Babies don’t have to get ill to build an arsenal of antibodies. Some kids make antibodies against a virus just by being exposed to it — without actually getting the cold, explains Paul Offit, MD, chief of infectious diseases at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Also, fortunately, there are things you can do to strengthen [...]
Every infant looks just about perfect to a brand-new mother. But the truth is that your little bundle of joy may actually arrive with some not-so-perfect features such as blemishes, yellowish skin, or a curiously shaped head. These oddities will probably disappear, but if they don’t, they’ll need medical attention. This guide will help you [...]
Burping. All babies need to burp halfway through and again at the end of each feeding. Burping allows excess air, swallowed during sucking, to escape. If air is left in the stomach, the baby will fill up sooner, taking in less at each feeding. There are three positions in which you can burp your baby: [...]
Page 2 Weird poop is perfectly normal. Nothing gets parents more worked up than their children’s bowel movements. What’s normal depends on your baby and her diet. Breast-fed babies often poop loose, yellowy, mustardlike stools with every feeding. Bottle-fed babies, whose stools have more of a mayonnaisey texture, may go only two or [...]
Burping. All babies need to burp halfway through and again at the end of each feeding. Burping allows excess air, swallowed during sucking, to escape. If air is left in the stomach, the baby will fill up sooner, taking in less at each feeding. There are three positions in which you can burp your baby: [...]
Long Nails Some babies are born ready for their first manicure. The safest thing to use is an emery board or special infant nail clippers. “Never use your own cuticle scissors or adult nail clippers,” Thompson says. “Newborns’ nails are tissue-paper thin, and it’s easy to get some of their skin caught if you’re [...]
Earwax Rule #1: No cotton swabs in the ear. So how do you deal with earwax? “We usually recommend that parents not mess with the wax at all,” says David Stevens, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, in New York City. “It won’t bother the child, it doesn’t cause [...]
Hour 12 After you’ve had some time with your baby, the nurse may show you how to diaper, swaddle, and give him a full bath. With your consent, he’ll also get the first of his immunizations, the hepatitis B vaccination.
Minute 1 As soon as your baby is born, the doctor suctions his mouth and nose to clear away mucus and amniotic fluid and make sure his nostrils are open. Then he’ll clamp and cut the umbilical cord. Once your baby is detached, you may get to see him for the first time. Although [...]