A Guide To Your New Family's First Weeks - Meriter Health Services

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Infant Safety Issues about safety and childproofing your home will continue to change as your baby grows. The following tips are helpful during your baby’s first few months. Safety For 0-2 Mounth Old • Preventing Infant Abduction Consider that it is no longer as safe as it once was to place your baby’s birth announcement in the newspaper or display outdoor decorations on your home. Never leave your baby unsupervised for any reason. Keep him in view at all times in public places, and do not leave him alone in a parked car. • Emergency Numbers Place emergency numbers by your telephone (doctor, poison control center and ambulance). In Dane County, dial 911 to contact the police, fire department or ambulance. • Smoke Alarms/Carbon Monoxide Detector If you don’t already have them, now is a good time to install smoke alarms and a carbon monoxide detector in your home. Regularly check and change the batteries. • Window Blind Cords Long, dangling pull cords for window coverings can present a danger for young children. Check cords to be sure there are no dangerous loops in which a curious child could become entangled or possibly strangle. You can easily correct this problem by installing tassels especially designed for this purpose. Tassels are available from some window-covering retailers. For more information, check with your health care provider. • Cribs Some older cribs have large openings between slats and are not safe. When babies begin to move about, they may become trapped and badly injured between the slats. For your baby’s safety, measure the space between the slats. There should be less than 2 3/8” between each slat. • Smoking We advise all mothers of newborns and young children to stop smoking, and not expose an infant or child to smoke in your home or car. Children exposed in their early ages to the effects of nicotine and cigarette smoke are more likely to develop breathing and asthma problems. If you need help to quit smoking, please talk to a health care provider. The Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line offers free support and information about how to quit smoking. Call 1-877-270-7867 for more information. • Alcohol Drinking alcohol can impair your ability to care for your baby safely. Have a back-up plan when you are unable to provide safe care for your infant. • Bath Safety Set your water heater to a maximum of 120° F to prevent hot water burns. Bath water should not be more than 100° F. Always provide direct adult supervision when children are near water. Preparing Your Pet For Baby Although most pets adjust to having a new baby in the household, many initially experience something like sibling rivalry. The following suggestions may help your pet adjust to your new baby. • Before you bring your baby home, have your husband/partner take something (such as a blanket) with the baby’s scent on it for your pet to investigate. • Be prepared for a pet that is eager to greet you and receive attention when you return home from the hospital. If possible, have someone other than mom carry your baby into the house. • Less attention or increased scolding may make your pet feel stressed as it adjusts to your new baby. Spend quality time with your pet each day. • Reward your pet with treats for appropriate behavior. Closely supervise your pet around the baby not only in the early weeks, but also as your baby becomes more mobile and curious about the pet. For more information go to www.petsforlife.org. 50
Finding Childcare (The City of Madison Office of Community Services provided some of the following information.) Choosing quality care for your child is an important decision. Make sure to begin looking for childcare early and take time to visit and talk with many providers before choosing one. Some questions you can ask are: • Will my baby be safe (Safe and clean toys, stairways, outlets, etc.) • Will they treat my baby as a special person with her own needs, feelings and personality • Will they respect our cultural and family values • Is the provider patient, open, trained, experienced • Will they smile at, talk to, play with, cuddle and hold my baby • Will they focus on what my baby should do rather than on what my baby should not • Will they feed my baby as I ask them to, and provide healthy meals and snacks • Will they welcome me to visit at any time • Will my child have active playtime, quiet playtime, reading and story telling, music and art • Are children there happy and relaxed Community Resources for Finding Childcare • Community Coordinated Child Care (4C) ................................................................(608) 271-9181 • Madison Child Care Assistance Program ................................................................(608) 267-4996 • Dane County Parent Council............(608) 275-6740 Car Seats For months, you have been careful to keep your unborn child safe. Continue to do this by using a car seat correctly. You must have a car safety seat and know how to use it for the ride home from the hospital. State of Wisconsin law requires all children who weigh less than 80 pounds, are shorter than 4-foot-9 or under age 8 to sit in child safety seats. Four out of five car seats are used incorrectly. Be sure yours is not one of them! Read car seat instructions and your automobile manual to understand how to use your car seat properly. Also, refer to the Safe Ride News fact sheet located in your patient folder, titled “This is the Way the Baby Rides.” Car seats keep infants safe while traveling in the car but they can be unsafe if they are used for sleeping. It is recommended that you move your sleeping baby to their crib when you arrive home. Beware of used car seats. Do not use a car seat that has been in a crash or is more than 5 years old. Many car seats have been recalled. Call 1-800-424-9393 to get recall information. Prior to going home view the car seat DVD which is available from your nurse. To schedule a FREE car seat inspection before or after your baby’s birth, contact (608) 890-8999 51
Page 1 and 2: A Guide To Your New Family’s Firs
Page 3 and 4: If You’re Expecting.... We look f
Page 5 and 6: Nutrition and Feeding: Formula Feed
Page 7 and 8: Postpartum Medication Log and Infor
Page 9 and 10: Turn to this book and your doctor,
Page 11 and 12: • Your nurse will check on you ro
Page 13 and 14: Head The bones of your baby’s hea
Page 15 and 16: Mother Care The first weeks after g
Page 17 and 18: Postpartum Medication Information B
Page 19 and 20: Hemorrhoids Hemorrhoids are varicos
Page 21 and 22: Recovery From Cesarean Birth Becaus
Page 23 and 24: Nutrition and Feeding: Breastfeedin
Page 25 and 26: Helping Your Baby Latch to the Brea
Page 27 and 28: How Your Milk Changes Your body mak
Page 29 and 30: latching correctly, the easier and
Page 31 and 32: Expressing and Storing Breast Milk
Page 33 and 34: Lifestyle Issues Nutrition for Moth
Page 35 and 36: Nutrition and Feeding: Formula Feed
Page 37 and 38: During the first days of life, a ba
Page 39 and 40: Common Skin Conditions and Cord Car
Page 41 and 42: Caring for the Foreskin and Decidin
Page 43 and 44: the first few days of life, but can
Page 45 and 46: Tub Bath When the cord has fallen o
Page 47 and 48: Recognizing Illness Illness in a ne
Page 49 and 50: Why And When Do Babies Cry Crying i
Page 51: What Do I Do If I Feel Like I Am Lo
Page 55 and 56: To prevent flat head molding due to
Page 57 and 58: Sibling Relationships Most families
Page 59 and 60: Baby Blues The most common, least s
Page 61 and 62: Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scal
Page 63 and 64: • Car seats should only be carrie
Page 65 and 66: Postpartum Medication Log To assist
Page 72 and 73: How Is Breastfeeding Going Answer t
Page 74 and 75: First Weeks Index 2010 Activity....
Page 76 and 77: Rooming In.........................
Page 78 and 79: Notes Use this section to take note
Page 80: The Birthing Center 202 S. Park Str

A Guide To Your New Family's First Weeks - Meriter Health Services

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