New Baby on the Way! Congratulations!
We sincerely appreciate the trust you have shown by considering our practice for your new baby’s Pediatric care and we will be pleased to provide you with this service.
Our office provides a courtesy (free) Prenatal visit so that the parents-to-be can come in and become familiar with our staff, meet the doctors, and discuss any specific concerns about the upcoming event. It is usually convenient to schedule this visit during the last month of your pregnancy so that we can “plan ahead” for any special needs. Remember each pregnancy and each child is very different, so these visits are important and not just for the “first-timers”!
Choosing Your Pediatric Health Team
If you are expecting, please indicate to both your physician and to the hospital that you would like Dr. Barbara Fleener to provide newborn care in the hospital and contact us so that we may discuss these arrangements. It is not necessary to notify our office when you enter the hospital or birthing center in labor.
Our Basic Medical Questions For You
Please let us know (and remind us if appropriate after the baby is born) if you have had any major medical problems with this pregnancy or if you have any underlying medical condition requiring ongoing medical care and/or medications. We also would want to know if there is any history in your immediate families of hereditary familial childhood diseases.
What Happens After the Baby is Born?
After the baby is born, Dr. Barbara Fleener or one of our pediatric hospitalists from JHACH/SMH group usually sees your infant a few hours afterwards and will visit with you each morning to let you know how the baby is doing. We are happy to cooperate with your own physician in having you both go home as early as possible.
Baby Care While in the Hospital
At Sarasota Memorial Hospital, routine inpatient newborn care will be provided by Dr. Barbara Fleener and newborns who are ill or premature will be cared for by the Neonatologists in the Special Care Unit.
Feeding Your Baby
While we are strong supporters of breast feeding, we believe that mothers should be the ones to make that decision and be comfortable in either breast or bottle feeding since babies will do well on breast milk or formula.
Nursing
Don’t be discouraged from nursing if you will soon be returning to work as you can either continue to both breast and bottle feed then or wean the baby earlier if necessary. After your baby is born it usually takes about four days for your milk to come in, and during this time the baby receives the initial milk substrate, colostrum. Our own special Certified Lactation Counselor, Lisa Ann Bernard, DNP, is available at our office to assist you if you would like guidance.
Formula Feeding
We usually start our babies on regular iron cow’s milk formulas. If there is a history of cow’s milk allergy or intolerance in the family or if the baby is constipated we would then recommend starting the baby on soy formula or alternate formula. Let us know if your infant has feeding problems.
Circumcision
If you have a son you may want to have him circumcised. There is no right or wrong decision in this matter. If you would like your son circumcised please let your obstetrician/family practitioner know since they would be the ones to do this procedure during the first few weeks of life. It is recommended that the procedure be done within 30 days of age.
Many of our new babies already have older brothers and sisters who are patients here – it is for the new infant’s welfare and it helps us to ensure a “family focus” to your medical care that we insist all children of the same household be patients of the same practice, so we join you in welcoming the new addition.
Family Focus
Insurance coverage for my new baby
We’re Committed to Keeping Your Baby Well!
We offer a scheduled program of well-baby visits. If you have a baby at a Birthing Center the first office visit should be within 24 hours after birth. If your baby is born in the hospital it would be seen at our office within the first week after being discharged from the Hospital. We then see the babies for their checkups in accordance with the following schedule. Check out our Immunization Schedule section also! At each visit, the child is weighed, measured, their motor and neurological development is reviewed, a full physical exam is performed, and safety, nutrition and social development are also discussed. These health maintenance visits are so IMPORTANT!
Read Our Baby Welcome Guide
