New Born

Looking at Your Newborn: What's Normal

---

More on this topic for:

The umbilical stump is then simply allowed to wither and drop off, which usually happens in about 10 days to 3 weeks. You may be instructed to swab the area with alcohol periodically or wash it with soap and water if the stump becomes dirty or sticky to help prevent infection until the cord falls off and the stump dries up. The baby's navel area shouldn't be submerged in water during bathing until this occurs.

The withering cord will go through color changes, from yellow to brown or black — this is normal. You should consult your baby's doctor if the navel area becomes red or if a foul odor or discharge develops. Umbilical navel hernias are common in newborns, particularly in infants of African heritage.

These hernias are generally harmless and aren't painful to the infant.

Most close on their own during the first few years, but a simple surgical procedure can fix the hernia if it doesn't close by itself. Home remedies for umbilical hernias that have been tried through the years, such as strapping and taping coins over the area, should not be attempted.

Early weeks with your newborn baby

These techniques are ineffective and may result in skin infections or other injuries. The genitalia sexual organs of both male and female infants may appear relatively large and swollen at birth. It's due to several factors, including exposure to hormones produced by both the mother and the fetus, bruising and swelling of the genital tissues related to birth trauma, and the natural course of development of the genitalia.

In girls, the outer lips of the vagina labia majora may appear puffy at birth. The skin of the labia may be either smooth or somewhat wrinkled. Sometimes, a small piece of pink tissue may protrude between the labia — this is a hymenal tag and it's of no significance; it will eventually recede into the labia as the genitals grow. Due to the effects of maternal hormones, most newborn girls will have a vaginal discharge of mucus and perhaps some blood that lasts for a few days. This "mini-period" is normal menstrual-type bleeding from the infant's uterus that occurs as the estrogen passed to the infant by the mother begins to disappear.

Although it's much more common in boys, swelling in the groin of an infant girl can indicate the presence of an inguinal groin hernia.

Baby may be, well, a little funny-looking.

In boys, the scrotum the sack containing the testicles often looks swollen. This is usually due to a hydrocele , a collection of fluid in the scrotum of infant boys that usually disappears during the first 3 to 6 months. You should call your doctor about swelling or bulging in your son's scrotum or groin that lasts beyond 3 to 6 months or that seems to come and go. This may indicate an inguinal hernia, which usually requires surgical treatment.

The testicles of newborn boys may be difficult to feel in the swollen scrotum. Muscles attached to the testicles pull them up into the groin briskly when the genital area is touched or exposed to a cool environment. Infant boys also normally experience frequent penile erections , often just before they urinate. If your baby is delivered in a hospital, nursery personnel will want to know if this happens while your infant is with you.

If a newborn doesn't urinate for what seems like a while at first, it may be that he or she urinated immediately after birth while still in the delivery room. With all the activity going on, that first urination may not have been noticed. If your infant son was circumcised , it usually takes between 7 to 10 days for the penis to heal. Until it does, the tip may seem raw or yellowish in color. Although this is normal, certain other symptoms are not. Call your child's doctor right away if you notice persistent bleeding, redness around the tip of the penis that gets worse after 3 days, fever , signs of infection such as the presence of pus-filled blisters , and not urinating normally within 6 to 8 hours after the circumcision.

With both circumcised and uncircumcised penises, no cotton swabs, astringents, or any special bath products are needed — simple soap and warm water every time you bathe your baby will do the trick. No special washing precautions are needed for newly circumcised babies, other than to be gentle, as your baby may have some mild discomfort after the circumcision. If your son has a bandage on his incision, you might need to apply a new one whenever you change his diaper for a day or two after the procedure put petroleum jelly on the bandage so it won't stick to his skin.

Doctors often also recommend putting a dab of petroleum jelly on the baby's penis or on the front of the diaper to alleviate any potential discomfort caused by friction against the diaper. How you take care of your baby's penis may also vary depending on the type of circumcision procedure the doctor performs. Be sure to discuss what after-care will be needed. If your baby boy wasn't circumcised, be sure to never forcibly pull back the foreskin to clean beneath it.

Instead, gently tense it against the tip of the penis and wash off any smegma the whitish "beads" of dead skin cells mixed with the body's natural oil.

Today's most read

Over time, the foreskin will retract on its own so that it can be pulled away from the glans toward the abdomen. This happens at different times for different boys, but most can retract their foreskins by the time they're 5 years old. There's little doubt about the origin of the expression "still wet behind the ears," used to describe someone new or inexperienced. Newborns are covered with various fluids at delivery, including amniotic fluid and often some blood the mother's, not the baby's.

Nurses or other personnel attending the birth will promptly begin drying the infant to avoid a drop in the baby's body temperature that will occur if moisture on the skin evaporates rapidly. Newborns are also coated with a thick, pasty, white material called vernix caseosa made up of the fetus' shed skin cells and skin gland secretions , most of which will be washed off during the baby's first bath. The hue and color patterns of a newborn's skin may be startling to some parents.

Mottling of the skin, a lacy pattern of small reddish and pale areas, is common because of the normal instability of the blood circulation at the skin's surface. For similar reasons, acrocyanosis , or blueness of the skin of the hands and feet and the area surrounding the lips, is often present, especially if the infant is in a cool environment.

10 Things to Know About Newborns

When bearing down to cry or having a bowel movement, an infant's skin temporarily may appear beet-red or bluish-purple. Red marks, scratches, bruises, and petechiae tiny specks of blood that have leaked from small blood vessels in the skin are all common on the face and other body parts. They're caused by the trauma of squeezing through the birth canal.

These will heal and disappear during the first week or two of life.

Newborn Baby

Fine, soft hair, called lanugo , may be on a newborn's face, shoulders, and back. Most of this hair is usually shed in the uterus before the baby is delivered; for this reason, lanugo is more often seen on babies born prematurely. In any case, this hair will disappear in a few weeks.

The top layer of a newborn's skin will flake off during the first week or two. This is normal and doesn't require any special skin care. Peeling skin may be present at birth in some infants, particularly those who are born past their due date. Not all babies come with a birthmark. However, pink or red areas, sometimes called salmon patches , are common and generally disappear within the first year. Most frequently found on the back of the neck or on the bridge of the nose, eyelids, or brow hence the fanciful nicknames "stork bite" and "angel kiss" , they can occur anywhere on the skin, especially in light-skinned infants.

Mongolian spots , flat patches of slate-blue or blue-green color that resemble ink stains on the back, buttocks, or elsewhere on the skin, are found in more than half of black, Native American, and Asian infants and less often in white babies. These spots are of no significance and almost always fade or disappear within a few years. Strawberry or capillary hemangiomas are raised red marks caused by collections of widened blood vessels in the skin. These may appear pale at birth, then become red and enlarge during the first months of life.

Then, they usually shrink and disappear without treatment within the first 6 years. Port-wine stains , which are large, flat, reddish-purple birthmarks, won't disappear on their own. As a child gets older, cosmetic appearance concerns may require the attention of a dermatologist.

Cafe-au-lait spots , so called because of their "coffee with milk" light-brown color, are present on the skin of some infants. These may deepen in color or may first appear as the child grows older. They're usually of no concern unless they're large or there are six or more spots on the body, which may indicate the presence of certain medical conditions.

Larger moles or those with an unusual appearance should be brought to a doctor's attention because some may require removal. Several harmless skin rashes and conditions may be present at birth or appear during the first few weeks. Tiny, flat, yellow or white spots on the nose and chin, called milia , are caused by the collection of secretions in skin glands and will disappear within the first few weeks. Miliaria — small, raised, red bumps that often have a white or yellow "head" — is sometimes called infant acne because of its appearance. Although miliaria often occurs on the face and can appear on large areas of the body, it's a harmless condition that will go away within the first several weeks with normal skin care.

Despite the frightening sound of its medical name, erythema toxicum is a harmless newborn rash consisting of red blotches with pale or yellowish bumps at the center, which can resemble hives. This rash usually blossoms during the first day or two after birth and disappears within a week. Pustular melanosis , a rash present at birth, is characterized by dark brown bumps or blisters scattered over the neck, back, arms, legs, and palms, which disappear without treatment. Also, it isn't unusual to see infants born with sucking blisters on the fingers, hands, or arms because the fetus can suck while still in the uterus.

Newborn jaundice , a yellowish discoloration of the skin and white parts of the eyes, is a common condition that normally doesn't appear until the second or third day after birth and disappears within 1 to 2 weeks. Jaundice is caused by the accumulation of bilirubin a waste product produced by the normal breakdown of red blood cells in the blood, skin, and other tissues due to the temporary inability of the newborn's immature liver to clear this substance from the body effectively. Although some jaundice is normal, if an infant becomes jaundiced earlier than expected or the bilirubin level is higher than normal, the doctor will follow the baby very closely.

The first days and weeks of a newborn's life are a time of great wonder and delight for most new parents. However, being responsible for this tiny creature can be scary, particularly if you're not familiar with how a newborn looks and behaves. If you feel anxious or uncertain about any part of caring for your baby, don't hesitate to call your doctor, other health care professionals, or family or friends who have had experience caring for a newborn. For specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor.

To get through the exhaustion and emotional upheaval, keep this in mind: If it's kept dry, it falls off faster -- usually within two weeks. Besides, newborns don't get very dirty!

If the cord does get wet, pat it dry. And if the stump bleeds a little when the cord falls off, that's okay, too, as Alyson Bracken, of West Roxbury, Massachusetts, learned. But there was no need to worry: The spot may pulsate because it's directly over blood vessels covering the brain.

Baby needs to eat every two to three hours -- but if you're nursing, it's tough to know how much milk she's getting. Your pediatrician will check it within a few days of discharge. A newborn loses 5 to 8 percent of her birthweight within the first week but should gain it back by the second. Diaper-counting can also act as a gauge: There's no doubt that babies poop -- a lot! If you're still getting the hang of diapering , learn how to change one at 6 weeks.

Initially, he may be soft and silky, but that changes. You don't have to do anything about dry skin it typically peels and flakes off , but if you're so inclined, reach for a hypoallergenic baby lotion that is fragrance-free. Little pink bumps, diaper rashes, and even baby acne may also make an appearance. Keep baby out of the sun, and avoid sick people no toddler birthday parties! And make your older child the hygiene police, says Dr.

He'll love telling guests, "Don't touch the baby without washing your hands.

• Reduction in Force
• Humpfree: The Humpless Camel
• LIliade: I grandi classici a fumetti (Italian Edition)
• Visual Lunar and Planetary Astronomy (The Patrick Moore Practical Astronomy Series)
• Centurias (Spanish Edition)
• Maines Covered Bridges (Images of America)
• Pawns in the Dark