the first six weeks

Expert advice on taking care of yourself and your new baby

As the old saying goes, babies don’t come with instruction manuals. Nor does childbirth automatically give a mom insight into what’s happening to her own body. But that doesn’t mean new parents have to be totally on their own. From Web sites to books, there’s more information available than ever before; you just have to know where to look. To help you get through the first six weeks after giving birth, here’s some expert obstetric and pediatric advice, as well as a guide to the best information and support sources out there.


[part 1]
Taking care of baby
Bringing a baby home can be terrifying for first-time parents. However, as any experienced mom or dad will tell you, caring for a newborn is easier than it looks. Here’s some soothing advice on caring for your baby from Gwenn O’Keeffe, M.D., a pediatrician at Harvard Vanguard Associates in Burlington, Mass., and a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Mass.
Umbilical-cord stump Keep the area where the cord attaches to the belly as clean and dry as possible. Wipe it after every diaper change, using a cotton swab or ball dipped in alcohol. Then fold the front of the diaper down so it doesn’t cover the stump. Stick with sponge baths until the umbilical cord drops off, usually in two to four weeks. If the area becomes red or pus-filled, call the doctor: Though rare, umbilical-site infections can be serious.
Circumcision site The area will be red and raw for a few days but should heal within a week. Your doctor probably will recommend applying a topical antibiotic ointment, such as Neosporin or bacitracin, or even plain petroleum jelly at each diaper change. If the site looks unusually swollen or red, seems warm or has pus on it, call your pediatrician immediately.
Crying spells “Babies cry,” O’Keeffe says. “It’s normal.” So instead of panicking, go through a mental checklist of what could be wrong. Is he hungry? Cold? Poopy? Gassy? Hot? Lonely? Nursing, rocking, bouncing or walking with your baby often helps — but not always. “Some babies just have irritable temperaments,” O’Keeffe says. And some have colic, a term that doctors define differently. Generally, a colicky baby is one who has long crying spells on a regular basis, usually every day at about the same time. Sometimes they have obvious gas pains during their crying spells, sometimes they don’t. Doctors aren’t sure what causes it, but rest assured that this, too, shall pass, usually by 4 to 6 months of age.