First hour following birth will definitely bring along tons of fun and surprises! Though first hour seems quite short in routine life, but after birth of your little angel the same can stretch to several important phases and moments. 

First few seconds

After several hours of labor, the doctor says,” Yes it’s here!”. When the baby’s head appears, an obstetrician will clear out fluids with the help of bulb syringe, from the mouth and nostrils of the baby. This important step helps the baby breathe swift and easy. After delivering rest of the baby, your umbilical cord will be clamped into two places and your physician will cut between the clamps. Within a few seconds of baby’s delivery, a nurse will take blood sample from the cord for latter examination. 

First look!

If it’s your first time, believe me it will not be as melo-dramatic as shown in the movies. You must be having a pinkish, squeaky clean kinda image in your mind, but in reality things will be quite different. Your baby will appear pale and upon vaginal birth the head would be little molded too.  As the blood circulation hasn’t become effective yet, your baby’s hands and feet will appear slightly blue. 

Now it’s time to pink up your baby! Your physician will induce little physical encouragement by tapping the feet. Soon you will be able to hear your baby’s first cry, turning her beautiful pink from grayish blue. 

First breath

During delivery, your baby can accidentally take in fluids and to rid of those, she may sputter, wheeze and cough. So don’t get worried when you hear strange breathing sounds, it’s all part of a normal process.  Being new to the breathing process, your baby will breathe quickly, take some big sighs, pants or even hold her breath. 

First Shot

After settling the baby down, the delivery room personal will wipe off whitish protective layer and amniotic fluids off her body. The infant’s body is habitual to warm, 98.6 degrees temperature and therefore to cope up the sudden change in temperature, the baby is placed on a warming table. To protect the baby from gonorrheal infection, anti-biotic eye drops are poured into infant’s eyes. Identifying band with mother’s name is also placed in the baby’s wrist. And finally to keep the infant’s liver in a healthy state, the child is also given an intramuscular shot of Vitamin K. 

First Score

Upon being 1 minute old, the baby is rated with Apgar score. It scores baby on 5 different levels including infant’s color, muscle tone, breathing ability, response to stimuli and heart rate. 

First Feed

After being scored, a nurse diapers your baby, wrap up with a blanket and hand her to you. It’s completely your choice, if you opt to breastfeed your child or ask the nurse for some formula milk. Normally after delivery mothers can supply colostrum (initial form of breast feed) and it may take three days to produce proper milk supply.  Colostrum is a yellowish fluid which has all necessary protein, fats and also offer mild laxative to promote clearance of fetal waste. After few minutes the baby is taken back to the nursery room, where the nursing staff keeps them warm and attended. 

First Bath

After a while, your baby will be given her first bath, which will be followed by physical examination of baby’s blood pressure, pulse, reflexes, eyes, head, skin, genitals and limbs. 

Finally together!

After going through a long medical process of 1 hour, your little angel is completely ready to spend some quality time with you! It will be amazing to witness the eagerness and alertness of your new born. Being close to you will be something your baby will enjoy the most. So don’t forget to hold your little one close and enjoy every single moment!