I'm 20 with a week old baby and unsure of things?

Question

i am 20 years old with a week old baby my boyfriend left me. my mom isnt very supportive. and i have no idea what i need to do with feeding, sleeping, stuff like that. like when should and what should i feed my baby girl and when should she and how long should she sleep? HELP!!!

Answer 1

Call your pediatrician and see if they can set you up with someone to tell you what to do. Usually they help you with that in the hospital.

Answer 2

My daughter is almost 2 months old and I am 20 years old as well. when my daughter was a week old she ate about 2 ounces every 3-4 hours. Your baby is going to sleep whenever he or she wants too and will only wake up when she is hungry or needs a diper change. so try and get some sleep when she is sleeping. The hospital should have started the baby on formula when you two were in the hospital, just keep the baby on that formula. If you are not sure what kind of formula the hospital put the baby on then call your pediatrician and he will put her on formula. Good luck with the baby! and congrats

Answer 3

First... You NEED to find some help and support... a best friend, teacher, Nurse, anyone responcible that you trust. Raising a small baby is Hard and you will need a helping hand. If you are feeling overwhelmed put your baby down someplace safe (like a swing or crib) so you don't take your frustrations out and hurt your baby before someone can help you.
Second... Only feed your baby Breast milk or Formula for the first 6 months (At Least) and feed her every 2-3 hours. she will make sucking motions with her mouth or try and put her hands in her mouth when she is hungry. She will sleep alot, usually after meals, or stimulation. If she is fussy and has already eaten and has a clean diper she is probably tired, or in need of loving attention try rocking her or singing.
Third... contact your OB or Pediatrician and let them know what your situation is they may be able to point you in the right dirrection in finding support like a social worker or voulenteer, and also educate you more in caring for your new daughter...

Finally, Good Luck with your daughter and I hope everything works out for the best you seem like a strong person in a tough situation, I am always around if you need to ask anything or just talk... [e-mail]

Answer 4

Well, first I'm sorry you're in such a pickle. Here are some tips to help you out:

1. Feeding - She should eat every 3-4 hours, more if you're breastfeeding her. If you're not breastfeeding, then babies typically eat 2.5 ounces of formula per day for every pound they weigh. So if your baby weighs 8 pounds, she'll get about 20 ounces of formula a day.

2. Sleeping - She will probably sleep for most of the day and night. Basically, when she's not eating, she'll probably be sleeping. That's good. She's been through a lot and needs her rest. So do you, so if possible, sleep when she sleeps.

3. Diapering - Always wipe baby from front to back to avoid spreading bacteria and germs that produce bladder infections or yeast infections. Keep the area dry as often as possible. Usually, you'll change her diaper at every feeding - more if she poops. To keep her from wetting herself while you're changing her, have a clean diaper ready, and before you wipe her, fold the old diaper over so that she's sitting on the front outside part of the diaper while you wipe. DON'T use any powder, as it's very fine and the baby could inhale it, causing a respiratory problem.

4. Cord care - If she still has a part of the cord, you should be sure to keep this area clean and dry. You can either swab it with a little alcohol once or twice daily, or just let it be. It should fall off any day now. Until that, sponge baths only.

5. Bathing - Newborns like yours only need a bath about once a week. Give her a sponge bath until her cord falls off. After that, you can use an infant tub. One with a baby sling to support her if possible, otherwise, keep a hand on her and support her at all times. Only 2 inches of water in the tub should suffice. Clean her face with a wet (not soapy) wash cloth. Wipe each eye from the inside corner outward to prevent conjunctivitus or blocked ducts.

6. Grooming - Those tiny little hands and feet have very tiny little nails, don't they? Even if you have a small pair of baby clippers or scissors, it's easiest just to peel the nails away than cut them. I used to use the scissors to nip the very edge of the nail, then just grab the nail and peel off the excess. The nails are soft enough to do this for a couple of months and you won't have to worry about accidents. It's best to trim her nails when she's sleeping. For fingernails, she'll probably need a manicure once or twice a week. For toe nails, a pedicure about once a month.

I will update my answer if I think of any more.
Good luck and congrats on your beautiful daughter!

Answer 5

Well, first of all, I'm sorry to hear that you had all that fall down on you. But here's what I can tell you.

If you're breastfeeding, then you'll be feeding her every one to one and a half hours. If you're bottle feeding, it'll be between two and three hours usually, but if she cries, go ahead and give her more. There's nothing wrong with that. Right now, until she's six months old (reguardless of what any idiot tells you) she should only have breastmilk or formula! After that, start her with something like mashed bananas. :)

At this point, your little girl will probably sleep all the time except when she's eating or needs changed. That'll be the way for a few weeks. Right now, my little girl is two months and she still sleeps about 15 hours a day, if not a little more.

Just stay calm, don't worry about things. They always work out in the end. Be strong for your little girl! Keep her warm, keep her clean, keep her dry, keep her fed, and she'll be happy! Good luck!

Answer 6

Your baby will let you know when she is hungry or needs a diaper change, you can be a parent by yourself it takes a lot of hard work and dedication, you just have to get used to your baby she should be eating every 2-3 hours and at a week old should be sleeping at least 16 hours a day. I would try to get with the health department in your area they should have a program for single moms, so you could meet other people with the same issues being around people like you might help you get more used to your new arrival.. I would also check out a book called babies' first year. it helped me out a lot.

Answer 7

You may want to look into a parenting class in your area.

I was 21 when I had my first child, all you have to do is a little research and try a few things.
You have natural parenting instincts, so my best suggestion is to follow your heart. Think about what your doing, and if you feel inside If it is good for your baby. Sometimes thinking about how you were raised and what you liked/didn't can give you some ideas too. Everyone parents different, no one can tell you HOW to raise your child, just research each subject and do what you feel is right

Some basic things to remember are if you are using formula don't water it down

put your baby to sleep on her back

if shes 3 months or under, fed her when shes hungry and let her sleep when shes tired.

If she is 3 months or under she should sleep at night for 5 hours as a general rule, if she sleeps more though thats fine.

If shes crabby try dimming the lights, turning off the tv and radio and just rocking her, or even read to her. infants love to here their mothers voice.
Hug her, cuddle her, and give her lots of love :)

Also, the hardest part will be when she cries. Don't freak out, just try to find out whats wrong. If you can't, then just give her love and comfort. Babies get over stimulated easily and lots of things bother them.
In the womb for 9 months she never felt a cold breeze, never heard loud sounds, never saw bright lights, was never hungry, was always being rocked inside you, was floating in warm fluid, never felt scratchy diapers, never slept alone, and a whole load of other things...for 9 months! being in this totally different setting takes time to adjust to.


Here are some great parenting websites by pediatricians/child psycologists/and parents which cover pretty much every subject about raising a bay so you can find answers to specific questions from feeding, bathing, to games to play. :)

http://www.zerotothree.org

http://www.drgreene.com

http://www.askdrsears.com

http://www.parentingweb.com

http://www.nncc.org/Parent/uc.disctod.html

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0838/is_1999_Sept/ai_60947818

Answer 8

Hey girl every baby is going to be different than the next. Since your baby is only a week old I would say no more than 4oz of formula or if your breat feeding I would contact your lactation consultant that you worked with when you were pregnant.
As far as sleeping, Newborns sleep a lot.
Changing the baby I would say about every 3-4 hours should be enough time. You don't want to change them to often because that would result in wasting diapers but at the same time you don't want to let them sit in a wet diaper for to long too. I would just feel the outside of the diaper to judge how full it is.

I was 21 when I had my daughter and the dad wasn't very helpfull since he wanted me to have an abortion anyways.

Good Luck and you will be fine.

Answer 9

Take the cues from your daughter. When she cries, she's either hungry, sleepy, or has a dirty diaper. Those are the basics to start with. Are you breastfeeding or formula? If breastfeeding, let her go until she's asleep or just finished, like 10-20 minutes on each side. If she's on formula, I'm not sure what the feeding guidelines are. She's only a week old, so she's going to be sleeping most of the time; definately more sleep time than awake time. Just remember, you are the mommy now, but it's not something you learn immediately. You have to get to know your baby, and learn to be a mommy. Take it one day at a time and hang in there.

Answer 10

Hang in there pet the hard part is over and now you get to reap the rewards. Try not to get down about you bf leaving. He is going to be the one missing out. You are the one who will get the smiles every morning. You should get the father of the baby to give you support financially. If he is old enough to make the baby he is old enough to pay for her.
I'm in the same situation with my baby's father so I really do know how hard it is.

Right to help you get through the start:

Baby should be drinking between 3 and 4 ounces every 4 hours. This will increase as baby gets bigger. This is one ounce of water to every scoop of formula.

Let her sleep as long as she wants. She will wake when she is hungry.

Change her nappy at every feed and use Vaseline to keep the urine away from baby's skin.

Don't forget everything has to be sterilized. If you are using a steam sterilizer remember to empty the water out after every use to avoid rusting.

Best of luck and you can contact me any time you like if you need help or just someone to talk to x

Answer 11

First Calm down!! Don;t focus on who has lef tyou and who's not there. you baby girl needs you. I have 3 year old and i am 20. Read through books, go online, join teen mother chatlines i did all that and believe me it helps. All your baby needs is love and care, When she crys it could be only a couple of things.narrow it down, is she hungry? has she slept? does she have a dirty diaper? If she is hungry and youa re not breast feeding go get some enfamil and follow the directions on the back of the box. Rock her if she has already ate and she might just have gas. Also remember baby's sleep alot and during those times read up on parenting. Soon people will come around once they see how well you are handeling your self. Son;t be afraid there is many out there worse off then you. if you need anything else add me to your friends lists and i will be glad to help.

Good luck
~mama