Care for the Newborn

You and your family must be very proud of your newborn. A complete physical has been done on your child and any
problems will be discussed with you. The enclosed information reviews some of the basics of newborn child care, and
can answer many of the questions you might have as you begin to care for your baby.

About yourself:

The most important jobs that you have as a new mother are taking care of the baby . . . and YOURSELF!! You need to rest and regain your strength. The house, laundry, yard, etc can all wait. Friends and family usually love to help out when new babies are born, so don’t hesitate to accept all help that’s offered. Ask for help when you need it.

About the baby:

Feeding: Breast feeding is best for the baby (and provides lots of benefits for you, too). However, your baby will do well
on standard infant formula if you are unable to, or not interested in, nursing. Guidelines for both breast and bottle
feeding are included in this packet. Newborn babies should have 6 to 8 wet diapers a day, as well as several “mustardy”
stools per day.

Sleeping: Newborns sleep up to 16 to 20 hours a day at first. The time they spend awake is usually spent eating or
fussing as they get ready to fall back to sleep. There is a very helpful handout on infant sleep cycles enclosed.

Skin care: The umbilical cord will fall off after several weeks. Until then, keep it dry by folding the diaper edge below it. At every diaper change clean around the base of the belly button by using a Q-tip dipped in rubbing alcohol. When the cord starts to separate, there may be a small amount of blood, which is normal. If there is any redness that extends
onto the tummy, let us know as it could be a sign of infection.

If your infant son was circumcised, keep the penis covered with Vaseline-coated gauze for the first 24 hours.
Change the gauze with each diaper change. After the first day, keep the penis clean with soap and water, rinse with
clear water.

Please see the informational PDF here on skin care for further details including bathing and clothing.

Contact: Even at this young age, your baby needs to be touched, cuddled , and loved. Tell him or her how much you
love them often. They may not know the words, yet, but the soothing quality of your voice has meaning already. Babies
prefer to look at faces; hold your child so that he or she can see yours often. Both parents should be very involved in the
baby’s routine care so that the baby becomes used to several different caretakers.

A few final discharge instructions

  1. You must have a car seat to take your new baby home from the hospital.
  2. If the baby goes home before he or she is 48 hours old, a second Metabolic Screen (PKU) will be required at 7 to
    10 days. Call our office to schedule an appointment.
  3. Your baby’s first doctor’s visit is in the first week and at 2 weeks of age. Call our office for an appointment for
    this important visit. The rest of the “Well Child” visits are done at 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 and 24 months. After
    that, the visits are yearly. At some of these visits, your child will be given immunizations. You do not need go to
    the health department for these.
  4. Your child’s “Well Child” visits are important. If you realize you cannot keep a scheduled appointment, please
    call 24 hours in advance to reschedule.
  5. If you qualify, there is a program called WIC. This program provides vouchers for formula and some foods. You
    can sign up for this at the health department. We can still provide all of the care for your child, even if you use
    WIC or Medicaid services.
  6. If you have any questions or we can be of help, please call us. If your questions are urgent, call anytime as
    someone is always on call. Otherwise, please call during regular office hours, or write down your questions and
    we can discuss them at your baby’s 2 week visit.

Again, congratulations on the birth of your new baby. We hope this information aids in caring for and enjoying your
newborn.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMPORTANT CARE INFORMATION >>

LOCATED AT

15 Riverbend Drive SW
Rome, GA 30161

706.291.0884

After hours? Please call our regular business line and the physician on-call will be paged.