Newborn Advice

Congratulations on this wonderful occasion!

Firstly, remember that it is important to relax and enjoy your new baby. The first few days of life, your baby will sleep a lot, this is normal, and you should use the time to rest too!

Dr. Hay or Dr. McLaren will examine your baby every morning.

We have a Registered Nursing Sister that manages our “WELL-BABY” clinic at our rooms and is available to assist you if you need some help or advice. You can call the rooms to speak to her or send her an email: sister@kidsmed.co.za

Feeding

Breastfeeding is the best option for your baby, but it is not always easy! Especially at first. If you have chosen to breastfeed, you must put the baby to the breast every 3 hours from the first day. This will help you to establish a good milk supply. Remember that your milk will only come in on day 3-5, so before then, your breasts will produce colostrum, which although is small in volume, it is VERY nutritious and is all your baby needs.

Doing lots of skin-to-skin is also very important for establishing a good milk supply. Initially feeding can take up to 40min a feed, but as baby gets better at extracting milk, you can aim for 10 minutes on each breast. Continue your prenatal vitamin, eat healthily and drink LOTS of water. Once the milk Is well established you can demand feed as long as the baby is healthy, and there are 6-8 wet nappies per day.

Lactation consultants provide invaluable advice: Sam 0824942903 or Holly 0824063326

“The fourth trimester”

The first 12 weeks is sometimes called the fourth trimester. Your baby has just come out of a nice, warm cosy environment where he/she has never experienced hunger, feeling tired, hot, cold etc. She/he wants to still be close to you and feel your heartbeat, listen to your breathing and smell you. Keeping you baby close to you will help him/her to feel safe and comfortable. Many moms find that ‘wearing’ their babies is very useful (using a soft material wrap). Skin to skin will also help to keep baby calm and relaxed. Remember that it can be normal for new-born babies to cry for 3 hours a day (accumulatively).

Sleeping

The only sleep position recommended is on their back. This is to reduce the risk of cot death.

Umbilical cord care

Dry cord care is now recommended – this is where you leave nature to take its course and leave the cord alone, it will dry out on its own and fall off between 7- 14 days. You can also apply surgical spirits daily if you wish. Keep watching it for oozing, or redness – contact us if you notice this or if the cord does not fall off. A small bleed before separation can be normal.

Weight

Your baby will lose up to 10% of their birth weight in the first few days of life and will regain their birth weight by day 7-10 days. Babies must be weighed weekly for the first 4 weeks and should gain 150-200g per week. If your baby gains less, then this for 2 consecutive weeks then please contact us.

Please bring your baby at 1 week of age to our well baby clinic for a weigh in (call the rooms to set this up, it is free of charge)

Vitamins

All breastfed babies should take Vitamin D drops daily and probiotic drops. You can get these without a script from any pharmacy. Reuterina or Crèche Guard do a combination of Vit D and probiotics which is quite convenient. From 4-6 months old all exclusively breastfed babies should take an iron supplement until they are taking enough iron in the form of solids.

Immunisations

Although there is much debate on immunisations on social media there is absolutely no doubt that immunising your child is the best thing for them! Immunisations have saved millions of lives, and you should not doubt their value for your child. If you do have any hesitation, please discuss this with us, as unfortunately there is A LOT of VERY unreliable information online. The birth immunisations are done before the baby is discharged and you will be given the baby’s vaccination card. All subsequent immunisations (indicated on your vaccination card) can be done at our well baby clinic.