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Hardening the baby: sun, air and water!

26.11.2024

Hardening of infants is a great way to ensure that the child has good health for life. In the first months of life, the body of a newborn very easily adapts to changes in the environment. It turns out that the baby is born already hardened. The task of parents is to strengthen the immune system and increase the protective capabilities of the body. How can this be done without harming the health of the little person?

The main thing is moderation

If you decide to harden your baby, you should first consult a doctor. There are a number of contraindications, in the presence of which such strengthening of the immune system will have to be postponed. Is the baby healthy? Then you can start the procedures! The essence of hardening babies up to one year is as follows: it is necessary to constantly and gradually change the environmental conditions.

It is best to combine hardening with bathing, gymnastics and changing clothes. All together has an amazing effect on the body of the newborn.

Metabolism, blood circulation and psycho-emotional state improve, appetite and immunity increase.

Air hardening

It is best to start hardening infants with air baths. There are several ways to increase immunity when exposed to air.

• Ventilation. This will be the first in the list of hardening procedures. Ventilate the room approximately four times a day for 10 minutes while the child is absent. It is important to gradually lower the room temperature by 1-2 degrees. In warm weather, the window can always be slightly open. The optimal temperature of the room where the baby is located is +20-22°C.
• Walks and sleep in the fresh air. It is important to start them when the temperature outside is not less than +10°C. The first walk lasts 15 minutes, the next one – twice as long. And so on until the total time the baby spends outside is two hours.
• Air baths during changing. Another great way to harden babies up to a year! Leave the baby naked for 30-40 seconds during changing, and increase this time by half a minute per week. And when your little happiness is a month old, you can combine air baths with massage.

Hardening with water

Hardening the baby with water is the next stage of strengthening the immune system. It is also divided into several types:

• Washing. A newborn can be washed with water at a temperature of 28°C until the age of three months, after three months and up to six months – about 26°C, and then – 20-24°C. Every three days the temperature should be lowered a little.
• Rubdowns. You should start them when the baby is at least six months old. Rub the baby's body with a soft flannel cloth, starting with the arms and legs. Then move on to the back, chest, and finally the tummy. As a result of rubdowns, the skin should turn slightly red. Hardening babies with wet rubdowns should begin 10 days after dry rubdowns. The water temperature should initially be no lower than 35°C, and it should be reduced to 30°C.
• Dousing. They should become a logical continuation of bathing for a child from the first days of life. At first, the water temperature is 26°C, the lower limit is 18°C. Carefully take the baby out of the bath, place him on your arm with his back up. Douse him slowly, running a stream of water from the vessel from the back of the head along the back, and then along the front of the body.

Hardening by the sun

Of course, the baby should not be exposed to direct sunlight.

Hardening babies with the sun involves shade and diffused sunlight. This method of strengthening the immune system is suitable for summer. The optimal temperature for the beginning of these peculiar sunbaths is +22-24°C. A sun hat must be on the head, and the child must be awake. You need to undress the baby for literally a minute. At the same time, it is useful for him to do his usual childhood things: play in the sandbox, move around the arena.

In the case of hardening newborns, the main rule is "do no harm". Therefore, if there is even the slightest suspicion of a cold, or the baby is capricious during the procedures, it is best to postpone plans to strengthen the immune system. The pleasure of hardening, the consistency of its implementation and the good mood of the baby are the main indicators of successful adaptation of the body.

neonatologist of the department for newborn children O.K. Bagdasarova