Care of the Umbilical Cord

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What is the umbilical cord? ⁣
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The umbilical cord carries oxygen and nutrients from the placenta to the baby and removes the waste products.⁣
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🌸What happens at birth? ⁣
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When baby is born the cord is clamped and then cut leaving a 2-3 cm stump which will form your baby’s tummy button. Between 5-15 days the umbilical stump will turn black, dry out, harden and eventually fall off. The tummy button can take a few days to heal. It is important to keep the area clean during this process. ⁣
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Umbilical Cord Care ⁣
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🌸Wash your hands before and after you touch the cord ⁣
🌸 If needed clean around the base of the cord with cotton wool/gauze and cooled boiled water and ensure the area is dry after cleaning ⁣
🌸Fold the nappy down below the cord to prevent contamination with stool or urine and to allow air to it.⁣
🌸Check the stump and tummy button at each nappy change for any signs of infection ⁣
🌸Clothing should be clean and loosely fitted ⁣
🌸Try to sponge bath or top and and tail baby rather than a tub bath, this will allow the cord to remain dry. ⁣
🌸Avoid pulling or interfering with the cord stump. ⁣
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If you notice any signs of infection such as surrounding redness, bleeding or smelly discharge from your baby’s tummy button see you GP or midwife for an assessment and advice.⁣
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⁣What cord care did you use for your baby? ⁣👇🏽
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Class of July 2021

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We want to say a massive thank you to all the fabulous parents-to-be who joined us last night. Its a very special time of your lives and we are honoured to be part of it 💗

Why Choose Better Start Baby Club?

🌸Dorset’s only Midwife AND Health Visitor-led Antenatal course that means you will be given the tools to support you when you have bought your baby home as well as being supported through labour and birth

🌸From the moment you register you will be given unlimited telephone/email support. Louise will also be there for you once the baby is born

🌸Postnatal 5 week social course so you can easily stay intouch with your antenatal friends (first session free!).

🌸Fabulous venue, handpicked for comfort and a magical atmosphere. We want you to enjoy every moment of our classes and know how much a cosy, welcoming environment can help!

🌸Louise freshly bakes cakes for every class along with other lovely refreshments

🌸We help you find your ‘mummy friends’ by setting up a WhatsApp group as soon as you sign up and inviting you to enrol on our postnatal course #friendsforlife

🌸Goody Bags! You’ll leave our course with more than new friends and a head full of knowledge.

🌸We are experts at helping you feel relaxed and prepared in all aspects of pregnancy, birth and bringing baby home

BSBC working with Wessex Fertility to deliver support where its needed most

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💗BSBC are so delighted to share with you that we have collaborated with the FANTASTIC ‘Wessex Fertility’ to help support and guide new parents as they transition into parenthood.

💗We understand that parents who have experienced fertility treatment may just need a bit of extra support and reassurance following what is often described as an ’emotional roller-coaster ride’.

🥳We are so overjoyed and thankful that Wessex Fertility have chosen Better Start Baby Club to work with them on providing the best possible care for new parents…..yay!!

👀😍Do have a look at the wonderful work they do on their platform https://www.wessexfertility.com/?gclid=CjwKCAjwrPCGBhALEiwAUl9X0yCTcIxtBpY6MYqiAFA45OdVnkb69RrSWfii5rcEzVOGqNbPwzGIzhoCEQ0QAvD_BwE

Why is my baby crying all the time?

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Babies cry for many reasons – most commonly because they are hungry or need a nappy change. You can try these simple comfort methods to see if the crying stops. Sometimes babies cry because they are uncomfortable or are unwell. This may be due to colic, reflux, constipation or infection amongst other things (see below). ⠀
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Below are some things to look out for if your baby is crying that may suggest they are unwell.⠀
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If your child has any of the following then dial 999 (911)⠀
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🌸Becomes pale, mottled or abnormally cold to touch⠀
🌸Becomes stiff for a prolonged period or has rhythmic, jerky movements of arms or legs that does not stop when you touch it (a fit/seizure)⠀
🌸Becomes extremely agitated (crying inconsolably despite distraction)⠀
🌸Becomes floppy or very lethargic (difficult to wake)⠀
🌸Is going blue around the lips or has difficulty breathing⠀
🌸A rash that does not disappear with pressure ⠀
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If your child has any of the following contact your gp surgery today or dial 111⠀
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🌸Has a temperature above 38°C / 100.4°F (but fever is common in babies up to 2 days after they receive vaccinations)⠀
🌸Becoming increasingly sleepy and not consistently waking for feeds⠀
🌸No wet nappies in the last 8 hours⠀
🌸Has a dry mouth or sunken fontanelle (soft spot on the head)⠀
🌸Is getting worse or you are worried⠀
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If none of the above features are present and they are continuing to feed well, has plenty of wet nappies the contact your local Health Visitor who will be able to offer you additional support ⠀
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A crying baby is stressful but a baby crying for no obvious reason can be doubly as stressful. what experiences have you guys had? A friend of mine her husband would put their baby in the car in the middle of the night and drive until she fell asleep. One night he drove from Dorset to Birmingham 🤦‍♀️🤣

Button Batteries

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🌸BUTTON BATTERIES are the small, round batteries you find in a growing number of toys and everyday objects like remote controls and car key fobs. They can be extremely dangerous for children if swallowed.⠀
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There are lots of different sizes and types of button batteries. Lithium button batteries are most dangerous as they are larger and more powerful. If they get stuck in a child’s throat, they can cause serious internal burns or even death within hours of being swallowed.⠀
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🌸Why are button batteries dangerous?⠀
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Most button batteries pass through the body without a problem. But if a button battery, particularly a lithium button battery, gets stuck in the throat or gullet, energy from the battery can react with saliva to make the body create caustic soda. This is the same chemical used to unblock drains!⠀
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This can burn a hole through the throat and can lead to serious internal bleeding and death. The reaction can happen in as little as two hours.⠀
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Signs of Heat Exhaustion

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I don’t know about you but I’m loving the slightly cooler weather!
Babies and young children are more vulnerable to the heat so it’s important to keep an eye on them in this hot weather. Symptoms can develop very quickly so here are 5 things to know about heat exhaustion/stroke:
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☀️Signs of heat exhaustion to look out for include: headache, dizziness and confusion, restlessness and irritability, loss of appetite and feeling sick, fewer wet nappies, excessive sweating with pale and clammy skin, muscle cramps, fast breathing/pulse, temperature greater than 38C and intense thirst.
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☀️ If your child has heat exhaustion get them to lie down in the shade or a cool room, drink plenty of water, cool their skin with a fan, and sponge them down. Stay with them until they are better. They should cool down and feel better within 30 minutes, if they don’t seek urgent medical attention.
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☀️ Heat exhaustion can progress to heat stroke which is a life threatening condition – seek medical attention immediately if your child has signs of heat stroke: not sweating even though they are hot, a temperature above 40C, dry mouth and eyes, rapid shortness of breath, confusion, becoming sleepy and floppy or unresponsive.
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☀️To prevent heat exhaustion: give plenty of fluids, give cool baths or showers, wear light loose clothing, avoid the sun between 11am-3pm, and you can sprinkle water over their clothes or skin to keep them cool.
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☀️ Never leave your child alone in a parked car, even if the air-conditioning is on. Heat stroke can occur within minutes in a car where temperatures rise much higher than the outside temperature.
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Friends for life

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These gorgeous mummies all met at one of our Better Start Baby Club Antenatal courses.
Friends enrich every stage of our life, but friendships during motherhood are a life jacket that keeps your head above water.  No one get’s what being a mum is about other than mums, that’s why we need our mum friends.
Friends help us to get through the tough times and celebrate with us in good times. Transitioning into motherhood can be tricky and having a support system of mothers who are going through similar trials and joys can be very helpful.
These ladies are just the best and have given me so much lovely feedback.
“My experience socially following the birth of Jasper has been so much more positive than when I had Rex, and that’s totally down to your groups and the atmosphere you create in them 🧡“
                           Join our ante-natal course, you will love it and who knows you might also make friends that you keep close for life 💗

What’s New?

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Venue of Dreams

So, as you know, at Better Start Baby Club, we believe you and your little ones deserve the very best care so I have been hunting high and low for a new venue to hold our ante-natal courses.
With so many expectant parents booking on to our ante-natal course (thank you!) the beautiful Squash Court Café in Wimborne has sadly become a tad too small. So, I had a mission to find something with just as many magical vibes but bigger!
And I found it!
🌸OUR NEW VENUE: https://www.happyccino.co.uk/ in Wimborne is just PERFECT!

Brain Development

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At birth, your baby’s brain contains 100 billion neurons. During his first years, he will grow trillions of brain-cell connections, called neural synapses. Pretty impressive, right?
🌸The rule for brain wiring is to use it or lose it. Synapses that are not “wired together” through stimulation are pruned and lost during a child’s school years. Although an infant’s brain does have some neurological hard-wiring, such as the ability to learn any language, it is more pliable and more vulnerable than a grown-up’s brain. And, amazingly, a toddler’s brain has twice as many neural connections as an adult’s.
Here’s how you can help 👇
🌸Turn up the baby talk. Respond to infant coos with delighted vocalizations, and slowly draw out your syllables in a high-pitched voice as you exclaim phrases like “pretty baby.” This way of speaking is called parentese, and the exaggerated facial expressions and drawn-out vowels help your child absorb all the sounds of our language.
🌸Play games that involve hands. Activities like patty-cake, peekaboo, this little piggy engage your baby and capture her attention. Using your hands shows young children how we physically interact with our world.
🌸Be attentive. When your young child points, be sure to follow with your gaze and remark on items or events of interest to her. This “joint attention” confirms how important her interests and observations are to you.
🌸Foster an early passion for books. Choose books with large and colourful pictures, and share your baby’s delight in pointing at certain images. Simplify or elaborate on story lines, and encourage toddlers to talk about books
Remember that building your baby’s receptive language (understanding spoken words) is more important than developing his expressive language (speaking) in infancy.
🤰Our ante-natal course provides you with evidenced-based information on how the parents brain adapts to the birth of a child too. So even if you are worried that you ‘aren’t maternal’ do not worry, we will show you how this has no impact on how much you love your baby!🥰🧠

Postnatal Nutrition

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EATING well while breastfeeding can be really challenging with a new-born to take care of & a shortage of sleep. Even more so if you have an active toddler to contend with during the day as well. However, making sure that you are eating well can not only help your energy levels, but also your milk supply too.
Batch cooking can be a good way of filling your fridge & freezer with lots of nutritious meals that are ready to reheat. Lots of mums find they are especially hungry while breastfeeding & so it’s a good idea to have lots of healthy snacks to hand, for when temptation strikes!
✨Top tips for optimising nutrition after a baby:
🌸 Vitamin D is vital for optimal functioning of 20% of our genes & most people can’t make enough from sunshine alone in the UK, which is why it is recommended we all take a Vitamin D supplement.
🌸 Eat wholegrain foods such as brown pasta, bread & rice.
🌸 Eat at least 5 portions of fruit & vegetables per day.
🌸 Aim for a fibre intake of 30g (especially important immediately after giving birth) so enrich your diet with extra dried fruit, beans, & lentils, in addition to fruit, vegetables & whole grain carbohydrates.
🌸 Include foods rich in calcium in your diet, either dairy products, or non-dairy such as tofu, pulses & dried fruit.
🌸 Drink plenty of fluids – avoid caffeine & sugary drinks instead choose water. There are lots of ways of making water more interesting such as adding herbs like mint or slithers of vegetables
🌸 Aim for a diet rich in Omega 3 from seeds, nuts, seaweed and oily fish & consider taking a high quality supplement.
🌸Ensure you are eating healthy mono-unsaturated fats such as those found in avocados, nuts & extra virgin olive oil. Have a handful of mixed nuts per day.