Sleeping
Infants should be taught to sleep on their back during the first six months of age. This is a recent change prompted by published data that convincingly shows a safety factor associated with back sleeping compared to the stomach position. In special circumstances your doctor may advise differently.

Clothing
Your baby does not require any more clothing than an adult. Dress the baby according to the temperature. You may use any of the baby detergents to clean the baby’s clothes. Some babies develop rashes from fabric softeners; we do not recommend their use.

Fresh Air and Exercise
Exercise should be encouraged during your baby’s bath and at changing time. Whenever possible, take him/her outside. Avoid direct sunlight and be careful to avoid sunburn. Sunburn in the childhood years is more damaging to the skin. Since sunscreen is not recommended until after six months of age, be especially careful to keep your baby protected from midday sun between 10 am and 2 pm; this is when the worst sunburn occurs.

Bathing and Skin Care
Prior to leaving the hospital you should be given instructions on bathing your baby. Until the umbilical cord completely heals, you may give the child a sponge bath, but never leave the baby alone in the tub for any time, for any reason. Do not let anything such as other children, the doorbell or telephone distract you. Test the temperature of the water so that it will not be too hot or cold. In general, one or two baths per week is adequate.

Over-bathing may lead to dry skin, which causes rashes. Use mild soap that is gentle on the baby’s skin.

There are countless skin care items sold for babies (lotions, oils, powders, etc.); your baby may have fewer skin problems if you avoid these items.

Eye Care
During the first 24 to 48 hours of age, your baby will have some redness of the eyes, possibly some yellow discharge and puffiness of the eyelids. This represents a minor reaction of the eyes to the ointment which is placed on the baby’s eyes after delivery to prevent infection. This reaction goes away on its own and does not require treatment.

Some babies develop small amounts of matter on the lashes on one or both lids after they leave the nursery. This may be associated with some tearing of the eye. This condition usually means that the tear duct which normally drains the tears from the inner corner of the eye has not opened yet. The safest treatment for this condition is to gently wipe away the matter from the eyelashes with a wash cloth or cotton ball moistened with water. The tear duct normally opens on its own, but if it failed to open by one year, it can be surgically probed by a pediatric ophthalmologist.

Most babies will have some crossing of the eyes at times. This is no cause for concern unless it persists beyond the first 3 months.

If you notice one or both of your baby’s eyes becoming quite red, associated with drainage or pus from the eyes, you should notify your doctor. This may represent a bacterial infection and is sometimes treated with antibiotic eye drops.

Please do not place any type of eye drop in your baby’s eyes unless directed to do so by your pediatrician. Especially avoid the use of boric acid solution, which can be harmful to babies.

Navel
Keep it clean and dry. Apply rubbing alcohol four times daily, and continue this for three days after the cord has fallen off. Sometimes after the cord falls off there may be a few drops of blood. This is no cause for worry. After the cord drops off the navel should be dry. If it continues to ooze fluid, contact us. If it appears inflamed or has a foul odor, you should call us.

Care of Diaper Area
Change a baby’s diaper as soon as possible after each bowel movement. After wetting, rinsing is sufficient; after each bowel movement, wash the diaper area with a soft cloth, soap and water. The diaper region may become inflamed due to the dampness of urine and stool. Frequent diaper changing is the most satisfactory control. A&D, Desitin, Diaperene or Vaseline may help. If the skin of the diaper area appears fire red or has a blistered rash, please consult us. Avoid plastic pants if your baby has diaper rash.

Bowel Movements
Your baby may have a bowel movement after each feeding, or may have one or two a day. Some babies go 48 hours or more without a stool and this is normal. A baby’s pattern is very individual, and you will soon learn your’s. Your baby may strain, but unless the stool is hard this is normal. Likewise, the stool may be yellow and watery, particularly if your baby is breast fed. This also is normal.

Genitalia: Girls
Clean between the labial folds with a cotton ball moistened in water, always cleaning from the front backward to the rectum. It is not unusual for girls to have a whitish or even bloody vaginal discharge during the first few weeks of age. This is due to hormones passed on from the mother during pregnancy.

Boys & Circumcision
The pediatrician will perform the circumcision after the child is stable.

The decision whether or not to circumcise your son should be made by both mother and father as soon as possible. We will be glad to discuss the pros and cons of this procedure with you so that if you decide to have it performed, your consent will be truly informed.

There are a few special circumstances in which it is unwise to circumcise your son. If these happen to be present, we will discuss them with you. If your son was not circumcised, we will discuss the care of the uncircumcised penis during routine visits in the office. If he was circumcised, care of the penis depends on the procedure used. This will be discussed while in the hospital. If he has a Plastibell with circumcision, he will usually come home from the hospital with a small plastic ring around the tip of the penis. This ring will detach and fall off during the week or so after the procedure. Plastibell circumcisions do require Vaseline gauze placed around the operation site for about 3 days after surgery. You may notice a yellow crust which forms around the edge of the circumcision. This is usually normal. If you have questions regarding this procedure, feel free to ask us or the nursing staff.