Your 10-Week-Old Baby
Baby’s first cold, dealing with low milk supply and treating diaper rash.
Doctor’s Corner: Baby’s First Cold
Your baby’s first cold will probably be a lot harder on you than them. Although infants at this age are too young for medication, there are lots of things you can do to ease the sniffles, runny nose and congestion:
- Spritz natural saline spray to moisturize and soften boogers so they make their way down the nostrils. (Parenting is just as glamorous as it sounds.)
- Get a Snotsucker, STAT (yep, that’s really the name). NoseFrida’s nasal aspirator is a sick-day game-changer that parents swear by. It uses your own suction to clear your baby’s stuffy nose. In a nutshell, you place one end of a tube at the base of your child’s nostril (not inside) and use the red mouthpiece at the other end to suck the snot out. Before you re-read that last line, rest assured it has disposable hygiene filters to prevent germs from being transferred. (Watch this video to see the NoseFrida in action.)
- Create a steam room. Close the bathroom door and turn on a hot shower. Sit in the bathroom with your baby while the shower runs and makes the bathroom extra steamy. Hanging out in there for a few minutes will help those baby sinuses open up.
- Use a humidifier in your baby’s nursery to moisten dry air.
- Cuddle around the clock. Any sleep progress your kiddo has made will probably go out the window, and that’s OK. You’ll get back on track. For now, be there whenever you’re needed.
Milestone: Follows Objects
Your baby’s eyesight is continuing to develop (along with hand-eye coordination), and now they’re able to track objects as they move. They’re also beginning to more easily focus their eyes on faces (especially yours!).
Try This: The Dangling Game
Play the swatting game. It may not feel like much to you, but simply dangling a toy or rattle above your baby while they lie on their back will encourage them to swat, reach and track the motion. This can help encourage hand-eye coordination.
It can be entertaining for you to watch as baby tries to reach out and smack the object—and the look on their face when they succeed can be really cute.
Feel free to throw in some sound effects as you play with your baby to make things even more fun (you’ll really perfect your farm animals at this stage of life). Activity mats with toy bars can keep babies reaching and batting away. And while they won’t be able to reach it, watching a mobile is another great activity, too.
Treating Diaper Rash
No matter how absorbent your diapers are or how frequently you change your kiddo, diaper rash happens to the best of us (or, best of bums for that matter).
Babies’ skin may be sensitive to all sorts of irritants—including the diaper itself (chafing or fragrances) or the acid that naturally occurs in pee and poop. Introducing new foods into your baby’s diet or antibiotics can also trigger a rash.
No need to Google “diaper rash” (and please, spare yourself!)—you’ll know it when you see it: your baby’s diaper area will look red, irritated, possibly bumpy and may feel warm to the touch.
While it can be mild and treated quickly thanks to a soothing diaper rash cream or balm, some cases can make for very unhappy campers on the changing table. In really serious situations, it can create open sores and blisters. This is your Code Red alert (literally) to call the pediatrician.
How to Deal with Low Milk Supply
Lots of things can affect your milk supply, especially stress. If you’re going back to work, know that this can be a hard transition for some moms, and your supply may dwindle. But there are things you can do to encourage your milk levels to go back up.
- If you find your supply dropping, try to fit in an extra pumping session. In most cases, breastmilk is a supply and demand situation: the more you demand, the more your body supplies. Bonus: the extra milk you’re producing can become a solid (no pun intended) freezer stash caregivers can rely on anytime. Knowing you have backup for bottles can help alleviate the pressure to pump an exact amount per day.
- Pump in a quiet, calm place. Look at photos or videos of your baby while you pump to encourage let down.
- Block off time to pump on your calendar (just like you would schedule a work meeting). This can help you follow a routine and ensure you’re not feeling rushed or overwhelmed. You can try using a double electric pump with a hands-free bra, so you can do other things while you pump.
- Up your water intake. Your body uses a lot of water to produce breastmilk. If you’re dehydrated, it can really hinder production. Try a reminder app like Aqualert for iOS or Android, or if you’re into games, try Plant Nanny for iOS.
- Start your morning with a bowl of oatmeal. While there’s no scientific evidence that it increases milk supply, many moms credit this simple breakfast with helping them pump more in the mornings. Supplements that contain the herb fenugreek also work well. And if you have time to bake, try these tasty lactation cookies. In addition to oats, the recipe includes brewers yeast and flaxseed (other helpful milk-boosting ingredients). You can also buy lacatation cookies, like these.
- When you get home from work, try to nurse right away and let your baby stay on as long as they’d like. Again, supply and demand is the key here.
It can be hard, but try not to let pumping at work create extra stress. You have enough on your plate, and you’re doing the best you can. So, now would be a good time to pat yourself on the back, mama.