Caring For Your Baby

SIDS

SIDS, or Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, is the sudden or unexplained death of a baby under one year old. It typically occurs while the baby is asleep. While you can never fully reduce the risk of SIDS, here are some steps you can take to prevent SIDS for your baby.

  • Alone. Your baby should always sleep by themselves. Not in bed with others.
  • Back. Always lay your baby on their back when sleeping, not on their tummy or side.
  • Crib. Keep your baby's crib clear of any extra blankets, stuffed animals, or pillows.

Shaken Baby

Crying is the #1 reason parents shake and hurt their baby. Shaking a baby can cause blindness, seizures, learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and death.

It is okay to put your baby down in a safe place. It is okay to ask for help.

PURPLE Crying

The letters in PURPLE stand for:

  • Peak of Crying. Your baby may cry more each week, the most in month 2, then less in months 3-5.
  • Unexpected. Crying can come and go, and you don't know why.
  • Resists Soothing. Your baby may not stop crying no matter what you try.
  • Pain-Like Face. A crying baby may look like they are in pain, even when they are now.
  • Long Lasting. Crying can last as much as 5 hours a day or more.
  • Evening. Your baby may cry more in the late afternoon and evening.

Early increased crying is normal. Ways to comfort your baby include:

  • Check to see if your baby is hungry, tired, or needs a diaper change.
  • Walk and sing with your baby.
  • Give your baby a warm bath.
  • Take your baby for a ride in the car.
  • Hold your baby skin-to-skin.

You may be able to reduce crying, but soothing won't work all the time. This crying may frustrate you because your baby is crying more than expected, it is harder than you thought, your baby won't stop crying no matter what you try, you feel like a bad parent or you are doing something wrong, you are tired and feel guilty you can't take care of your baby, or you feel like a failure.

Just remember, feeling angry or upset is okay. It is what you do with your anger that is important.

Tell everyone who might care for your baby about the period of PURPLE crying to ensure they have a plan as well.

Car Seats

It is required that all newborns are discharged in a car seat. Here is some more information to ensure you are using your baby's car seat correctly.

Selecting the Right Car Seat

All children must use a car seat, booster seat, or seat belt depending on their age, height and weight. For help picking the right car seat, please visit the Ultimate Car Seat Guide.

When to Replace a Child Safety Seat

At Faith Health, we recommend after any car crash that you call the manufacturer of your child safety seat to get their recommendations for replacing a child safety seat. This is true even if the child was not in the seat at the time of the crash. If it your responsibility to let your insurance provider know if you need to replace a child seat as many will cover the replacement cost. If you need further assistance replacing your child safety seat, please contact Faith Health at (402) 644-7520.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) recommends parents and caregivers check with the child seat manufacturer with any concerns about needing to replace the child safety seat after a minor crash. The agency recognizes that minor crashes are unlikely to affect the child seat performance. It is the responsibility of the parent or caregiver to continue to use the child safety seat properly.

What is a Minor Crash?

A minor crash is defined by the NHTSA as one in which ALL of the following apply:

  • A visual inspection of the child safety seat, including inspection under any easily movable seat padding, does not reveal any cracks or deformation that might have been caused by the crash.
  • The vehicle in which the child safety seat was installed was capable of being driven from the scene of the crash.
  • The vehicle door nearest the child safety seat was undamaged.
  • There were no injuries to any of the vehicle occupants.
  • The airbags (if any) did not deploy.

Crashes that meet all of these criteria are much less severe than dynamic testing requirements for compliance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213 and are highly unlikely to affect future child safety seat performance. Therefore, caregivers can be confident that the child restraint involved in the minor crash will continue to provide a high level of protection for your child.

For situations where ANY of the criteria has not been met, or if there is any uncertainty whether damage to the seat has occurred, it is best to replace the seat. To see the NHTSA policy, visit www.nhtsa.dot.gov.

Car Seat Inspections

Did you know 4 out of 5 child safety seats are incorrectly installed?  The Northeast Nebraska Community Action Partnership and the Norfolk Fire and Rescue are offering free car seat inspections for families in the surrounding community. You can get your car seat checked by trained child passenger safety experts on the second Tuesday of every month from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Norfolk Fire Department, located at 701 Koenigstein Ave. in Norfolk. Appointments are required and can be scheduled by calling 402-385-6300.

Circumcision

A circumcision is the surgical removal of foreskin, the circular flap of skin that covers the head of the penis. This is a medically optional procedure, and parental consent must be given to be performed on your baby. Risks include infection, injury, bleeding and pain. However, if you decide to have this procedure done on your baby, we can offer pain management of a block, topical or oral medication. If you have any questions about this procedure, please talk with your provider. To care for your baby's circumcision area:

  • Apply Vaseline to the diaper area to avoid sticking. Clean with warm water and soap. It should heal in about a week.

Cord Care

After your baby's cord is cut, here are some tips to care for the cord left attached to their belly button:

  • Allow the cord stump to air dry and clean the skin around the base with soap and water daily.
  • Notify your doctor if you detect redness, pus-like drainage, or odor around the cord stump.
  • It will usually fall off in 2-4 weeks.

Skin-to-Skin Health Benefits

Being skin-to-skin with your baby has many health benefits for both of you. These include:

  • keeps your baby warmer
  • regulates baby's breathing
  • keeps their blood sugar levels higher
  • enhances bonding
  • improves your sleep
  • reduces baby's cries
  • improves baby's gut health and immunity
  • reduces postpartum depression
  • increases your milk supply
  • keeps your baby warmer

We also encourage you to take advantage of the sacred hour as this is a special time for you and your baby. During this hour, we encourage:

  • no visitors
  • the mother to keep baby skin-to-skin
  • if breastfeeding, to initiate as soon as possible

Newborn Elimination

Once you start to feed your baby after birth, here is what you can expect for diaper frequency.

  • Breastfed babies should have a wet diaper for each day of age until your milk is in. Then, your baby should have six wet diapers and 3-4 yellow, seedy stools a day.
  • Bottle-fed babies should have at least 4-6 wet diapers each day and should stool at least every 2-3 days.
  • Stools will vary according to feedings, but should not be watery.
  • Changing your baby's diaper frequently and keeping the diaper area clean helps alleviate diaper rash. Girls and boys should be wiped from front to back.

Keeping Your Newborn Healthy

After birth, Faith Health is here to keep your baby healthy as well with local pediatric providers on staff. We also recommend following these tips to keep your baby healthy after birth:

  • Give your baby a sponge bath and shampoo with mild soap every 2-3 days. Their first bath will be given no sooner than 4-6 hours after delivery to promote your bonding & breastfeeding experience.
  • Avoid large crowds for a few weeks.
  • Wash hands or sanitize with alcohol-based sanitizer before handing or holding your baby.

Safe Sleep

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends:

  • Put baby to sleep on a firm, flat surface.
    • Avoid soft surfaces such as adult beds, sofas, chairs, water beds, quilts, sheepskins, etc.
  • Keep room temperature comfortable for an adult.
    • When a baby is too warm, SIDS risk can increase. 
    • To check that your baby is comfortably cozy, chest and back should be warm and dry, not sweaty or cold.
  • Don't allow anyone to smoke around your baby or take your baby into a room or care where someone has recently smoked.
  • Crib slats should be no more than 2 3/8 inches apart.
  • Do not use drop-side cribs, or cribs more than 10 years old.

Calling Baby's Doctor

Anytime you have questions or concerns about your baby, please call your baby's doctor. Other symptoms to always call your baby's doctor for include:

  • Jaundice. This is a yellowing of baby's skin and eyes. All babies have a skin screening for jaundice before going home.
  • Bronchiolitis/RSV. Call your baby's doctor immediately if your baby has trouble breathing, breathing more than 60 breaths/minute, has blue lips, wheezes, or is working hard to breathe.
  • Fever. If your baby's temperature is 100 degrees or higher taken under their arm for a baby younger than 3 months. Normal under arm temperature is 97.6-99.4 degrees.
  • Vomiting. If your baby vomits frequently or forcefully.

Preventing Infant Abductions

The following guidelines provide good, sound parenting techniques to help prevent abduction of you baby while at Faith Health, once taken home, and in public places.

At the healthcare facility

  • At some point before the birth of your baby, investigate security procedures at the facility where you plan to give birth to your baby and request a copy of the facility’s written guidelines about procedures for “special care” and security procedures in the maternity ward. Know all of the facility’s procedures in place to safeguard your infant while staying in that facility.
  • While it is normal for new parents to be anxious, being deliberately watchful over the newborn infant is of paramount importance.
  • Never leave your infant out of your direct, line-of-sight even when you go to the restroom or take a nap. If you leave the room or plan to go to sleep, alert the nurses to take the infant back to the nursery or have a family member watch the baby. When possible, keep the infant’s bassinet on the side of your bed away from the door(s) leading out of the room.
  • After admission to the facility, ask about the facility’s protocols concerning the routine nursery procedures, feeding and visitation hours, and security measures. Do not hesitate to ask direct questions and settle for nothing less than an acceptable explanation.
  • Do not give your infant to anyone without properly verified identification as issued by that facility. Find out what additional or special identification is being worn to further identify facility personnel who have authority to transport your infant. Speak to a person in authority (e.g., unit director, charge nurse) if you have any questions or concerns. Be sure everyone who is helping you watch your infant while you are in the facility understands these safeguards and does not release your infant to any unauthorized person.
  • Become familiar with the staff members who work in the maternity unit. During short stays in the facility, ask to be introduced to the nurse assigned to you and your infant.
  • Question unfamiliar persons entering your room or inquiring about your infant — even if they are in the facility’s attire or seem to have a reason for being there. Immediately alert the nurses’ station.
  • Determine where your infant will be when taken for tests, and how long the tests will take. Find out who has authorized the tests. If you are uncomfortable with anyone who requests to take your infant or unable to clarify what testing is being done or why your infant is being taken from your room, it is appropriate to go with your infant to observe the procedure. Or if you are unable to accompany your infant, have a family member go along.
  • For your records to take home, have at least one color photograph of your infant (full, front-face view) taken along with footprints and compile a complete written description of your infant including hair and eye color, length, weight, date of birth, and specific physical characteristics.

At some point after the birth of your baby, but before discharge from the facility, request a set of written guidelines about the procedures for any follow-up care extended by the facility that will be scheduled to take place in your home. Do not allow anyone into your home who says he or she is affiliated with the facility without properly verified identifiction as issued by that facility. Find out what additional or special identification is being worn to further identify those staff members who have authority to enter your home.

Consider the risk you may be taking when permitting your infant’s birth announcement to be published in the newspaper or online. Birth announcements should never include the family’s home address and be limited to the parents’ surname(s). In general, birth announcements in newspapers are not endorsed by most experts. Use caution in creating websites for your infant or posting photographs of your infant on websites. When doing so limit access to those you know personally and trust. To limit anyone else’s potential misuse of a photograph of your infant, carefully consider anyone’s request to take a picture of your infant and only share photographs of your infant with those you know personally and trust.

At home

  • The use of outdoor announcements such as signs, balloons, large floral wreaths, and other lawn ornaments are not recommended to announce a birth because they call attention to the presence of a new infant in the home.
  • Only allow persons into your home who are well-known by the mother. It is ill advised to allow anyone into your home who is just a mere or recent acquaintance or known only online such as in social-networking websites, chatrooms, and forums, especially if met briefly since you became pregnant or gave birth to your infant. There have been several cases where an abductor has made initial contact with a mother and infant in the healthcare facility setting and then subsequently abducted the infant from the family home. If anyone should arrive at the home claiming to be affiliated with the healthcare facility where the infant was born or other healthcare provider, remember to follow the procedures outlined in number 10 above. A high degree of diligence should be exercised by family members when home with the infant. The bottom line is, the infant’s family is the domestic security team, and all family members should be sensitive to any suspicious visitors.

In public places

  • If you must take your infant out, whenever possible, take a trusted friend or family member with you as an extra set of hands and eyes to protect and constantly observe the infant. Never leave a child alone in a motor vehicle. Always take the child with you. Never let someone you don’t know pick up or hold your child. There have been cases in which initial contact with a mother and infant was made in other settings such as shopping malls or bus stations.

These tips are excerpted from For Healthcare Professionals: Guidelines on Prevention of and Response to Infant Abductions. For more information, visit www.missingkids.org.