Your New Addition is Here
Your baby has just been born, and you are full of questions about what is normal, what to expect from your baby, and what you need to do. This book has been designed by the pediatricians at Premier Care Pediatrics to help you in your search for answers to all of your questions. This section covers from the time of birth through the first few weeks of life and is designed to answer general questions to help you make it to your first visit with your physician outside of the hospital. If you should have any questions or concerns not answered here, please feel free to call our office.
Once your baby has entered into this world, he will be visited by a pediatrician in the hospital daily for check-ups. It is very important that your new baby is watched closely for the first few days of life. It is during this time period that we can often pick up problems which can be corrected when evaluated early. We hope that your chosen pediatrician, whether it is us or someone else, is able to visit and examine your baby in the hospital. It is much easier to answer questions that may come up when the pediatrician has seen the baby in the hospital.
Typically, you and your baby will be discharged from the hospital within 48-72 hours. If there are no problems with your baby at the time of discharge, we like to see your baby for the first visit at 10-14 days of life. If you are discharged prior to 48 hours, we like to move that visit up to day of life 3-4. We want to be assured that your baby is doing well, is feeding well, and that he/she is not developing jaundice to the point where we need to intervene.
When new babies are born, there is always a rush of family and friends that want to see and hold your new addition. One issue you should be aware of is that during the first few weeks of life your baby has a weakened immune system and is more susceptible to infection. For this reason, it is important to limit visitors and especially to limit the handling of the baby. You especially want to limit visits by other children who could potentially be ill.
A second way to prevent your child from catching an illness is through proper hand washing. Anytime a visitor wants to touch or hold the baby, they should wash their hands thoroughly with soap and warm water. Antibacterial soap may be helpful, but the most important step is rubbing the hands together vigorously for at least 15 seconds and then rinsing with warm water.
Once you are home from the hospital, please call our office to schedule your first well baby check-up as mentioned above. If any concerns come up before your visit, please call our office, and we will discuss your concerns. We may need to see your baby sooner.
In the sections to follow, we will address many of the common issues and concerns that will come up as you begin this exciting journey with your beautiful new baby.