Common questions parents have with a two-week-old baby at home can include:
How can I prevent SIDS?
Unfortunately, there is not a 100% way to prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Fortunately, there are many steps that you can take to greatly reduce your baby's risk of SIDS, including:
- Always putting your baby to sleep on her back on a firm crib mattress that is covered by a sheet, without any soft objects, loose bedding, pillows, stuffed toys, or any other soft objects in the crib.
- Having your baby sleep in a separate bassinet, crib, or cradle, that is close to the your bed in the same bedroom, but not in your bed.
- Giving your baby a pacifier. But wait until you baby is at least a month old and then only offer the pacifier at sleep times, but don't reinsert it once your baby falls asleep.
- Not smoking during pregnancy and not exposing your baby to secondhand smoke.
- Preventing your baby from getting overheated when she is sleeping
- Avoiding devices that claim to reduce the risk of SIDS or a home apnea monitor, unless your baby has had an apparent life-threatening event.
- Making sure that all caregivers are aware of these recommendations to reduce the risk of SIDS.
My baby wasn't circumcised. How do I care for his penis?
Your baby's
uncircumcised penis doesn't require any special care, as it will be some time before his foreskin retracts. Until then, you can just wash his penis when you give him a bath, like you do the rest of his body.
We just brought our baby home. What temperature should I keep our home?
Most people over-think this question. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), in it's policy statement on SIDS, recommends that infants "should be lightly clothed for sleep, and the bedroom temperature should be kept comfortable for a lightly clothed adult." You can likely apply that same advice to the rest of the house.
