Care for a baby's (Bath, heat, umbilical cord, baby fontanelles)

• How to take care of a baby? (0-12 months)

Here are a list of care for a normal baby and some tips:

• 1) Baby bath:  Babies generally enjoy bath time. They love to stretch, wiggle and splash in the water. Babies also feel relaxed after a bath. Sometimes that’s all it takes to calm and reassure a child.
• Where and when to bathe your baby? For newborns, only a few centimetres of water are enough for bathing. Your baby can be bathed in a regular bathtub with you, in a baby bathtub, or in a clean sink. To keep your baby from getting cold, the ideal room temperature should be 22°C to 24°C (71°F to 75°F). Avoid drafts. Make sure the height of the surface you are washing your baby on is comfortable for you.

• Place a small cushion, a blanket and a towel near the bath to create a comfortable corner for your child. Choose the bath time according to your baby's state of alertness. Choose a time when he is awake and calm. Newborns do not have to be washed every day: 2 or 3 times a week is enough. However, you can wash his face, neck, hands, buttocks and genitals every day with a wash cloth.

• 2) Heat and car: Unfortunately, it happens more often than before that parents forget their child in the car. Stress, fatigue, distractions (e.g.: cell phone in the car), family and professional concerns as well as changes in routine partly explain this increase. And these are situations that all parents experience at one time or another. All parents are therefore at risk of forgetting their child in the car.
• Our brain sometimes plays tricks on us when we are tired, preoccupied or stressed. Routine, for example, can make us act as if we are on “autopilot.” A simple change in this (a parent driving the baby back to daycare instead of the other parent) or a distraction (an important call on the way) can then be enough to forget your child in the car. If the child doesn't make any noise, the parent could leave their car convinced that they stopped at daycare in the morning. His brain then creates a false memory, false memories. 
• Tips to avoid the worst
• Place an item in the back seat: that you will need to retrieve before leaving your car. This will allow you to see your child in their car seat (e.g.: purse, wallet, cell phone, employee card, etc.).
• Place a doggie in your child's seat. When your child is in his seat, place the dog in the front seat to remind you of his presence.
• Set an alarm on your cell phone at the time you usually arrive at daycare. It will remind you to check that your little one is not in the car. Be even more vigilant when there is a change in your routine.
• Ask your child’s teacher to call you if he or she doesn’t arrive at the usual time.
• Remember Heat + Car = DANGEROUS
• Even if it’s to go for a few minutes’ errand, never leave your child alone in the car. In summer, the temperature inside a car increases very quickly. It can reach 50°C in an hour if it is 26°C outside.
• Contrary to popular belief, leaving a window ajar does not slow down the warming inside the car. A child's body temperature increases 3 to 5 times faster than that of an adult. A baby left in a car in the summer can therefore suffer from heatstroke after just a few minutes. Heatstroke occurs when body temperature exceeds 40°C, which can be fatal.
• The car: not a playground:  Always lock the doors of your car, even when it is parked in your driveway or garage, so that no child can enter it unsupervised. The keys should also not be accessible.
• Teach your child that the car is not a place to play.
• 3) Here are 5 Ways to Prevent Heatstroke When it's very hot in the summer, there are some precautions to take to prevent heat stroke in your little one.
• Have him drink water every 20 minutes.
• Breastfeed your baby more often if you are breastfeeding, or offer him water between feedings if he is bottle-fed.
• Refresh it with a wet towel several times a day and in a pool or bath of lukewarm water at least twice a day.
• Have him wear light clothing and a wide-brimmed hat.
• Never leave him alone in a poorly ventilated room or in a car.
• Limit outdoor activities between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., when the heat is at its highest.

• 4) Umbilical cord: Cutting the umbilical cord is a symbolic gesture which represents the beginning of your infant's autonomy: he now breathes alone and feeds himself. Once it falls, the umbilical cord will leave a unique scar: the navel.

• Characteristics of the umbilical cord:  The umbilical cord is yellowish-white in colour and has a gelatinous and slightly tortuous appearance. It connects the child to its mother throughout the life of the fetus.

• The blood circulating there ensures several functions essential to the well-being of the fetus, such as the supply of nutrients and oxygen, as well as the elimination of waste. At the end of pregnancy, the umbilical cord measures on average 2.5 cm in diameter and 55 cm long. However, it can measure up to 100 cm (1 m). A cord that is too long can sometimes wind around the baby's neck. Most of the time, this will be of no consequence.

• When it is time to cut it, two clamps are placed on the umbilical cord to stop the flow of blood. Once the cord is cut, a small plastic clip is installed 2 or 3 cm from the infant's stomach. It is removed two or three days later when the cord is dry.

• When to cut the umbilical cord? Experts have long believed that the cord should be cut quickly after the birth of the baby in order to reduce the risk for the mother of losing too much blood following childbirth. The latest studies carried out on the subject, however, indicate that this is not the case.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) also recommends delaying the moment when the umbilical cord is cut, because waiting 1 to 3 minutes would be beneficial for the baby. This would then have a greater birth weight, a higher concentration of hemoglobin and better iron reserves at the age of 6 months. These benefits have also been observed in premature babies. Waiting before cutting the cord, however, would slightly increase the risk of jaundice in the newborn, a condition that is, however, easily treatable.
• How to clean the umbilical cord? It is important that the cord remains clean and dry to prevent infections. Indeed, because of the blood vessels present in the cord, the latter is an entry point for bacteria.
• Don't worry, manipulating the cord does not cause any pain to the baby. There may be a small, slightly bloody discharge during the first few days. The important thing is to clean the base of the cord well.
• Umbilical cord care at home You can bathe your baby even if the cord has not yet fallen off. The important thing is to dry it well afterwards.

1. Wash your hands well before starting.
2. Clean the base of the cord daily with a cotton swab dipped in warm (ideally boiled) water or saline, going completely around the cord with the cotton swab to remove all debris.
3. Dry all surfaces thoroughly using the other end of the cotton swab.
4. Fold your baby's nappies under the cord to minimize friction. Some brands of disposable baby nappies have a cutout designed for this purpose.
5. Do not apply rubbing alcohol, cream, or ointment to the umbilical cord, as this may delay its shedding. Previously, it was recommended to moisten the umbilical cord every day with 70% rubbing alcohol, but this is no longer the case today.
6. Do not cover the cord with a compress or bandage. It is best to leave the cord exposed as much as possible.
7. Once the cord has fallen, continue to clean the navel with lukewarm water (ideally boiled) or physiological serum, and dry it well until complete healing.

• 5) Baby fontanelles :

• What are fontanelles? When a baby is born, the bones in his head are not yet well fused. This is why you can feel soft spaces between the different bones of his skull. These are called fontanelles. These are spaces without bones. However, these are not holes since tissue connects the bones.
• On your baby's head there is: the large fontanelle, which is located forward, on the top of its head. This fontanelle, also called anterior fontanelle, is diamond-shaped and measures approximately 2 cm to 3 cm wide.
• The small fontanelle, which is located at the back of the head. Also called posterior fontanelle, it looks like a small triangle about 1 cm wide.

• At what age do fontanelles close? Over time, the bones of the skull come together and become fused. The small fontanel, which is located at the back of the head, closes first around 2 months of age.
• The large fontanel, located at the front of the head, takes longer. It closes little by little between the age of 9 months and 2 years. The timing of closing the fontanelles may vary a little depending on the child. However, consult a doctor if the fontanelles close earlier and you notice a distortion in the shape of your baby's head.
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