My young life was not that full of drama. These days it is! I was reminded by a tarot card, or was it the iching or the internet that sometimes it's about what I CAN give. Somedays I get so tangled up thinking about what I have or don't have, what I miss or have lost, about my loneliness, my sadness...me, me, me always me. I am and for as long as I can remember I have been independent. Perhaps more so than others. I am not enmeshed in any particular community, my friends are spread out across the globe. I call no particular place home. I am the writer, director and star of my own show. Lot's of responsibility there! I digress. There is a whole world of people out there. All those warm bodies, kind thoughts, easy conversations. All that company, all those adventures and dreams. I have my VIP's. Family, friends and lovers that I have had the privilege to meet and share time and space with. Even though I pride myself on my independence, and I want to be confident in my ability to sustain myself and thrive can I remember to ask myself what I CAN give to others. Sometimes all I CAN give is my broken heart and spirit, my complaints and distress but perhaps the challenge is to dig a little deeper. To ask WHAT CAN I BRING INTO THIS PERSONS LIFE...that will make a positive difference to their day. Perhaps I can bring balance.
Newborn babies are not really dirty. Full term infants often have vernix caseosa a white waxy substance produced by the sebaceous glands that protects the skin from the watery environment in the womb covering them when they emerge. Babies are not very good at regulating their temperature as they have a high surface to volume ratio that means that more heat escapes than they are able to generate, so they get cold easily. When you bath a newborn, your goals are to keep them as warm as possible, to not drop them (and to retrieve them quickly if they slip). You want two washcloths. Two grips are going to be useful here: the football hold - your elbow in line with the side of your body and arm at 90 degrees. Lay baby length wise along your forearm supporting their mid back with your palm and your fingers supporting their neck and shoulders. The other grip is the shoulder hold. Babies head/neck should rest on your wrist/forearm, while you grip the shoulder that is furthest away from your body. This secures baby in the bath. First using the football hold: use a clean washcloth and wipe from the inner corner of one eye to the outer, then repeat with a different clean section of the cloth. Wipe around babies face. You want to use gentle exfoilating motions with a flat palm draped with a cloth on babies scalp to lift off any gunk (no digging with fingers on babies skull as it's soft). Then return baby to the change table and dry the head, hair and scalp. Undress baby and initiate the shoulder hold then lift baby into the bath. With your free hand wash all crooks and crannies of babies body, make sure you get into the creases and crevices at the joints and around the neck. Always wash from front to back on girls vaginas and do not peel back foreskin on a penis. A wet washcloth can be placed on babies tummy to keep them warm. Bath temperature should be about the same temperature that you like to bath in (provided you don't like extremely hot baths/showers). Remember that babies are not actually dirty per se, and there is no "right" amount to bathe. Best practice is to bathe when you can. It can be a lovely bonding experience!
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AuthorI used to live in Canada, work in forestry and dream about a career in medicine. Now I am studying Nursing and Midwifery as an adult. Archives
September 2017
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