Welcome to North Georgia Family Medicine!  We are delighted that you have honored us with the privilege of taking care of your new baby. We generally like to see our newborn babies at the office at two weeks of age for their first well child appointment.  Of course, if you have any questions or would like to come sooner, please call us! 

Anticipated Physical Exam Schedule:

• 2 Week Well Child Check
• 2 Month Well Child Check
• 4 Month Well Child Check
• 6 Month Well Child Check
• 9 Month Well Child Check
• 12 Month Well Child Check
• 15 Month Well Child Check
• 18 Month Well Child Check
• 2 Year Well Child Check and then yearly

Babies are very special, requiring constant attention and nurturing.  Your baby’s health is important to us.  Please call us if you have any questions about taking care of your baby.  We know that this is a busy and confusing time for parents.  Let us know if we can help.  We have included some important tips that are helpful to remember when caring for your baby.

Important Newborn Tips

Sleeping Hints: Your baby should always sleep on his or her back- never on the tummy! This reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Make sure your baby is warm, but be careful not to let your baby get overheated.  Check his or her feet/hands to make sure they don’t feel too cool.

Umbilical Cord Care: Keep this area clean and dry.  Use an alcohol swab to clean it several times per day.  Do not immerse your baby in water or give a bath until the cord has completely fallen off.  This can take several weeks to months.  Please bring your baby to see us if it begins to look red or infected!

Circumcision Care: Keep the area covered in Vaseline.  Clean very gently around the penis.  If it begins to look red or infected, please be sure to call us or bring him by the office.

Car Seat: Your baby’s car seat should be installed in the backseat, facing the rear of the car.  It should remain this way until your baby is one year old  AND weighs over 20 lbs.

Feeding: Your baby will probably feed every 2-3 hour.  If your baby sleeps longer than 3-4 hours, we recommend waking him or her to eat during the first 4-6 weeks.  Do not let your baby go longer than 4-5 hours without feeding.  If you are breastfeeding, it may take a few days for your milk to come in, but remember that the colostrum (the clear fluid you are leaking) is very healthy for your baby! The more often you try to nurse, the faster your milk will come in.  If you are bottle feeding, try to feed at least 2-3 ounces of formula every 2-3 hours.

Spitting Up: All babies tend to spit up, but some do more so than others.  Spitting up with every feed can be perfectly normal, though excessive spitting up can signal other problems.

Diapers:  Make sure your baby is having at least the minimum number of wet and dirty diapers. Too few can signal dehydration.

Your baby will start off having very black, sticky bowel movements. With time, these will change to a yellow seedy substance if you are breastfeeding. If you are formula feeding, the stool will thicken and lighten to a yellow tan color.

Weight Loss/Gain: It is normal for a baby to lose up to 10% of his or her weight during the first few days.  However, we expect this weight to be gained back over the next two weeks. 

Jaundice: Please come see us if your baby begins to appear yellow-toned.  This is called jaundice.  While most jaundice resolves on its own, some will require special lights. Jaundice can cause some serious health problems such as excessive sleepiness that may affect your baby’s feeding. Extreme jaundice can cause brain damage! 

Fussy Babies: We can help! Ask us about the 5 S’s and The Happiest Baby on the Block video if your baby is especially hard to console.  Swaddling may help.  We can show you how.  NEVER SHAKE YOUR BABY!  This can lead to brain damage and death.  If you are frustrated with your crying baby, remain calm and take a break.  If you have help, let someone else take over for an hour or two.  While it’s not fun to listen to a baby crying, remember that babies are going to cry (thus the expression “cry baby”) and that doesn’t make you a bad parent. 

Mommy Care:  After 40 weeks of carrying your baby in your womb, it is exciting to finally meet your baby.  However, due to changes in hormones that follow delivery, some mothers find that they feel very blue or depressed.   Some women experience postpartum blues which is characterized by mild, and often rapid, mood swings from elation to sadness, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, tearfulness, and crying spells.  Forty to 80% of women develop these mood changes, usually within two to three days of having their baby.  Postpartum depression occurs in 5-10% of women and is more severe than postpartum blues.  Let us know if you experience any blues or depression. 

4 Reasons to Call Us Immediately: