After 9 months of waiting and wondering what your litlle bundle of joy (or bundles) will look like you may be a bit suprised when you first see your newborn.

It usually take about 2 weeks for them to look like a normal baby and become acoustomed to being

outside of the womb and being all squished up. When my son was first born his face was all squished and his eyes were hidden by chubby rolls of fat, lol.

They may also have odd skin colour, jundiced babies will have a yellow / olive appearence, this is caused when your baby's blood has a high content of red cells which do break down after your baby is born. Your babies hands and feet may also be blue / purple in colour when they are first born, this is beacuse your babies circulation is not working well, just gently masage the hands and feet to stimulate circulations.

During the first few weeks you will notice lots of changes in your babies skin, blotches and rashes will come and go as their skin gets used to the new surroundings. Most babies have small white spots on their noses, these are called "milia" they are normal and you should NEVER squeeze them.  If you do become concerned about them at anytime please consult your doc or midwife. My son had what looked like little blackheads or pimples on his cheeks and it spread to his ears when he was 3/4 weeks old, I took him to the doc and he was put on antibiotics as the rash, which was harmless, had got infected near his ears due to excessive heat (we were in a heat wave at the time of 40 + degrees) so dont feel silly to ask if something you see worries you.

You may also notice birthmarks or your baby may have hair in places you didnt ecpect like arms and thier backs. This is normal and will fade away after time.

Some babies are born with "mongolian blue spots", they are like blueish birthmarks, they usually dissapear in a few weeks. Red spots on the back of the head "storks bites" are very common and they usually dissapear by the time your child is two, all my kids have "storks bites". Babies can also be born with "strawberry birthmarks" these are simply raised red birthmarks, I had one when I was born and it faded by the time i was 3.  Not all birthmarks fade and if you are worried at all see your doctor or midwife.

Babies skin is usually very dry to begin with and it will peel from their hands and feet. I use kerri oil in the bath to help moisten my babies hands and feet or use a gental baby moisteriser to keep the skin nice and soft.

Babies skin is very sensitive so dont use harsh soaps or cleaners. also cover your baby up outdoors and keep them protected from sunburn.

xoxox

Written By A Parker