Are You Expecting?
Congratulations On Your Newborn!
Our Puppy Dog room is exclusively reserved for newborns up to 2 months of age!
The Children's Clinic of Klamath always enjoys welcoming new patients! Please give our office a call to set up an introductory visit with Dr. Cherry.
In preparation for your big event, you should contact your insurance company to find out whether The Children's Clinic of Klamath and Dr. Cherry are one of your plan's providers.
Most insurance companies usually allow a period of time, often 30 days, for you to add your new baby onto your policy. You'll want to let them know of the birth as soon as possible to avoid delays in coverage.
Then contact our office for a newborn appointment as soon as possible after the birth of your baby. Our phone number is
(541) 884-1224. We like to see newborns 2 to 3 days after discharge from the hospital to evaluate their feeding and weight, check their color and answer any questions you may have.
What medications and tests should I expect my baby to receive in the hospital?
- Your baby will receive a Vitamin K shot, which helps prevent bleeding after birth.
- An eye ointment containing Erythromycin will be applied. This will prevent infections that could damage your baby's eyes.
- Your baby will receive the first of a series of three Hepatitis B vaccinations. This series of vaccinations helps reduce the chances of your baby getting Hepatitis B, a serious liver disease that could lead to cancer.
- Additionally, your baby will be screened for additional treatable diseases. This screening will be repeated at your baby's two-week checkup to make sure that all is well.
How often should I feed my baby?
- Before your milk supply is established, you should breastfeed your infant whenever your baby is hungry, which will generally be every 1-1/2 to 3 hours. As your baby gets a little older, she will nurse less often. Newborns should not go more than 4 hours without feeding, even overnight. This means that even if your baby doesn't wake up hungry at four hours, you should still wake him up to feed him.
- Breast milk digests very easily and moves through your baby's digestive system fairly quickly, so you should expect your newborn to nurse 8 to 12 times per day for about the first month.
- By the time your baby is 1 to 2 months old, nursing will probably be down to 7 to 9 times per day.
What can I expect in my baby's diaper?
- Your baby should have a bowel movement within the first 48 hours of life. A baby's bowel movements will differ from one day to the next. Most infants will have several bowel movements in one day, but will sometimes go all day without having one. As long as their stool is soft and there is no blood, everything is normal.
- Your baby's stool will start off blackish brown and will change to green to yellow over the first week or so. Although the color can be expected to vary, call your baby's doctor if you see blood in the stool.
- Babies will pee several times a day, and almost every time they nurse. Over the first few days, you may notice a reddish tint in their urine. This is normal and is caused by crystals in their urine; however, if you have any concern that it may be blood, please call your baby's doctor.
Why does my baby cry?
- Babies cry to communicate. They may cry because they are hungry, because they are in pain, because they are tired and sleepy, because they feel fear, because they just want to be held, and for any number of other reasons. Sometimes they even cry for no reason at all.
- A crying baby can be stressful for a parent. But crying is their only method of communication. NEVER SHAKE a baby. Shaking a baby can cause severe and permanent brain damage. If the crying is getting to be too much for you to bear and you are losing your temper, set your baby down in a safe place and walk away. Find a quiet place where you can calm down.
- If your baby simply will not stop crying and does not need to be changed, and will not eat, don't hesitate to call your pediatrician.
- For more information on why babies cry and how to soothe and calm them, visit BabyCenter.com