Your babymoon has now been going on for two months! A Baby’s brain grows about five centimetres in the first three months of development. She is learning a lot! When she breastfeeds, make sure she is not swallowing too much air as the gas can make your 9 weeks old baby uncomfortable. When breastfeeding make sure your baby’s lips enclose around your areola.
- When using a bottle with expressed milk, ensure that the baby’s lips are fastened on the wide base of the teat, not just the top. Buy bottles with teats that closely resemble the shape of your nipple, to avoid nipple confusion.
- If your baby has gas, burp her before and after feeds, especially when changing sides.
Talk to me..
For 9 months before birth, your baby listened to your voice and was soothed by its sound. She has since preferred your voice to any other voice. In fact, by the time of birth babies cry in a similar intonation to their parent’s language. They are already learning the language. For this reason, talk to your baby. Keep talking to her, sing to her, smile at her and interact with her normally. Look into her eyes and chat with her about your activities and your family and loved ones – narrate to her what is going on in her surroundings and how you and your family feel about her. There is no need to use baby talk or ‘gaa-gaa goo-goo’ sounds, although newborns may prefer higher-pitched and slower speech. Read her stories daily as part of her evening routine. This will prime her to develop good reading habits as a foundation for lifelong learning.
You at 9 weeks of being a mum
Having a baby can be hard. It can be an emotional roller coaster with your feelings ranging from euphoric to anxious, to sad to gleeful to downright exhausted. This is quite normal. Mothering is a journey and you will need the assistance, support and understanding of your immediate family, friends and spouse.
If the symptoms of overwhelm become unbearable, you might want to go over this postnatal depression checklist.
If the baby is having a lot of trouble sleeping, it is a good time to contact a sleep specialist for advice.