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Welcome to Children’s Primary Care Medical Group, and congratulations on the birth of your new baby! At every well visit you will receive a digital or printed handout with age-appropriate advice and general recommendations.
Visit our HealthHub at https://healthhub.cpcmg.net to learn more about your child’s health, wellness, and development. Available 24/7!
How Your Family is Doing
For many parents the first weeks at home with a new baby are often the hardest in their lives. You might feel overworked, maybe even overwhelmed.
Caring for a baby can be lonely and stressful. No one should be expected to care for a young baby alone. Take help from family and friends.
If possible, encourage your partner to take time off from work. They can help with household chores and taking care of the new baby.
To decrease the chances that your newborn gets sick, we recommend only having close friends and family members visit during the first month.
All visitors should be healthy and up-to-date on their immunizations.
Visitors should wash their hands before touching your baby.
If you have older children, it is nice if your visitors also pay special attention to them too.
Try to sleep or rest when your baby sleeps.
Spend time with your other children.
Keeping your old routines will help your family adjust to the new baby.
Let your child’s primary care provider know if you are worried about your living or food situation. Community agencies and programs such as SNAP can also help.
For more information on the WIC program please ask your doctor or contact WIC directly.
WIC San Diego 1-800-500-6411
WIC Riverside: 1-800-472-2321
How You Are Feeling
More than half of women experience “postpartum blues”.
This usually happens 3 or 4 days after the baby is born and usually gets better within 1-3 weeks.
Symptoms can include tearfulness, tiredness, sadness, and difficulty in thinking clearly.
This is due to the sudden change in the mother’s hormones after the baby is born.
The main cause of this temporary reaction is probably the sudden decrease of maternal hormones.
Many mothers feel let down and guilty about these symptoms because they think they should be overjoyed about caring for their newborn. There are several ways to cope with postpartum blues.
First, acknowledge your feelings. Discuss them with your partner or a close friend. You can also reach out to your OBGYN or your baby’s primary care provider for help and resources.
Second, get adequate rest.
Third, get help with all your work.
Fourth, renew contact with other people; try to avoid isolation.
If you don't feel better by the time your baby is 1 month old, please see your healthcare provider about the possibility of counseling for depression.
If your feelings are making it hard for you to care for yourself and your baby, get help as soon as possible.
Helpful access and crisis lines:
San Diego County 888-724-7240
Riverside County 951-686-HELP (4357)
Crisis Text Line: 741741 – text any word (like HELP or TALK) to start a discussion.
You can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (text 988) at any time to speak with someone immediately.
For more resources and helpful information click here.
Feeding Your Baby
Babies should be fed only breast milk (at the breast or in a bottle) or iron-fortified formula until they are 4-6 months old.
If formula feeding, be sure to prepare the formula using the directions on the container unless your child’s primary care provider gives you other directions.
Your baby does not need extra water.
At first, your baby might feed every 2 or 3 hours – or even more often.
Hold your baby during feeds so you can look at each other. If using bottles, make sure you are always holding them – not propping them up.
Signs your baby might be hungry include: putting hand to mouth, sucking, rooting, or fussing.
Signs your baby might be full include: turning away from the breast or bottle, closing their mouth, relaxing their arms and hands.
All babies lose some weight after birth. In general, they should not lose more than 10% of their birth weight. Most babies are back to their birth weight by 2 weeks of age.
If you are worried about your baby’s weight gain or feeding, please make an appointment with your baby’s primary care provider.
Vitamin D
400IU of vitamin D are recommended for babies up until 1 year of age.
Breastmilk is not a good source of vitamin D. This means that all breastfed infants should be given vitamin D supplements.
All formula-fed infants who take less than 1000ml (approximately 33 ounces per day) should also be given vitamin D supplements.
Vitamin D supplements are available over the counter and should be given once daily.
There are 2 main types of vitamin D drops available for babies. Check the packaging of the vitamin D supplement you have to make sure you are giving the correct amount.
Some have the recommended amount of vitamin D (400IU) in just one drop.
With others, you need to give the entire dropper. Use the dropper that came with the bottle of vitamin D.
Baby Care
Sing, talk, and read to your baby. It is best to avoid TV and digital media.
Calm your baby by stroking their head or gently rocking them.
Never hit or shake your baby.
Fever (temperature of 100.4°F/38.0°C or higher) in a newborn is an emergency. The most accurate way to measure your baby’s temperature is with a rectal thermometer.
If your newborn has a fever please call your baby’s primary care provider or take them to the pediatric Emergency Department.
Help prevent your newborn from getting sick by washing hands often, avoiding crowded areas, and avoid being around people who are sick.
Plan for emergencies: have a first aid kit, take first aid and infant CPR classes, and make a list of emergency phone numbers.
Taking your baby outdoors:
You can take your baby outdoors at any age.
Dress your baby in the same number of layers as an adult would wear for the weather.
If it is cold outside, put a hat on your baby.
Avoid direct sun exposure. The skin of babies is more sensitive to the sun. Protect their skin with long sleeves, long pants, and a hat.
Your baby should not have a bath until their umbilical stump has fallen off and the area is completely healed/dry. Until then, you can wipe them clean or give sponge baths.
Car Safety
Use a rear-facing car seat in the back seat of all vehicles. Ask your child’s primary care provider if you have questions about their car seat.
Make sure your baby always stays in the car seat during travel. If they become fussy or need to feed, stop the vehicle and take them out of the car seat.
Never leave your baby in the car alone. Start habits that prevent you from ever forgetting your baby in the car, such as putting your cell phone in the back seat.
Your baby’s safety depends on you.
Always wear your lap and shoulder seat belt.
Never drive after drinking alcohol or using drugs.
Never text or use a cell phone while driving.
Sleep
We recommend babies sleep in the same room as their parents for at least the first 6 months of life.
Your baby needs to sleep in their own safe sleep environment. This can be in a bassinet, crib, or portable playpen (also called a “Pack and Play”).
Your baby should never sleep in your bed, on the couch, in a swing, or on a “lounger” or pillow.
If your baby falls asleep in their car seat while you are driving, take them out of the car seat when you get to your destination and put them in a safe sleep space.
There should be nothing in the sleep space with your baby. No blankets, pillows, “sleep positioners”, or bumper pads.
Always put your baby to sleep on their back.
This position decreases the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
At this age, every baby wakes up to feed at least 2 times a night – some wake up every 2-3 hours. This can be very hard on parents.
If possible, try to go to bed earlier in the evening after your baby's final feeding of the day.
Try to rest or nap when your baby naps.
If you think your baby wants to sleep for longer stretches, talk to your child’s primary care provider to see if they are ready to go longer between feeds.
Safety
Preventing burns.
Don’t drink hot liquids while holding your baby.
Set the water heater so the temperature at the faucet is at or below 120°F /49°C.
Tobacco-free spaces keep babies healthy. Don’t smoke or use e-cigarettes. Keep your home and car smoke-free.
What to expect at your baby’s next well visit
Your baby’s next routine well visit will be 14 days after your first visit at CPCMG.
We will talk about:
Taking care of your baby, your family, and yourself.
Promoting your health and recovery.
Feeding your baby and watching them grow.
Caring for and protecting your baby.
Keeping your baby safe at home and in the car.
If you have questions or concerns before your baby's next well visit, please schedule an appointment, so that we can address these in a timely manner.
If you think your newborn starts to look or act sick between the routine visits, be sure to call your baby’s healthcare provider for help.
To speak with our triage nurses, please call your baby’s regular CPCMG office and follow the prompts to speak with a nurse.
📚 References
This content was adapted from American Academy of Pediatrics Bright Futures Parent and Patient Educational Handouts.
Reviewed by: Patient Education Committee, AR D.O., TT D.O., SL M.D., JJ M.D. Newborn Committee | 08/2025