Six ways to look after your baby's feet

Newborn baby feet are some of the most beautiful things on the planet! They are teeny tiny and sometimes looking after them can be a bit daunting. It is sometimes a bit difficult to think of looking after something so small, especially when you have a newborn baby and are often sleep-deprived and trying to get to terms with your new responsibilities, their little feet can slip in the list of things to do. We wanted to give you a quick guide on how to look after your beautiful new babies feet!

When a baby is born they have only 22 bones that are still only partially developed, baby's feet are a mass of cartilage and will continue to develop until they are in their late teens and have 26 adult bones.

So, how do we look after them?

1 - It is important to clean a baby's feet daily with gentle soap and water. Once washed they must be dried properly, as in everyone the feet can be a breeding ground for bacteria if left wet. It is important to dry the feet properly especially between the toes.

2 - When clean and dry, if you are in a warm environment it is great to keep your baby barefoot, this includes no socks. This allows the feet to bend and move naturally aiding in the babies foot development. If especially hot keeping the feet without socks can also aid in temperature regulation.

3 - On the contrary to this if it is cold, socks should be put on your babies feet, this is again to do with temperature regulation. If the feet get too cold this can cause the baby to become cold. When putting socks on your baby ensure that they are not too tight around the toes to stop the toes from being crushed but also check you can slip a finger in between the sock at the ankle and the skin, baby's feet grow quickly so ensure that you do this frequently. 



4 - Although baby's nails are tiny, they can grow quickly, and if left too long they can damage the super soft skin of their feet. Even though there are specific nail trimmers that you can get for babies, the safest option for keeping their tiny toenails under control is to use a soft file on dry nails (ie before a bath).
It is important as with adult nails to file the nails straight across and ensure that you do not leave any rough edges that could cause harm to the babies skin while playing. 



5 - It is important to keep your baby active doing a range of different movements. This helps again with the development of the baby and includes things like bending the legs, moving the ankles and kicking. There are lots of activities and professionals that can help to ensure that you are doing this safely, and it does not need to be a huge amount, baby will normally let you know when they've had enough. 



6 - Lastly, let's talk about shoes.
Although some shoes can look very cute on your baby, they can stunt development. This can be due to them not fitting properly or being unnecessarily hard-soled. It is best to not put shoes on your baby until they are outside walking to avoid any developmental issues down the road. 

At FootHealth Battersea we treat babies from newborn, this includes helping you with the care for your babies feet, advising on how best to cut your babies toenails and giving their feet a general check over. Don't forget you can book an appointment to see one of our podiatrists online. We look forward to seeing you in the clinic soon and congratulations on your new bundle of joy!