Here are some common reasons to make the call to your baby’s doctor.

• If your baby has not urinated in the first 24 hours
• If there is fewer than 6 wet diapers within a 24 hour period
• If your baby has not had a bowel movement in the first 48 hours
• Diarrhea (This is hard to detect especially with breastfed newborns). Diarrhea usually has a foul odor and can be streaked with mucus and/or blood. If baby’s bowels are watery or looser than normal, or are far more frequent than normal.
• Temperature above 100.4 degrees F or below 97.8F, taken rectally
• If there is trouble breathing or very rapid breathing (more than 60 breaths per minute)
• If there is pulling in of the ribs while breathing
• Wheezing, whistling, or grunting sounds when breathing
• If baby’s lips or fingernails appear blue
• Persistent cough
• Refusing several feedings, or is eating poorly
• Vomiting (not necessarily spit-up)
• Nosebleeds
• Sunken soft spot the your baby’s head
• Unusually sleepy, or is very hard to waken (this can be a hard call since most newborns and infants normally require a lot of sleep)
• Lethargic, unusual limpness or floppy
• If baby seems anxious, jittery
• Lengthy crying and very difficult to console
• Greenish or yellowish discharge from the eyes
• Red skin or pus around the umbilical cord
• Yellow color in whites of the eyes
• Yellowish skin (jaundice)
• Circumcision problems. Bleeding from circumcision area, more than expected. Blood stains on baby’s diaper that are larger than nickel.

If your concern is not on the list, do not let that stop you from contacting your baby’s doctor if you notice something irregular happening.

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Since 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that infants be placed to sleep on their backs to reduce the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), also called crib death. SIDS is the sudden and unexplained death of a baby under 1 year of age. Even though there is no way to know which babies might die of SIDS, there are some things that you can do to make your baby safer:

• Always place your baby on his or her back to sleep, even for naps. This is the safest sleep position for a healthy baby to reduce the risk of SIDS.
• Place your baby on a firm mattress, such as in a safety-approved crib. Research has shown that placing a baby to sleep on soft mattresses, sofas, sofa cushions, waterbeds, sheepskins, or other soft surfaces raises the risk of SIDS.
• Remove soft, fluffy, and loose bedding and stuffed toys from your baby’s sleep area. Make sure you keep all pillows, quilts, stuffed toys, and other soft items away from your baby’s sleep area.
• Make sure everyone who cares for your baby knows to place your baby on his or her back to sleep and about the dangers of soft bedding. Talk to child care providers, grandparents, babysitters, and all caregivers about SIDS risk. Remember, every sleep time counts.
• Make sure your baby’s face and head stay uncovered during sleep. Keep blankets and other coverings away from your baby’s mouth and nose. The best way to do this is to dress the baby in sleep clothing so you will not have to use any other covering over the baby. If you do use a blanket or another covering, make sure that the baby’s feet are at the bottom of the crib, the blanket is no higher than the baby’s chest, and the blanket is tucked in around the bottom of the crib mattress.
• Do not allow smoking around your baby. Don’t smoke before or after the birth of your baby and make sure no one smokes around your baby.
• Don’t let your baby get too warm during sleep. Keep your baby warm during sleep, but not too warm. Your baby’s room should be at a temperature that is comfortable for an adult. Too many layers of clothing or blankets can overheat your baby.

Some mothers worry if the baby rolls over during the night. However, when your baby is able to roll over by herself, the risk for SIDS is reduced. During the time of greatest risk, 2 to 4 months of age, most babies are not able to turn over from their backs to their stomachs.

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Your baby needs to be on his/her tummy during the day while someone is watching. Tummy time gives your baby opportunity to strengthen his neck, shoulder muscles, and head.

While sleeping, a healthy baby should be on his back to reduce the chances of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). But because babies heads are soft, constantly lying only on his back will cause flat spots. TO avoid this, change your baby’s sleeping position weekly. Lay your baby facing one way one week, facing the other way the next week. Always on baby’s back. This will help to keep baby’s head from getting flat spots. Even if flat spots occur, and they probably will, once your baby starts sitting up, the flat spots will go away. Giving your baby tummy time not only strengthens him, but combats the flat spots.

You should also avoid too much time in a car seat, infant carriers, and bounce chairs.

It’s really not that complicated, just rotate your options and that should do the trick.

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