Birth 360: Health

	Circumcision Care Use gauze and Vaseline to dress the baby’s penis following circumcision. This protects the circumcised penis from anything else in the diaper. Generally the baby will be most irritable for the first 72 hours and it will take about 1.5 to 2 weeks to heal.

	The Newborn Appearance 1: Cone Head Here Erica explains one of the normal physical characteristics of many newborns: a slightly cone shape of the top of the head. Molding is part of the normal birth process. Because of our superior brains we have evolved for the newborn’s largest part to shift shape in order to accommodate through the mothers pelvis. One can never estimate by the size of the baby during pregnancy if labor will work or not as one cannot know how the mother’s pelvis will open and how the baby will mold to slide through.

	The Newborn Appearance 10: Newborn Rash Newborn rash, or a head to toe mild skin irritation, can occur in day 3 to day 5 as the baby’s skin adjusts to not being in the amniotic fluid. It’s okay to not bathe the baby for a few days to help the rash clear up faster. Check with your pediatrician if the rash has spots, blister’s, intense red patches, or seems to irritate the baby - a normal newborn rash doesn’t bother the baby. Watch as Eric Lyon explains newborn rash in this video.

	The Newborn Appearance 11: Stork Bite "Stork bites" are red pressure patches that can appear in the hours after birth due to the compression during birth. These usually dissipate within a few hours. Chances are, if you were carried in a sheet hanging from a stork’s mouth as it flew into the hospital you’d have a bit of bruising too.

	The Newborn Appearance 12: Sucking Blister A sucking blister may occur on the baby’s arm due to sucking. Another form of sucking blister is a small callus that can appear in the middle of the upper lip. These blisters occur due to the baby’s non-nutritive need to nurse. Newborns need to eat a lot; their job is double their body weight in a very short time. Think how frequently and how much you would need to eat to double your body weight. Erica Lyon explains more in this video.

	The Newborn Appearance 13: Vernix Vernix is a white lotion-like substance that forms in the uterus while the baby is developing. Having some vernix on the skin for a little while after the birth is normal. However, despite the beneficial affects of vernix, if the birth mother is Strep B positive the baby will need a bath to wash the bacteria off immediately after the birth. The earlier the baby is born, the more vernix one is likely to see, the more post date the baby is born, the less vernix you will see. The skin on a very postdate baby can seem a bit more red and raw in the early days. Learn more about vernix in this video featuring Erica Lyon.

	The Newborn Appearance 2: Dysconjugate Eye Movement Dysconjugate eye movement (or “crossed eyes”) is common in babies in the first one to two weeks. Erica explains this characteristic in newborns, why it occurs, and what parents can expect. Baby’s vision doesn’t really become 20/20 until about age Five. You should see their cross—eyed appearance regulate after the first few weeks. Newborns love eye contact and it is critical in bonding to make eye contact with the newborn in their calm alert periods. One of the developmental steps we see in the newborn time periodic visual tracking (being able to follow an object with their eyes) of you or an object by around 6-8 weeks.

	The Newborn Appearance 3: Cyanotic Extremities Cyanotic Extremities (or bluish tinted hands and feet) commonly continue in newborns for about the first 24 hours. Erica Lyon explains cyanotic extremities in this video. The newborns circulatory system is immature throughout the first 24 hours. This is why it is normal to see blue-tinged hands and feet and also why it can take up to 24 hours for a newborn to regulate their own body temperature (hence the cute little hats one always sees)

	The Newborn Appearance 4: Forceps or Vacuum Extraction Marks Erica explains the appearance of forceps marks and vacuum extraction marks and the expected healing time. Assisted delivery, by forceps or vacuum is not often needed but can be a useful intervention during the pushing stage if the baby is having some distress. Newborns heal very quickly from any marks and it’s important to remember that practitioner these days only use forceps or vacuum extraction on your baby if the doctor is feeling confident that it’s the right choice.

	The Newborn Appearance 5: Physical Effects of Hormones Erica discusses some of the effects of the birth hormone rush on the early physical appearance of the baby.

	The Newborn Appearance 6: Lanugo Hair Newborns have baby down all over their face and can have hair is odd places when first born. Babies loose this “baby down” by the end of the first twelve weeks. Watch this video to learn more.

	The Newborn Appearance 7: Milia Spots Your newborn may have whiteheads or acne like a teen! These Milia Spots (also called "milk spots") are little whiteheads that often appear around the baby’s nose and cheeks right after birth. Do not use over the counter acne treatments or pick at them. Some claim a bit of breastmilk on a cotton ball dabbed on will help baby acne clear up. Milia Spots typically clear up after a few days. Watch this video with Erica Lyon to learn more.

	The Newborn Appearance 8: Mongolian Spots Mongolian spots are a slight blue tinge on the back or bottom after a baby has been lying down. Slightly darker patches on the back or buttocks can sometimes be seen throughout the first three months. In theory this is more common in African American and Asian babies but is seen in many Caucasian babies as well. Watch this video to learn more.

	The Newborn Appearance 9: Peeling Skin New babies often experience peeling or dry skin, particularly on day three as they adjust to a non-uterine environment. A little dab of olive oil (rather than petroleum products) can help with the dryness. Avoiding petroleum products on your baby’s skin is healthier. Erica Lyon explains this dry peeling newborn skin in this video.

	Warning Signs: Fever It is highly unusual for a baby to run a fever in the first 12 weeks. We are generally prompted to check the baby’s temperature if we notice lethargy, or if the baby is unusually warm to the touch. If you take a baby’s temperature with a thermometer in the armpit, it is not accurate, and you must add 1 degree. If a newborn in the first 12 weeks has a temperature of 100.3 or higher, call your pediatrician immediately.

	Warning Signs: Jaundice Jaundice is when, during the rush of blood to the baby in the minutes after birth, sometimes there’s an excess of bilirubin that builds up in the baby’s system. Bilirubin is an orange pigment formed in the liver. Sometimes a baby’s immature liver can have a hard time processing the bilirubin out of the system. Jaundice tends to make the baby sleepy. Generally what alleviates jaundice is breastfeeding, but if jaundice persists there are other therapies such as full spectrum light therapy.

	Warning Signs: Lethargy How do we know if a newborn is lethargic if all they do is sleep? A lethargic baby is a baby that is sleeping through feedings. Newborns are wired to eat, so it should feel like you are feeding the baby non-stop. A lethargic baby would be (at about 6 days old) if you got a 6 hour stretch of sleep, a groggy feed, followed by another 6 hour stretch of sleep.