Pitter patter rain drops or heavy showers are really a sense of relief from the sultry heat. All of us including you, as first-time mums and dads are extremely happy to welcome the rain. However, at the same time, this season turns out to be a real challenge for you. As with the arrival of the monsoon, you will have many uninvited guests like mosquitoes and infection-causing germs, which are certainly unhealthy for your newborn. In such cases, the first thing on your mind should be your newborn’s baby health and safety in monsoon. But how? Read on to find out.
Ways To Take Care Of Your Baby During The Rains Indoors
Since water-borne diseases increase in leaps and bounds, during this season, your newborn is susceptible to falling sick during this time. Therefore, you, as first-time parents should be extra careful about safeguarding your little one from the monsoon woes. It could be anything from pre-checking your indoors to keeping your child away from anyone who’s not well, in this rainy season. So, here are few tips of baby care in monsoon season for you as first-time parents:
Start By Keeping Your Indoors Clean
Give your careful eyes to every nook and corner of your house like the garden area, bathrooms, balconies, and kitchen for any sign of leakage, or damps, or puddles during this season. If so, take action to fix these parts of your house, to prevent you and your little one from mosquitoes and infection-causing germs. Use disinfectant floor cleaners to not just keep your floors clean, but also keep the corners of your household dust-free. Also, use a vacuum cleaner to dust off the furniture, and sofa, and brush off the carpet every day during this season. If required, get pest-control done before the rainy season hits.
Keep The Mosquitoes Away From Your Little One
Mosquito bites are extremely painful for your little one. You will also notice that due to mosquito bites your baby has developed small red swellings on some parts of his or her body. Therefore, when you put your little one to sleep during the afternoon or at night you may either choose a mosquito net or mosquito repellent made out of herbal products like peppermint and lemongrass oil.
Keep Your Hands Clean Always
Hands are the gateway, through which infection-causing germs find their way to enter you and your little one’s body. Try your best to keep your nails short and wash your hands before you touch or hold your child.
Keep Your Little One Clean and Dry
During this season, on one hand, the rains can bring down the temperature of the surrounding area, on the other hand, the humidity tends to rise as the trapped heat escapes. Such a weird weather combination makes your little one feel both hot and cold at the same time. So take the following necessary steps to keep your little one clean and dry.
Keep Wipes Handy and Your Baby Go Nappy-free
Keeping a few wipes handy is generally necessary for your baby care in monsoon. Moreover, in this season, since humidity can make him or her sweat a lot and hold a lot of moisture like in the armpits, ears, genitals, etc., use the wipes on your little one repeatedly during the day, and keep those areas clean. Alternately, repeatedly check your baby’s nappy, and allow him or her to be nappy-free at times during this season so that your baby doesn’t develop nappy rashes. As wet diapers are the breading ground of diaper rashes and fungal infections.
Make Your Little One Wear Warm Cotton Clothes
Since this weather is a weird combination of hot and cold, make your newborn wear light cotton clothes. Cotton fabrics are a newborn monsoon essential that is also breathable and comfortable on your little one’s skin.
Use Suitable Oil For Your Little One’s Sensitive Skin
Many of you as new parents follow the ancient Indian tradition to massage your little one with mustard oil. However, these days different types of baby oils like extra virgin olive oil and extra virgin coconut oil are available in the market to massage your baby.
Bathe Your Baby After An Oil Massage
Once you’re done massaging your newborn, you can plan to bathe your baby in lukewarm water, almost daily, even during this season. Keep a fresh towel handy after you’ve finished bathing your little one and pat your baby dry.
Prepare Fresh Food For Your Baby and Keep The Utensils Sterilised
If you’re giving formula food to your newborn, ensure that it prepares in boiled water to eradicate any chances of infection. If your little one is slightly grown-up and you have introduced him or her to solid food, give him or her freshly prepared food for each meal. Also, remember to keep all the utensils that your baby is using absolutely clean and sterilised. As during this season, it is common that mould can get in the bottle or the teats of sippy cups and food can get spoiled fast due to the humidity, which is unhealthy for your little one.
Keep Consulting The Doctor
Since your newborn has more chances of falling sick, he or she might be affected by the monsoon-induced illness, indicating an onset of viral infection like catching a cold, sneezing, fever, etc. Therefore, if you happen to notice your little one falling sick with a cough and cold, consult the doctor immediately.
Ways To Take Care Of Your Baby During The Rains Outdoors
At times, even during the season, both of you may feel like going out to get a breath of fresh air. So, take these measures in order to be careful of germs and infections harming your newborn infant:
Staying Away From Dirty Areas
These areas may include dense shrubs or overgrown grass or a lot of puddles. The chances of mosquitoes, and infection-causing insects can also be high in these areas, which can be harmful to your child.
Staying Away From Crowds
Maybe you’re in a playground or garden with your little one in the pram or stroller, try not to go to the part which is crowded with a lot of people. Who knows, in this season, one or two of them might carry infection-causing germs, have a fever, or cough with a cold?
Use Techniques To Keep Your Little One Safe From The Mosquitoes
Go to the park or garden with your little one by making him or her different types of clothes. In fact, make him or her wear a full-sleeved dress or full-sleeved shirt and pants. Along with the clothes needed for the baby, use the mosquito creams on your baby’s body to keep them away.
Carry Healthy Food and Water While You’re Out With Your Little One
Try not to give street food, and water or fruit juices from the roadside hawkers. They may be unhealthily stored and can easily make your baby sick.
Vaccinate Your Little One Before The Rainy Season Comes In
Your baby’s paediatrician might suggest you to give him or her a flu shot before the monsoon hits. These shots can prevent your baby from fever, cough, cold, vomiting, or diarrhoea.
We hope that both you and your little one can make the best use of the weather with these monsoon baby care tips for first-time parents, and be sure of your newborn’s health care. To find some more interesting first-time parenting advice on baby care and the benefits of cord blood banking follow our blog page.