Young mothers, barely leaving the hospital, immediately begin to encounter many issues related to the baby. And one of them is "When to start walking with a newborn baby?". After all, walks in the fresh air are necessary not only for the baby, but also for his mom. They are an extremely important stage in the proper development of the newborn, help maintain the health of the mother, saturate the body with enough oxygen. Therefore, you need to start walking with the baby in a timely manner.
What is the use of the baby?
Moms of children who were born in the warm season are not too concerned about how to start walking with a newborn in the summer. Indeed, in the hot period, they can only worry about the child not excessively sweating. But the parents of the “winter” kids have enough questions. Is it worth it to go for a walk with the child, if the street is cold and piercing wind? How to dress a baby and how much to walk with him in the cold? How to protect him from a cold? Especially everyone is interested in the question of when to start walking with a newborn in winter? Consider what rules should be adopted in different situations and seasons.
The first joint walk with the baby is a very serious event, so you should be well prepared for it. And in order to understand its importance, you need to know why these walks need a crumb. What is the use of being outdoors? Walking is not only useful, but necessary, because it:
- gives the child a good hardening;
- increases its immunity, and also develops the resistance of the child's body to pathogenic bacteria;
- stimulate the development of the nervous system;
- saturates cells with oxygen;
- improves metabolism;
- provides the child’s body with the necessary amount of ultraviolet radiation, which helps in the production of vitamin D, so necessary for babies;
- involves a variety of different objects that the baby meets on a walk, trains his eyesight;
- builds up the communication experience necessary for the correct emotional development of the child;
- affects the improvement of appetite;
- accelerates blood circulation;
- improves baby's sleep.
After a walk, the child becomes calmer and sleeps better. In addition, constant changes in temperature outside help the child’s body to adapt more quickly to the impermanence of our world. Staying in the sun helps stock up on vitamin D, which prevents rickets from developing.
When can I take my first walk?
So when to start walking with a newborn after discharge from the hospital? Many mothers begin to visit the street the very next day after returning home, especially if the yard is late spring or summer. However, pediatric neonatologists have different thoughts from the widespread among young mothers that the sooner a baby is brought into the air, the better it will be. Their professional recommendations on when to start walking with a newborn on the street are very clear and unambiguous.
They insist that starting with the baby should not begin earlier than from the second week after birth. That is, starting from the moment when the baby is already a little mastered in a new habitat. At the same time, you need to start with a 15-minute exercise, adding 10 minutes daily to the total time spent on the street. But the total walking time should be 2-3 hours a day: longer in summer, less in winter and autumn. In winter, you can take walks of 1.5-2 hours, but if the temperature drops below -10 degrees, it is better to skip the exit to the street and let the baby just sleep on the balcony. To prevent the child from freezing, dress him warm enough. In this case, the balcony should be glazed.
First walk in winter
So, when to start walking with a newborn in winter and how to dress him for a walk? If your baby was born in such a cold time, then you should not go out for at least ten days from the moment he was born. And the day of the first walk will depend entirely on the weather. If the temperature in the street is not lower than 10 degrees below zero, you can take the baby out for 10-15 minutes. In this case, you can not even use the stroller, but walk with the baby in her arms or in a special sling.
It should be noted that the time when to start walking with a newborn is set by his parents, and this largely depends on weather conditions, the condition of the baby and the mother’s employment. Sometimes you can do it by leaving the baby on the balcony or the covered terrace, because if the frost drops to -10 degrees or even lower, and also during heavy snow or rain it is better to wait a bit and walk and limit yourself to thoroughly ventilating the room where the baby is. Time spent on the street should be increased gradually, bringing the daily rate of stay in the fresh air to 1-1.5 hours twice a day.
What to do before a walk
Gathering baby for a walk, you should feed him well first so that hunger does not distract him from the exercise. Go to the street as soon as he has eaten and enough time has kept him "column" so that excess air came out and he was not bothered by bloating. Wearing a baby for a winter walk should be done exclusively according to the weather, without wrapping it too much. For this purpose, a warm envelope for a newborn is best suited, where it will be warm and comfortable to sleep in the fresh air. To check if your child is cold, you first need to warm your hand in a glove, and then put your fingers under the back of the head of the baby. If he is warm - the baby does not freeze and he feels good. But to be safe, always take a warm blanket with you for a walk.
Summer and the first walk of the baby
And when can you start walking with a newborn in the summer? Indeed, in the warm season, the adaptation period is reduced? A baby born in the summer goes through an adaptation period of about 5-7 days. And how to start walking with a newborn in the summer? Its first appearance should last no more than 10-15 minutes, all subsequent walks should be increased gradually by 10-15 minutes so that by the age of two months the baby can walk for at least two hours a day. This time must be divided into two equal parts and go outside in the morning and in the afternoon. It is worth giving up walking with a newborn if the air temperature is above 27-30 degrees.
Sun Rays and Newborn
In this case, a simple truth should be learned - daylight rays are very strong and are more likely to harm than benefit both the child and his mother. In no case do not leave the stroller with the baby in direct sunlight. Remember that the baby’s thermoregulation system is still in the process of adaptation, so it becomes hot or cold very quickly. Always try to wear crumbs for the weather, sticking to measures.
Dress for a walk in the summer
If it’s hot, just put it on a light T-shirt or body, and hide its legs in socks to prevent them from freezing. A thin diaper should be placed on the stroller’s mattress, if the baby sweats, it will be easy to wash and dry it. If you are not in the shade with the child, it is advisable to put on the baby a lightweight bonnet or simply cover it with an extra diaper, scarf or rug. From mosquitoes and other insects, use a thin net that should be fixed to the stroller.
Spring and fall. Baby's first walk
Now we will analyze when they begin to walk with a newborn in the fall or early spring. In this still rather cold season, walking with the baby can always be practical, only excluding those days when it rains heavily or cold winds blow. These walks can be quite long - 2-3 hours. At the same time, you can use walking time both at once, and breaking it into periods of 40-50 minutes. When the weather is raging outside, the baby is better to stay on the balcony and receive his portion of oxygen, while being safe. Yes, and mom at this time can do something around the house.
Clothing in the spring and autumn
When the little one is older, begin to accustom him to a walk at a time when he is awake. At the same time, he can sleep in a stroller on the balcony, when the walk for some reason did not take place. Having found out when it is possible to start walking with a newborn in the autumn and spring, it will not be out of place to dwell on what form of clothing should be preferred. During the off-season, the weather can change very quickly, and the gentle sun, in which you went for a walk, can suddenly turn into a piercing wind. For this reason, when going for a walk, you must be prepared for any weather surprises. Clothing should be waterproof and well protected from the wind.
Duration of walk in spring and autumn
The first walk of children born in autumn or spring should take place no earlier than a week after your discharge from the hospital. It lasts on the first day only 10-15 minutes and is constantly increasing from exit to exit. The duration of walks depends on weather conditions and is set by parents independently - in warm weather you can walk longer than expected if the child is calm and not naughty. On colder days, a walk can be reduced to a minimum.
Given the surprises of the weather, you will have to combine various elements of children's clothing. To do this, you should buy your child several walking overalls, varying in density, as well as blouses - woolen and lighter fleece, one thin poddevochny cap and 2-3 warm hats. In addition, you will need another street jumpsuit with a removable lining or an envelope. Wearing a baby should be only one layer of clothing warmer than an adult.
In inclement weather, a raincoat is very desirable. But it should be used only in emergency cases, in order to have time to get home without getting wet. Given the fact that the air in the rain is rarefied and very useful for the baby, you can walk with it in the rain under some canopy. A raincoat with longer use creates a greenhouse effect in the stroller, which accumulates moisture and leaves no room for oxygen.
Dress the baby for a walk. Useful Tips
So you found out when to start walking with a newborn and how to wear it in different weather conditions. Pay a little more of your attention to how to properly navigate when choosing clothes for the baby:
- dress for walks so that the process of removing clothes is as quick as possible;
- Use a transformer jumpsuit for walks with babies, which, depending on the circumstances, can be made into an envelope. If the zippers in it are long enough, then putting on such a jumpsuit is easy, even on a sleeping baby;
- do not forget that the baby needs a bonnet that protects his head from hypothermia. In winter and in the cold season, they put on a warm hat over him, but only just before going out so that the child does not sweat in the apartment;
- Prepare and lay everything that you need for a walk in advance, first dress yourself and only then proceed to dress the baby.
When to start walking with a newborn? Opinion Komarovsky
In order to ensure healthy and proper development for your child, you should also seek the opinion of professionals. So when to start walking with a newborn? Komarovsky believes that adaptation to the street should begin with being on the balcony. Moreover, it is better to do this no earlier than 10-14 days after birth. These walks should be started from 15-20 minutes, constantly increasing them. It should be borne in mind that for a baby from 2 weeks to a month the air temperature in the street should be above 5 degrees of frost, and a two-three-month-old child can already walk at a temperature of 10 degrees below zero.
In addition, Dr. Komarovsky expresses the opinion that the time of walks and the ambient temperature at which the baby is recommended to walk depends on his weight. If it is average - 3.5 kg, then he can go out when the temperature is zero. At 4.5 kg walks are already allowed at 5-10 degrees below zero. But if the air temperature is slightly lower than recommended, then walking should not be all 2-3 hours, but only 30-40 minutes.
Expert Advice
In the warm season, you can take the baby out into the air for the first time literally in a day or two after the hospital, and only after two weeks from birth in cooler weather. If the frost outside is below 10 degrees, it is better to do so stay on the insulated glazed balcony.
According to the authoritative opinion of the doctor of medical sciences, professor-neonatologist Tatyana Znamenskaya, in favorable weather, you can walk with the baby on the 2-3rd day after coming from the hospital. And the first walk can take only 20 minutes. In all subsequent days, its duration increases by another 20 minutes. She believes that in the summer you can walk 8-9 hours. After all, the temperature indoors and outdoors is almost the same. In autumn or spring, the time spent in the air should be divided into two parts: 2 hours in the morning and afternoon.
Now that we have considered all the important issues for you, you can safely apply the acquired knowledge and provide your child with the correct and comfortable mode of daily walks.