Age: Newborn

Important Points About Your Newborn

Family

Postpartum depression or baby blues- It’s normal for you to feel sad, irritable, tearful, overwhelmed, and to have trouble sleeping after having a baby. This usually gets better after a couple of weeks. Talk to your provider about your feelings if you need help with them.

Development

Crying is common in newborns. Your baby may be hungry, have a dirty diaper, or have colic. He may be cold, hot, uncomfortable, afraid, tired, or in pain. It is important to try and help your baby with these feelings. Often they just want to be held. You can calm your baby by stroking his head gently, talking to him, swaddling, or gentle rocking. Sucking on hands or fingers does not necessarily mean your baby is hungry. This is one way that babies can soothe themselves. It’s normal for your baby’s stomach to growl or for her to grunt or tum red when pooping.

It’s normal for your baby’s poop to be yellow. seedy, brown, or green. It’s also normal for your baby to have hiccups or to sneeze.

Health

When to get medical care – Go to the ER immediately if your baby has a temperature that is more than 100.4 Always take your baby’s temperature rectally (in her bottom). Do not give your baby Tylenol before 2 months of age, or Motrin before 6 months of age. You should also get medical care if you notice your baby has any trouble breathing. If you notice changes in your baby like eating less or peeing less, or have any other concern, you should also get medical care. (Newborns have between 6-8 wet diapers a day.) Don’t give your baby pacifiers filled with honey. This kind of pacifier can leak and cause serious illness.

Nutrition

Breastfeeding – Newborns should feed every 2-3 hours. Having trouble with breastfeeding? You can make an appointment with our lactation (breast feeding) counselor at 512-684-1744 or at Mom’s Place 512-719-3010. Mom’s Place can get a free breast pump for you. If you choose to formula feed your baby, always make it with 1 scoop of formula to 2 ounces of water. But, breastfeeding is best for your baby.

Safety

Car seat safety- For newborns, the car seat should always be placed facing the rear, in the back seat. www.seatcheck.org has great information and videos on how to install and to put your baby in a car seat the right way.

Sleep- Your newborn baby may sleep 14-16 hours a day for 3 hours at a time. Always put your baby to sleep on his back. This can help prevent SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) or “crib death.” Smoking also increases the risk of SIDS. Also make sure your baby does not have any pillows, blankets or toys in his crib while sleeping. Always put your baby to sleep in the crib, not in the bed with you.

After Hours and Weekends
After 4:00 PM and before 8:00 AM
For medical advice when People’s is closed call After Hours Nurse line at 512-478-4939

Download PDF here.

Helping Your Baby Sleep

Being tired can be a big part of life with a new baby.

But parents can help babies learn good sleeping habits right away.

FOR THE FIRST TWO MONTHS:

1. Make up your own get-ready-to sleep steps.

  • For example:
    • Read a short book
    • Sing a lullaby
    • Give good-night
    • Kisses and turn out the lights

2. Put your baby in the crib while still awake but sleepy.

  • After you put your baby down, it may take 20 minutes for them to fall asleep.
  • If they cry, check diaper, burps, and rock or cuddle
  • Lastly, put them back down to finish falling asleep.

3. Do the same get-ready-to-sleep steps every night in the same order.

4. Make middle of the night feedings brief and boring.

5. Keep daytime naps to no more than 3 hours per nap.

6. Try to make your babies go-to-bed time the same as the last feeding of the day.

FOR 2-4 MONTHS:

1. Keep up the same get-ready-to-sleep steps, but add a new step:

  • Brush your baby’s gums/teeth with water and a washcloth.

2. Have your baby sleep in a separate room. Or:

  • Use a screen or furniture so the baby cannot see you from the crib.
  • Do not use a blanket over the side side of the crib as it could cause suffocation.

3. Delay middle of the night feedings.

  • Try only one or two feedings a night.
  • Do not lay your baby down with a bottle.

4. If your baby wake more often:

  • Try to quiet them with some gentle cuddling in the dark room.
  • Check diapers.
  • Burp your baby.
  • Check that your baby is not too hot or cold.

5. If your baby still will not settle down:

  • Feed your baby with less milk than what you gave during the day.

It takes patience, but you will get to sleep soon!

Adapted From:
Instructions for Pediatric Patients, WB Saunders Co. 1999, Barton Schmitt, MD

Domestic Violence is a Crime

Domestic Violence is a Crime

It may begin gradually as verbal or emotional attacks. It can start when your pregnant or when your baby is born. However, domestic violence is not okay.

What is Abuse?

  • Emotional Abuse
    • Constant criticism and jealousy
    • Making you feel bad and blaming you for when you are not at fault
    • Being lied to, punished, or threatened
  • Isolation
    • Preventing you from seeing friends or family
    • Your partner is very jealous of anyone else in your life
  • Threats
    • Your partner threatens your family, friends, pets, or property
  • Economic Abuse
    • Your control over money or income is threatened
  • Physical Abuse
    • Pushing, slapping, kicking, biting, restraining, use of weapon against your, or having things thrown at you
  • Sexual Abuse
    • You are forced to have sex or your partner refuses to practice birth control
  • Property Destruction
    • Smashing, destroying, stealing, or damaging things you value

Truths About Abuse

  • No one deserves abuse
  • Domestic violence is not mutual – it is not just an argument or a lover’s quarrel.
  • People who stay in abusive relationships do not enjoy violence – leaving is not simple, some people are too frightened while others hope the abuse will stop.
  • Abuse can be found in all parts of the community – people from any social group can be abused.
  • There is no excuse for violent behavior – violence is a choice, the abusive person is responsible for their actions.

If You are a Victim or a Survivor of Abuse

You are not to blame for another person’s violence.

You have the right to a safe, healthy relationship.

You deserve to be treated with respect.

Make a safety plan in case you need to leave quickly.

Establish contacts with friends/family to go to in an emergency.

Consider getting a protective order to protect yourself.

A pregnant belly being cradled by female hands

Abuse and Pregnancy

For 1 of every 3 women who are abused, the first abuse happens during pregnancy

An unhealthy relationship is not just physically hurtful. All abuses are dangerous to your well being and the well being of your unborn child.

Being abused before or during your pregnancy increases your risk of miscarriage, anemia, infections, bleeding during the first two trimesters, and having a low birth weight baby.

One hand reaching out and grabbing another in support

Reach Out for Support

  • You are not alone. Support and help are here.
  • Call the Safe Place 24 hour help line: 512-267-7233
  • National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-700-7233
  • Austin Police Department Victim Services: 512-974-5037
  • Texas Department of Family and Protective Services: 1-800-252-5400
  • United Way Capitol Area: 211.
  • Dial 911 in an emergency.

This brochure is based on information provided by Safe Place.

Let’s Eat!

General Guidelines and feeding tips for baby’s first year!

BIRTH TO 6 MONTHS

Man bottle-feeding baby

What baby does?

  • Sucks and swallows breastmilk and formula
  • Pushes tongue out of the mouth when they swallow

New Foods:

  • Feed only breastmilk or formula with iron

What to do?

  • Be patient
  • Feed when your baby is hungry
  • Learn your baby’s hunger and fullness cues

AROUND 6 MONTHS

Baby being fed with a spoon

What baby does?

  • Sits with help
  • Supports and controls head
  • Can grasp an object and put it in mouth
  • Opens mouth for a spoon
  • Can keep most of the food in their mouth
  • Removes food from a spoon with a sucking action
  • Turns head away when full

New foods:

  • Try jarred or home-prepared single-ingredient foods like:
    • Pureed fruits, vegetables, or meats
    • Infant cereal

What to do?

  • Continue breastfeeding or giving formula with iron
  • Feed with a spoon
  • Start with a smooth and thin texture
  • Never put cereal in the baby’s bottle
  • Follow baby’s lead. Let your baby show you when they are full.
  • Wait two to three days between feeding new foods.

7 – 9 MONTHS

Baby drinking out of a cup

What baby does?

  • Sits without help
  • Moves food from front to back of the mouth
  • Begins side to side movement of the tongue
  • Begins to grasp objects with the whole hand and transfer from one hand to another
  • Starts to mash food with gums
  • Brings head towards the spoon
  • Drinks from cup with lots of spilling

New foods:

  • Plain, cooked, home-prepared foods, strained or mashed with a fork.
    • Try fruits, vegetables, and meats.
  • Yogurt, cottage cheese
  • Very small pieces of hard cheese.

What to do?

  • Continue to breastfeed or give formula with iron.
  • As baby gets better at eating, mix food to a thicker texture
  • Offer breastmilk or formula in small amounts from a cup

10 – 12 MONTHS

Baby in highchair eating broccoli

What baby does?

  • Picks up food with thumb and forefinger
  • Rotary or grinding chewing begins
  • Drinks from cup with less spilling

New foods:

  • Small pieces of bread, cheese, noodles, crackers, soft tortilla
  • Small pieces of cooked, tender, lean meat
  • Soft cooked pieces of beans and vegetables
  • Pieces of raw, soft, ripe fruits

What to do?

  • Continue to breastfeed or give formula with iron
  • Offer finger foods
  • Watch baby closely while eating
  • Keep baby seated in a chair, high chair, or carrier

KEEP IN MIND

  • Be patient. It may take more than one time for your baby to like a new taste or texture.
  • Begin with small amounts of foods. Offer seconds if needed.
  • Do not force your baby to eat or finish all of their food. Turning their head, closing their mouth, shaking their head, or leaning back are signs your baby is full.
  • Continue to breastfeed or give formula after solid foods are introduced.
    Be sure your baby is drinking enough breastmilk or formula.
  • If your baby is ready for table food, spoon out the amount they will eat before adding salt, sugar, fats, or other seasonings to the food for your family.
  • Set a good example. Older babies will want to eat what you eat.
  • If you have a family history of allergies, there may be foods you want to avoid giving your baby. Check with your doctor or clinic. Signs of an allergic reaction include skin rash, vomiting, diarrhea, irritability, or wheezing.

Baby crying next to image of a honey dripper

BE AWARE

  • NEVER give honey to your baby. Honey may have botulism, a germ that can be deadly for your baby.
  • Do NOT put your baby to bed with a bottle.
  • These foods may be choking hazards in babies and children younger than 4 years old:
    • Whole hotdogs
    • Whole grapes
    • Popcorn
    • Chunks of peanut butter
    • Peanuts and other nuts
    • Raw hard vegetables
    • Round, hard or sticky candies

Signs your Baby May Be Hungry:

Signs of hunger in young babies

  • Getting hungry:
    • Stretching
    • Physical Movement
    • Hand to Mouth
  • Feed Me:
    • Crying
    • Agitated
    • Turning Red

Choking Hazards for Children Under One Year:

Choking Food Hazards for Children Under One Year

  • Thickly spread nut butters
  • Whole nuts and seeds
  • Popcorn
  • Raw carrots and other hard raw veggies
  • Whole grapes
  • Tortilla and other hard chips

What Your Baby Sees

Very dark woman to a newborn baby

Baby's vision at birth

FACES AND OTHER OBJECTS

When born, a baby can see faces at arm’s length but are attracted to high contrast edges like hairline or jawline. The image to the right depicts a newborn’s sight: no color, blurry, clear edges like hair and jaw.

Mostly opaque woman in view of 2 week old baby

Baby's vision at 2-6 weeks

COLOR

Babies start to see limited color around this time. Their eyes might be attracted to brightness, darkness, or contrast. Babies can tell white from black.

Woman slightly clearer to 2 month old baby

Baby's vision at 2-3 months

OBJECT IN FOCUS

Babies can now focus on different objects instead of seeing a blurred image of them.

View of woman to 4 month old baby

Baby's vision at 4 months

MOVING OBJECTS

Babies can now follow moving objects with their eyes and can reach for them. Their color detection improves and their eye movements become steady and even.

Clear and saturated view of woman to 3 to 5 month old baby

Baby's vision at 3-5 months

DEPTH – CLOSE AND FAR

Babies have developed depth perception- the ability to see objects close and far away. They can now see in 3D.

Tips for Your 1-2 Month Baby

HELP ME BE HEALTHY

At this checkup:

  • I will be weighed and measured.
  • I will get a few vaccines. These vaccines help my body fight disease.
  • The doctor will ask you if I have had a fol­low-up hearing test. If I don’t pass this hear­ing test, I need to see an audiologist. The audiologist will give me a diagnostic hearing test. The doctor will also send us to the nearby Early Childhood Intervention program.

Keep a special notebook for my health journal.
Write about my doctor visits and the times when I’m sick. Take my health journal to my doctor visits so you can write the date that I got my vaccines.

FEED ME OFTEN, I EAT DAY AND NIGHT

Some babies, especially breastfed babies, eat more often on some days.

Follow these tips:

  • Holding me while I eat makes me feel safe and loved.Illustration of a mother and a father holding a feeding baby
  • Breast milk or iron-fortified formula should still be my only food now. Don’t put cereal or other solid food in my formula. My body isn’t ready for solid foods until I’m 4 to 6 months old. Feeding me solids too early might make me have allergies or eat too much.
  • If I’m nursing or was born early, my doctor might say I need vitamin drops. Talk to the doctor about this.

How do you know when I’m hungry?
If I’m fussy, it’s okay to try to feed me. I want to nurse or drink iron-fortified formula.

KEEP ME SAFE

  • Handle me gently. Don’t pick me up by my arms or swing me by my arms or legs. Don’t shake me or throw me in the air.
  • Protect me from falls. Be careful not to fall with me in your arms. Don’t leave me alone on a changing table, bed, or other high place, I could fall.
  • If you give me medicine at night, turn on the light and read the label every time to make sure you are giving me the right medicine and the right amount of medicine.

PLAY WITH ME, IT HELPS ME LEARN

  • Let me feel different objects by rubbing them against my hands. let me feel some soft and some bumpy materials. I like to feel the differ­ent clothes you wear.
  • Tell me how special I am. Smile and talk to me a lot.
  • Show me bright colors. I can easily see the difference between black and white or red and yellow.
  • Put me in a baby carrier or carry me and hold me while you move around the house. Talk to me about what you are doing. I like to see what is happening.
  • Look at me when you talk to me. I want to copy your mouth.
  • Repeat the sounds I make. I like the game of making sounds.
  • Read to me. I like to hear the sound of your voice.

READ ABOUT BEING A PARENT

  • Go to your local library for books, magazines, newsletters, and leaflets on parenthood. Use the library’s computers.
  • The Mental Health America of Texas website has help for parents at www.parentinginformation.org. Read the section “How to Help Your Crying Baby” or the childcare checklist in the downloadable version of this guide.
  • Ask someone you trust to come watch me so you can have a break. Join a group of parents that talks about ways to help children grow. To find parent educators near you, go to the Texas Registry of Parent Educators Resources (ROPER) at www.unt.edu/cpe.
  • When you feel stressed, talk to your partner, a family member, or a good friend about your feelings. It helps to talk with someone who is close to you.

WATCH HOW I GROW

Illustration of happy baby on blanket with toys

  • Wave, kick, and squirm when lying on my back.
  • Make sounds like “uh,” “eh” and “oh.”
  • Look and stare at things. I look at you a lot.
  • Lift my head up and turn it side­ ways when I’m on my stomach.
  • Turn to you and smile at you when I see or hear you.
  • Quiet down, move my eyes, or change my expression when I hear, your voice or some other noise.

You might notice that I also:

  • Cross my eyes sometimes. This is normal. I will do this until my eye muscles get stronger.
  • Gurgle, smile, and laugh when I’m happy.
  • Have tears when I cry. My tear ducts are starting to work now.
  • Like to suck my thumb or pacifier. Sucking is a way that I learn about my world. It is also one way that I calm myself down.

Children are very different from one another.
If I was born early or have special needs, it might take me a little longer to do some things. You can help me learn. If you are worried, talk to my doctor or nurse. To find a nearby Early Childhood Intervention program, call the DARS Help Line toll-free at 1-800-628-5115.

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Baby Blues

Baby Blues

Very common; can go away on its own, but talking to a health care provider can help.

Signs:

  • Crying
  • Not Sleeping
  • Feeling overwhelmed
  • Not wanting to eat
  • Short temper/mood swings

Postpartum Depression

Common anytime during baby’s first year; goes away with help from a health care provider.

Signs:

  • Sadness
  • Not wanting to touch or hold baby
  • Not wanting to talk to family or friends
  • Thoughts of hurting yourself or baby

Postpartum Anxiety

An intense worry that takes over your life; seek help as soon as possible.

Signs:

  • Uncontrolled worry
  • Not being able to sleep when baby does
  • Afraid that something will hurt baby
  • Afraid that YOU will hurt baby
  • Afraid to be alone with baby
  • Chest pain
  • Dizziness
  • Sweating/shaking

Postpartum Psychosis

Not common; SEEK HELP IMMEDIATELY.

Signs:

  • Hallucinations
  • Feeling very confused
  • Speech that doesn’t make sense
  • Severe insomnia
  • Thoughts about hurting yourself or baby right now

Where to seek help?

Postpartum Depression Hotline: 1-800-773-6667 (24-hour hotline)

Any Baby Can – Postpartum Support and Groups: 512-334-4444 (Parent Helpline); 512-454-3743 (Main phone)

Postpartum Support International: 1-800-944-4773

2-1-1 Texas from your cell phone: 1-877-541-7905

Postpartum Support International: www.postpartum.net

DSHS Pregnancy, Parenting and Depression Resource List

The National Women’s Health Information Center: www.womenshealth.gov

Parents Anonymous: www.parentsanonymous.org

Depression During and After Pregnancy

The Online PPD Support Group: www.ppdsupportpage.com

Whooping Cough and Flu

Protect your baby from Whooping Cough and Flu!

Whooping cough is a bad bacterial illness easily passed from person to person. Flu is a virus that is also easily passed from person to person.

Whooping cough and flu are life threatening to babies. What can you do about it?

Surround your baby with protection.

  • Tell the people who have contact with your baby to get the whooping cough shot (Tdap) and the flu shot!
  • They can get the shots from their doctor.
  • Or they can call the “BIG SHOTS” program at 512-972-5520.
  • Get the Flu shot every year during flu season.
  • The Tdap shot is for people 11 years old and older.

Safe Sleep and Your Baby

A safe sleep space for baby will help prevent suffocation.

The ABCDs of safe sleep:
Alone, Back, Crib, Dangers

Baby should sleep...

Alone

Your baby should sleep without pillows, blankets, bumpers, toys, people, pets, or other soft objects.

On his or her Back

Your baby should sleep on their back on a firm, flat surface for every sleep.

In a Crib

Your baby should sleep in a crib, bassinet, play yard, or baby box in the same room as the caregiver.

Room sharing is recommended for the first year.

Without Dangers

Avoid smoking, drinking alcohol, or using drugs when pregnant or caring for baby.

Sleep in a smoke-free environment.

Avoid overheating by dressing baby lightly.

Stop swaddling when baby starts trying to roll.

SLEEPING IN THE SAME BED AS BABY IS NOT RECOMMENDED AND IS MORE RISKY IF:

  • Baby is less than 4 months old.
  • Baby was born prematurely or with a low birth weight.
  • The baby’s mother smoked during pregnancy.
  • The person bed-sharing is a smoker.
  • The person bed-sharing used drugs or drank any amount of alcohol.
  • The person bed-sharing is not one of the baby’s parents.
  • The surface the baby is sleeping on is soft, such as a couch, armchair, or adult mattress.
  • Baby is sleeping with soft bedding such as pillows and blankets.

Source: AAP Safe Sleep Policy Statement, 2016

Read more at safekidsaustin.org.