Maryland Farms Pediatrics offers free prenatal visits or “meet the doctor” visits if your children are older and you are considering a change in pediatrician. Parents may also choose one of our physicians or our practice in the hospital without a prenatal visit. We love for expectant parents to visit our office so they can
Your pediatrician is in charge of the medical care of your baby from the time of his or her birth and will be called at the time of delivery. Your baby will have a complete physical exam by one of our doctors within 24 hours. Our physicians take turns going to the hospital nurseries each
Please try to schedule these well-child visits when your child is well! A sick child is often not cooperative, and we only do shots when a child is well. Please call several days or weeks in advance for a well-child checkup. We are very busy with school physicals during June, July, and August. 4-5 days:
We support breastfeeding enthusiastically! Breast milk is the best nutrition for your baby, and the encounter between mother and baby at nursing time is emotionally satisfying to both. In our opinion, most newborns, if stable, can be placed directly on the breast after delivery and given no supplement. Breast milk usually comes in three to
Infant formulas are fine too! Most babies tolerate a formula based on cow’s milk. These are iron-containing formulas. The iron is important and does not cause constipation. If your baby has an allergy, this will become clear over the first couple of weeks, and we may suggest a formula based on soy or an even
Signs of infant illnesses and general safety tips.
We recommend using only soap, water, and vaseline or aquaphor in the first two weeks of life. Desitin, Boudreaux’s Butt Paste, and A&D ointment may also be used in the diaper area. After the first two weeks of life, you may use baby lotions and products made for sensitive skin. We suggest using Dreft or
We suggest bathing your infant every two to three days with baby soap or Dove soap and water. He or she should have a sponge bath until the umbilical cord falls off at two to four weeks of age. After the cord falls off, he or she may have a bath that submerges the belly
Newborn babies should urinate several times a day. Stooling patterns vary widely from after each feed to every four to five days. Babies’ stools are often mistaken for diarrhea because they are very liquid and usually yellow and seedy. Straining is common and is not a sign of constipation. Hard stool or pellets are signs
Burping an infant halfway through a feeding and at the end of a feeding is helpful. A lot of breastfed babies will not burp, but we like to give them the opportunity! After your baby is back to birth weight (typically at the two-week checkup), we suggest not waking a baby to feed at night.