New baby & parenting

Lesson 1

Safe sleep, every sleep

These steps from the National Institutes of Health’s Safe to Sleep campaign help lower the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related deaths:

• On their back, for naps and at night, until their first birthday.
• On a firm, flat surface covered only with a fitted sheet, in their own crib, bassinet or play yard. No pillows, blankets, bumpers or toys.
• In your room, not your bed, for at least the first 6 months.
• No smoking, vaping, alcohol or drugs, during pregnancy and after your baby is born.
• Not too warm, with their head and face uncovered.
• Stop swaddling once your baby starts trying to roll over, usually around 3 months.
• Tummy time while they’re awake and someone is watching.

Skip products that claim to prevent SIDS, and don’t count on home monitors to lower the risk.

Lesson 2

When your baby won’t stop crying

Crying, even long stretches that nothing seems to fix, is normal for babies. Healthy babies can cry 1 to 2 hours a day, and crying often peaks around 2 months, then eases.

• Check the basics: hungry, wet, too warm or too cold? If the crying won’t stop, check for signs of illness and call your baby’s doctor.
• Try soothing: swaddling (before your baby can roll), skin-to-skin, a pacifier or gentle rocking.
• If you feel overwhelmed, put your baby on their back in a safe place like the crib, walk away to calm down, and check on them every 5 to 10 minutes. Call a friend, a relative or your baby’s doctor.

Never shake a baby. Shaking, throwing or hitting a baby is never the right response to crying.

Lesson 3

Taking care of you

Many new parents get the baby blues: feeling weepy, worried or tired. They often start a few days after birth and ease on their own within a week or two.

Postpartum depression is more intense and lasts longer, and it can start any time in the first year. About 1 in 8 women with a recent birth report symptoms. It’s common, it’s treatable, and it’s not your fault. Signs include:

• Crying more than usual, feeling angry, or feeling distant from your baby
• Doubting you can care for your baby
• Feeling sad, hopeless or guilty, or losing interest in things
• Sleeping or eating much more or less than usual
• Constant worry, or thoughts you can’t shake
• Thoughts of harming yourself or your baby

Call your clinician if these feelings last more than 2 weeks, and right away if you have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby.

Lesson 4

Warning signs after birth

The CDC’s Hear Her campaign says to get medical care right away for any of these in the year after giving birth, and to tell the provider you were pregnant within the last year:

• A headache that won’t go away or gets worse
• Dizziness or fainting
• Changes in your vision
• A fever of 100.4°F or higher
• Extreme swelling of your hands or face
• Thoughts about harming yourself or your baby
• Trouble breathing
• Chest pain or a fast-beating heart
• Severe nausea and throwing up
• Severe belly pain that doesn’t go away
• Vaginal bleeding or discharge
• Severe swelling, redness or pain in a leg or arm
• Overwhelming tiredness

Lesson 5

Checkups, shots and car seats

• Checkups: a first visit at 3 to 5 days old, then at 1, 2, 4, 6, 9 and 12 months, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
• Vaccines: the Washington State Department of Health recommends the first hepatitis B shot within 24 hours of birth for every newborn, and follows the American Academy of Pediatrics schedule. Your baby’s clinician will tell you what’s due at each visit.
• Car seat: rear-facing from the first ride home. Washington law requires rear-facing until at least age 2, and it’s safest to stay rear-facing until your seat’s height or weight limit. Never put a rear-facing seat in front of an active airbag.

For help with food, WIC, health coverage, baby supplies and parenting support, call the Help Me Grow Washington Hotline at 1-800-322-2588, or see parenting resources.

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