Loving Care For Your Little One

From Birth To Baby Steps -

Care That Grows With Them

While opinions may vary, the essentials are simple: keep your baby warm, feed them on a regular schedule, change diapers promptly, and give them plenty of cuddles!

At Tennessee Valley Pediatrics, we offer complete care tailored to your newborn's needs. One of the most common questions we receive is how to get started with us. It's simple - just let your obstetrician and the hospital staff know that you've chosen Tennessee Valley Pediatrics when you go in to deliver.

If you choose to deliver at the Women's Center at Helen Keller Hospital, we will have the pleasure of evaluating your baby in the nursery. If not, we look forward to meeting your little one at their first newborn visit.

For our breastfed babies, we typically schedule a visit 1-2 days after discharge, while we see our formula-fed babies at one week old. Once your baby is born, please give our office a call to schedule the appointment. During this first visit, which is usually with a nurse practitioner, we'll check your baby's weight and address any feeding concerns or questions you may have.

Common Newborn Concerns

• If your newborn develops a fever, it’s important to treat this as an emergency. Please contact our office right away. A fever is defined as a temperature above 100.4°F.

• It's normal for babies to be a little fussy at times. If you're noticing discomfort, gas drops can be helpful; however, grunting, straining, and drawing their legs up are common newborn behaviors. If your baby’s belly is hurting, they may cry as well. Now, let’s talk about something we get a lot of questions about—baby poop. The appearance of your baby’s stool can vary, and that’s completely normal. It can be firm or loose, brown or green. Constipation is a concern for some parents, but keep in mind that formula-fed babies may go 2-3 days without a bowel movement, and breastfed babies can go even longer. The key things to remember are: as long as there is no blood in your baby's stool and it’s not liquid like water, your baby should be fine. Straining is completely normal and doesn’t necessarily mean constipation.

• Many parents also have questions about caring for the umbilical cord. The current recommendation is to leave it alone and let it heal naturally. However, it’s perfectly fine to gently dab it with alcohol once or twice a day to help it dry up faster. A small amount of bleeding is normal, but if it seems excessive, please give our office a call.

• It’s very common for newborns to experience some congestion. A bulb syringe can be a wonderful tool to help, especially when used with a few saline drops to gently clear your baby’s nose.

We have a provider available to you around the clock, so please reach out anytime you have concerns. Whenever possible, we encourage you to contact us first before heading to the emergency room.

Sleeping

While it may feel natural and convenient to let your newborn sleep in bed with you, co-sleeping can be unsafe. Studies show it increases the risk of sudden unexpected infant death, including SIDS. For your baby’s safety, it’s best for them to sleep in a cot, bassinet, or playpen placed right beside your bed.

To keep your baby’s sleep space safe, avoid using heavy blankets or bumper pads. Instead, dress your little one in a cozy sleeper to keep them warm without extra coverings. Always place your baby on their back to sleep, as stomach sleeping can increase the risk of SIDS.

Breastfeeding Support

Please click here to read more about breastfeeding support.

Car Seat Safety

Car seat safety is one of the most important ways you can protect your child, and it’s also required by law. The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly encourages keeping children rear-facing as long as possible, since rear-facing car seats are the safest option for infants and toddlers. In fact, studies show they can reduce the risk of serious injury in a crash by more than 70 percent. Children between the ages of one and five—or under 40 pounds—must remain in a forward-facing car seat. That “or” is key: little ones should weigh at least 40 pounds before being turned forward.  As children grow, they’ll transition to a booster seat between ages five and six, then to a seat belt in the back seat between six and twelve. For their safety, children should always remain in the back until at least age 13.