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Preparing for your new baby is a very thrilling time of your life and you want to make sure you’re doing everything that is best for your child. As most new parents do, you probably have many questions. The pediatricians at Cordero, Perez-Silva & Rodriguez Pediatrics want to help during this wonderful experience. 

As new parents watching your baby grow and develop, you will experience many new things, most exciting and rewarding. There will be, however, many problems and questions which will arise. As long as your baby is well-loved, well-fed, warm and comfortable, he/she will do well. Remember, we are available to help with these issues, no matter how trivial they may seem. Loving your child, common sense, and the ability to adapt to particular situations are the keys to successful parenting.

The information in this section is designed to help you in these early exciting and exhausting weeks while you and your baby are getting acquainted with each other. While this is general information, each infant and family is unique, and our goal is to work together with you to keep your children happy and healthy.

We are honored that you chose us to be your child’s pediatrician. We want to provide the highest quality pediatric care to you and your child.

Babies are Babies

All babies sneeze, yawn, burp, have hiccoughs, pass gas, cough, grunt and strain at stools. They may occasionally look cross-eyed. Sneezing is the only way a baby can clean his/her nose of mucous or milk. Hiccoughs are little spasms of the diapragm muscle and are harmless. Coughing is the baby's way of clearing the throat. Nasal congestion, causing a "snuffling" sound, is common. This is not usually a cold unless accompanied by nasal discharge. Crying is his/her way of saying "I'm hungry, I'm wet, I'm thirsty, I want to turn over, I'm too hot, I'm too cold, I have a stomach ache," or "I'm bored." You wll gradually learn to know what your baby means. The baby just may need to suck, or be cuddled, or may just be expressing him/herself.

Feeding

The choice of whether to breast or bottle feed is up to you. Whichever you choose, we will try to help support you in maintaining the best possible care of your infant.
Vitamin supplements are not needed for formula fed infants. Exclusively breastfed infants may need to take a daily vitamin - your doctor will make the recommendation.

Breastfeeding:

We strongly encourage breast feeding. Even if the mother is returning to work and can breast feed for only a few weeks, it is still well worthwhile. While adequate milk supply will take a few days to become established, you should start nursing soon after birth to encourage milk production. The breast first produces colostrum, a yellow, watery fluid, rich in factors that protect against infectious diseases.  Find a comfortable place to sit with good back support so you can relax. Nurse the baby on a demand feeding schedule. In general, let your baby nurse until satisfied, starting with approximately 10 minutes on each side and gradually increasing the duration of the feeding to approximately 30 minutes of nursing per feeding. Begin each feeding with the breast used last in the previous feeding. Newborn babies should generally eat every 2-3 hours, to equal 8-12 feedings a day. A rigid schedule will not be necessary. Your baby will teach you his/her needs.
Continue your prenatal vitamins during breast-feeding, but consult us before taking any other medicines. Drink plenty of fluids.   Breastfeeding your baby is a wonderful thing but can sometimes be challenging, feel free to contact us with questions or to schedule a lactation consultation.

Formula feeding:

Always hold the baby. Never prop the bottle in bed or leave the baby unattended while feeding. Burp the baby during and after each feeding. Spitting up is common and should be of no concern.
Infant formula offers a good alternative to breast milk and provides all the nutrients that most babies need the first 4-6 months of life.
As the baby's milk needs grow, the amount offered is increased so that the bottle is just barely emptied or only a little is left.
All formulas may be given to babies as cool as room temperature, depending on the infant's preference, unless otherwise stated by the doctor. The baby may drink from a bottle over a one hour period of time; after one hour the remaining formula should be discarded and a new bottle prepared for the next feeding.

Formula Preparation

Ready Mixed - The individual bottles are opened, any standard sized ring and nipple attached, and the baby is fed. Any milk remaining in the bottle should be discarded. The bottles may be cleaned and reused if you make up a formula, or they may be used for water.
Quart Sized Ready Mixed - The top is cleaned with hot water and soap, then opened with a clean punch can opener. The amount needed is estimated and poured into a clean bottle. The opened can is kept covered in the refrigerator until empty. Discard unused formula after 48 hours. Any formula left in the bottle is discarded, and the nipple and bottle thoroughly cleaned before reuse.
Powdered - Each can of powder contains a small plastic measure. For each level measure 2 oz. of warm tap water is added in a clean bottle. Put the water in the bottle first, then add the powder. The mixture is shaken and is then ready to use.
Concentrated Liquid - The top of the can is cleaned with hot water and soap, rinsed well, and opened with a clean punch can opener. The formula is poured into a clean bottle; an equal amount of tap water is added, the nipple put on, and thebaby fed. The opened can is kept covered in the refrigerator until empty. Discard unused formula after 48 hours. Any formula left in the bottle is discarded, and the nipple and bottle thoroughly cleaned before reuse.

Schedule

Feeding schedules should remain flexible, and the baby allowed to eat when hungry. Breast fed babies commonly feed every 2-3 hours, while formula fed babies go 2 1/2 - 4 hours between bottles. It takes at least two hours for the infant's stomach to empty after eating, so crying less than two hours after the last feeding is seldom due to hunger. If the baby sleeps more than 4 hours between feedings during the day, he/she should be awakened to feed until regaining birth weight. After the parents have gone to bed, the infant should be allowed to waken you for feeding.

Bowel Movements

Bowel movements may vary from as often as following every feeding to as infrequently as every 3-4 days. Even though the baby may strain, unless the stool is hard and pellet-like, he/she is not constipated. It is perfectly normal for a baby to pull his/her legs up, grunt and cry while having a bowel movement. This helps to push the stool out.

Weight:

Before establishing normal weight gain (usually one ounce per day in the first few months), some babies will lose 10 to 15% of their birth weight in the first few postnatal days. After 2 weeks, however, the birth weight is usually regained.

Newborn Screening:

Florida requires that a blood specimen from your infant be obtained in the first few days of life and sent to special labs for screening for a wide variety of diseases including sickle cell anemia, phenylketonuria, and hypothyroidism. We receive prompt reports of any abnormality and will tell you immediately of any concerns about your baby.

Jaundice:

Some infants will look yellow during the first few days of life. This color change is called "jaundice." We will explain what the significance of this is for your infant if it occurs. Usually, no disease is involved, and your infant will remain healthy through this period.

Umbilical cord care:

The cord remaining after delivery will dry up and fall off in two or three weeks. Purple antiseptic dye applied in the nursery may stain the adjacent abdomen, causing it to look "bruised." It is not. Move the cord and cleanse the area around its base with alcohol every day. When it falls off, you may see a small amount of blood which is old, dissolving clot. Do not worry about this if it happens. Your baby will not bleed from this area, and the umbilical-cord area will not open up in any way. You may bathe your baby after the cord falls off.

Ear piercing:

We recommend that baby girls not get their ears pierced until after the age of two months when the risk of serious bacterial infection begins to decrease.  We will be happy to provide ear piercing in our office, usually carried out with their 2 month vaccines.

Circumcision:

Opinions change from year to year about circumcision. There is no harm done to your infant either way, if the baby is or is not circumcised.

Newborn Activities:

Infants may sleep up to 18 hours per day. This is normal. They also normally sneeze, burp, spit up, and startle after sudden movements or loud noises. They also like to cry! You will quickly learn what your baby is trying to tell you. Listen and look. Do not panic when your baby cries. Call us if anything confuses or worries you.

Going out:

Babies do not need trips to McDonald's or nearby malls. They do not owe friends and casual acquaintances kisses or handling. Increased contact with people exposes your infant to disease.

Fever:

First of all, learn to take your baby's temperature rectally. Digital thermometers are cheap and easy to use. Ear thermometers are expensive and unreliable. If you think your baby has a fever and his/her rectal temperature is over 100 degrees, call us immediately! Do not give Tylenol or Advil without our permission. We presume your infant in this age group has a serious infection until we check for the cause of the fever and perform the indicated tests. An infant under three months of age who has a fever is seriously III until we prove he/she is not!

Safety

To reduce the risk of SIDS, it is recommended that an infant be placed on his/her back to sleep. 

When your baby rides in the car, he/she should be placed in an approved car seat that is properly strapped into the car. Rear-facing seats should be used from birth until the child is 20 pounds and one year old. A rear-facing car seat should not be used in the front seat of car.

Odds and ends:
Any change In activity from normal, poor feeding, decreased urination - if your intuition tells you things are not right with your infant, call us.

Face rashes resembling acne come and go and are normal. However, red, pimply diaper-area rashes or white, patchy areas inside the mouth are not normal and can be treated.

Breasts and genitals of newborn infants are commonly swollen from the effects of maternal hormones. This will subside. Both boys and girls have also been seen to secrete milk from their swollen breasts. This is not a concern. Bloody mucoid vaginal discharge in female infants is also a normal finding.

Spitting up is a common event. Large regurgitated volumes should be reported. If you think your baby is not tolerating the formula recommended, call us for advice before making any changes.

You may cut your baby's fingernails with a cuticle scissor if long nails are scratching your baby's face.

When you go home, call us to schedule your baby's first appointment.

Remember to enjoy yourself and your baby. These first weeks and months are a special time for your family.

Disclaimer: The health information provided on this site is intended for the exclusive use of the patients of Cordero, Perez-Silva & Rodriguez PA Pediatrics, as an adjunct to the services provided by telephone and in person by the physicians and staff of the office. Use of the information on this site by anyone other than Cordero, Perez-Silva & Rodriguez PA Pediatrics patients is not intended to, and will not establish a doctor-patient relationship between such unauthorized users and the office physicians.