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Having your first baby is a magical experience!
You just birthed a beautiful bundle of joy that you get to love and care for for the rest of your life.
In the first few weeks to months, some unfamiliar things might happen to your baby and you might feel the need to panic, especially if it's your first baby.
Here are a few quick things that you might not be prepared for or aware of:
Baby acne: exactly what it sounds like.
It comes and goes pretty quickly, but it could feel like a century. Some babies get acne in a few small spots. Some babies get it all over their entire face. Baby acne is very bothersome to Mom because there's nothing to do about it.
Don't fret! It'll pass.
And some babies never get it at all.
But just be aware that it can happen and it's completely normal. You haven't done anything wrong.
I put some breastmilk on my baby's face where the acne developed and it resolved pretty quickly.
Other face rashes
My baby also got a random red rash on her cheeks pretty frequently. It would come and go.
Maybe it was the laundry detergent perfumes in my bedsheets?
Maybe it was from excessive cheek-kissing?
Who knows?
My solution: I put breastmilk on it each time and it went away.
Cradle cap: patches of raised dry, white or yellow/brown flakes on baby's scalp. Sometimes gathered in the front of baby's scalp by the hair line, or all over the scalp.
You might think your baby has developed a mysterious disease overnight, but that's not the case. It's just that too much oil is being produced by the hair follicles and this is the result.
It will go away on its own within a few weeks or months. You can wash your baby's hair daily to loosen the scales if the cradle cap is bothering you too much.
Again, it's completely normal and you haven't done anything wrong.
Sensing a trend here?
I put breastmilk all over my baby's scalp and massaged it in and I personally think it helped resolve her cradle cap. Breastmilk is a miracle worker.
Watery eye(s)
Your newborn might get watery eyes when he or she isn't crying. This happens because either one or both of your baby's tear ducts is blocked.
My baby's pediatrician said to massage the inner section of her eye with a clean, dry or gloved finger, or a warm washcloth to unclog the tear duct. However, my baby hated when we did this, so we pretty much just let it resolve on it's own.
Dry eyes
Fun fact: baby's don't have tears right away! They take time to develop, usually a month or few.
So, if you see your baby crying but not a single tear falls, don't worry. It's normal and there's nothing to be done about it.
(You might even be too exhausted to realize that your baby is crying without tears.)
Miscellaneous issues:
Your baby may experience other similar or not-so-similar quirks during the newborn stage.
Whatever it is, it's probably normal, you haven't done anything wrong, and it'll go away on it's own.
BUT always check with your baby's Pediatrician just to be sure!