Image: Shutterstock
Are you a new parent? Then welcome to the ‘don’t-know-what-to-do-we-are-very-confused’ club. Right from the time the world knows that you are pregnant to the time the baby grows big enough to go to school, you are dumped with advice. The information overload keeps you under perpetual doubt of whether you are doing the right things for your baby or not. We debunk a few myths that people spread as if they are confirmed by some scientific research.
Myth 1: Newborns can be fussy until they settle in.
The reality is it’s natural for babies to cry at any discomfort – be it hunger, exhaustion, or simply time for diaper change – they would cry because they cannot be verbal about how they feel. You have to watch for the cues. These needs would be there for quite a while, so you need to get the hang of your baby’s requirements, else you could be labeled a poor parent.
Myth 2: Babies sleep all the time.
Yes, they sleep for most of the time, but at not a length. Most babies sleep between 15 minutes to two hours at one go, and then they wake up for their next feed. The total number of sleeping hours would be about 15 to 17 hours in a day.
Myth 3: When babies pull their ears, it might indicate an ear infection.
Babies love to pull their ears for no reason. They just love to grab and tug on them because they find it fun. Somehow they are interested and curious in their ears. Pediatricians say that if a baby has an ear infection, it would rather not play with its ears because that would hurt!
Myth 4: You might spoil your baby by holding him too much.
Babies need a lot of touch from their parents. The touch of parents makes babies feel secure, especially in the first few months of their lives. As they grow through the toddler stage, their curiosity about the world around them also grows, and so explore they stuff independently. On the other hand, mothers hold their babies so often that they forget to put them down. This tendency might only stop babies from sleeping or soothing on their own.
Myth 5: Nursing moms must be on bland diet.
Babies develop a sense of taste right inside their mother’s womb. So as the mother eats a variety of foods, so does the baby develops its palate. However, mothers should be careful with allergenic foods such as gluten or wheat, dairy, and soy. Vegetables such as onion are known to cause colic in babies. A few mothers also avoid citrus fruits or spices, though you might want to talk to you doctor for any recommended diet.
Myth 6: Babies should sleep throughout the night.
Some babies are nocturnal as they stay awake in the nights. Apparently, your baby follows the biological clock that you had as a pregnant woman. If you stayed up most of the time in the nights during pregnancy, you are likely to have a baby that stays up in the nights. Even if your baby sleeps in the night, it might wake up at the same time when you would wake up during pregnancy. Apart from the biological clock of the mother, your baby has an inherent need of sleep with some comforting and company of the mother.
What were the notions you had before becoming a mother? We would love to hear from you!
