastfeeding, your caregiver will examine you to see if you have blocked ducts that could lead to an infection such as mastitis. If you`re not breastfeeding, it`ll want to see if your milk has dried up. Either way, it will want to make sure there are no hard or painful areas that could indicate infection.
You`ll probably be told it`s okay to start having sex again, but many new moms don`t feel their sex drive or energy kick in for a few more weeks or even months. Whatever your level of interest, you should talk about postpartum birth control because it`s possible to get pregnant even before your period starts and you`re breastfeeding.
It will also take care of your emotional health. 4 out of 5 new mothers become mildly depressed, and this feeling is often referred to as baby blues. However, if these feelings last for more than two weeks, you may have postpartum depression, which is more serious.
Plays and Activities
Your baby is still too young to form words on its own. However, its visual memory powers and copying skills increased; It may begin to remember objects or make sounds similar to what it heard. Newspapers, bags, old cereal boxes, or all the flyers that come with the food can be quite helpful. Large illustrated comics are also great for promotion. Show your baby the pictures or colors, say their names loudly and clearly. Say simple words like "blue" or "house" and see if your baby tries to mutter similar sounds.
It can now spend more time on its stomach than before. Lay your baby on a small sheet on the bed. Gently pull the sheet towards you while raising its head or trying to use its arms. This will give it an illusion of movement and make it understand that acting this way can help it move.
When to Apply to The Doctor?
Check its temperature. If it`s 38 degrees or more, let your doctor know. Do not try to apply any medication yourself, as it can be quite risky. In the first 6 months, fever can be dangerous in infants. It is recommended to consult a doctor when your baby`s appetite is greatly reduced, your baby is sluggish and restless.
Fever Tips
Your baby`s fever in the first months will worry you. But know that a fever is a sign that your baby`s immune system is doing its job in fighting an infection. When your baby gets sick due to a virus or bacteria, its body responds by raising its temperature. Fever is actually a good thing rather than a problem in itself.
Until your baby reaches the 6-month old, you should always seek medical advice if:
- Your baby`s temperature is higher than 38 degrees.
- Your baby looks pale or flushed, apathetic or has no appetite, and its behavior or appearance has changed in a way that worries you.
When you call your doctor, it`s important to tell it how high your baby`s temperature is and what other symptoms your baby is having. Based on this information, the doctor will determine how serious your baby`s fever is and tell you if it is safe to give it medication.
Be careful not to give your baby medication before consulting to a doctor. If the fever is above 38 degrees, the doctor will likely want you to bring your baby for examination and treatment.
Here`s how to make your burning up baby more comfortable:
- Cool it down by removing layers of clothing or providing a sponge or tub bath with warm water for 5 to 10 minutes. As the water on its skin evaporates, it will lower its body temperature. Avoid cold baths or rubbing vinegar, which can cause your baby to shiver and raise its body temperature, seizures, and other complications.
- Feed it regularly, breastfeed frequently to help prevent dehydration.
- If the doctor recommends, give your baby the appropriate dose of acetaminophen/paracetamol.