Pediatric Care for Our Baby Class

So, we went to our first baby class at the Hospital we plan on delivering at. When we arrived we were given a pamphlet with info on the Pediatric practice of the doctor that was running the class that night. We also got a book, Baby 411, which turned out to worth the $15 fee for the class. In all the class only took up about 1 hour of the 1 and a half allocated, but was over all fairly informative. There is something nice about having some face to face time with a Physician so that you can ask all the questions that might be looming in the back of your mind. The doctor talked a little about what to expect from your Pediatrician and time lines for when things will be happening like shots and when the umbilical cord falls off. She also discussed what shots we should be getting for the baby and the ones the recommend and she also went into depth on the differences between vaccinations now and ones many years ago and how they are much safer now due to the fact that there are a lot less live viruses now then before in the vaccine. We think over all it was a good question/answer session but hope that they have a little more structure in the next few classes to come.

Here are some other things that we thought was good to know:
1. Check our insurance to see what the cover for the baby's first year (shots, etc)
2. The peak of the baby's crying should come at 6-8 weeks of life.
3. If the baby is crying inconsolably then check his temperature and if it is at or above 100.4 degrees call the Doctor.
4. Recommend house Temperature is 69-72 degrees.
5. Nothing should be in the basinet with the baby (to help prevent SIDS). If we feel the baby is cold layer clothes or use a velcro swaddling blanket.
6. Start doing "Tummy Time" right away.
7. We got the IL poison control number (1-800-222-1222)
8. Don't use a walker because they aren't safe. Try and give the baby as much time on the floor as possible which will help with development.
9. The baby can be sick up to 1 month combined in his first year of life (He is building his immune system)
10. Get Saline and one of those blue bulb suction things to help with baby's congestion.
11. bare minimum 1 urine every 8 hours (less then that there might be a problem)
12. Use a rectal thermometer for the first 4 months of live because ear thermometer doesn't get a good seal until 4-6 months.
13. Safe to travel after 2 months (recommended)

Update on the naming front: We are pretty close to deciding on this and think that it might end up being the first name we considered, Ethan. It just sounds so right! Anyway, I was thinking about using my Fathers middle name for our baby's middle name, Vincent. What does everyone think of Ethan Vincent Lake?