Consider it normal to feel a bit awkward about picking up and carrying your newborn around and changing his diapers. With time and practice, you’ll realize that your baby is far more resilient and less fragile than you might have thought. As long as you support his head, there’s no need to carry your baby around as though he were a porcelain doll that you might shatter if you’re careless and drop him.
Your newborn’s normal body position will be to hold his arms folded and close to the trunk. Tiny hands are in tight fists, and legs are usually bent up close to the belly except when crying. Then, arms and legs may flail outward and fists open up, especially when your baby is startled by unexpected movement or a sudden change in temperature from being undressed or laid on a cool surface.
If you are relaxed, you will send your baby the message that everything is safe. On the other hand, if you nervously shift your baby around from one position to another, he’ll feel upended and may become more skittish and irritable.
Get yourself into a relaxed state by breathing deeply, softening your muscles, especially those in your arms, and by using slow, deliberate motions when you lift and carry your baby. This will communicate to him that “All is well.”
Your new baby has only the most primitive mechanisms for keeping himself warm after birth. He has, after all, spent the last nine months living in a wet incubator at a temperature of about 98 to 100° F, and suddenly it’s 25 degrees colder.
Babies lose most of their heat from the top of their heads, which is why nurses put tiny caps on them. When your baby’s cold, he will shudder, or tighten his arms and legs into a tight ball, and he may even look a little blue.
You can help your baby keep comfortable when it’s cold outside (or indoors) by keeping a cap on his head and booties on his feet at first, and by wrapping him in a lightweight blanket when you carry him around. Also, position his crib away from drafts or the line of air from an air-conditioning vent. After the first two weeks he will start to adapt and will probably be comfortable at the same temperature you are.
The “skinny” on baby skin
At birth, your baby will be covered in a creamy white substance called vernix that coats his skin and will have collected in its folds and creases. This protected your baby’s skin while he floated in amniotic fluid, and it also has antibiotic capabilities. Health-care providers will rub it off when your baby is cleaned, or it may be absorbed into his skin naturally.