With both circumcised and uncircumcised penises, no cotton swabs, astringents, or any special bath products are needed — simple soap and warm water every time you bathe your baby will do the trick.

No special washing precautions are needed for newly circumcised babies, other than to be gentle, as your baby may have some mild discomfort after the circumcision. If your son has a bandage on his incision, you might need to apply a new one whenever you change his diaper for a day or two after the procedure put petroleum jelly on the bandage so it won't stick to his skin. Doctors often also recommend putting a dab of petroleum jelly on the baby's penis or on the front of the diaper to alleviate any potential discomfort caused by friction against the diaper.

How you take care of your baby's penis may also vary depending on the type of circumcision procedure the doctor performs. Be sure to discuss what after-care will be needed. If your baby boy wasn't circumcised, be sure to never forcibly pull back the foreskin to clean beneath it.

Instead, gently tense it against the tip of the penis and wash off any smegma the whitish "beads" of dead skin cells mixed with the body's natural oil. Over time, the foreskin will retract on its own so that it can be pulled away from the glans toward the abdomen. This happens at different times for different boys, but most can retract their foreskins by the time they're 5 years old.

There's little doubt about the origin of the expression "still wet behind the ears," used to describe someone new or inexperienced. Newborns are covered with various fluids at delivery, including amniotic fluid and often some blood the mother's, not the baby's. Nurses or other personnel attending the birth will promptly begin drying the infant to avoid a drop in the baby's body temperature that will occur if moisture on the skin evaporates rapidly.

Newborns are also coated with a thick, pasty, white material called vernix caseosa made up of the fetus' shed skin cells and skin gland secretions , most of which will be washed off during the baby's first bath. The hue and color patterns of a newborn's skin may be startling to some parents. Mottling of the skin, a lacy pattern of small reddish and pale areas, is common because of the normal instability of the blood circulation at the skin's surface.

For similar reasons, acrocyanosis , or blueness of the skin of the hands and feet and the area surrounding the lips, is often present, especially if the infant is in a cool environment. When bearing down to cry or having a bowel movement, an infant's skin temporarily may appear beet-red or bluish-purple.

Red marks, scratches, bruises, and petechiae tiny specks of blood that have leaked from small blood vessels in the skin are all common on the face and other body parts. They're caused by the trauma of squeezing through the birth canal. These will heal and disappear during the first week or two of life. Fine, soft hair, called lanugo , may be on a newborn's face, shoulders, and back.

Most of this hair is usually shed in the uterus before the baby is delivered; for this reason, lanugo is more often seen on babies born prematurely. In any case, this hair will disappear in a few weeks. The top layer of a newborn's skin will flake off during the first week or two. This is normal and doesn't require any special skin care. Peeling skin may be present at birth in some infants, particularly those who are born past their due date.

Not all babies come with a birthmark. However, pink or red areas, sometimes called salmon patches , are common and generally disappear within the first year. Most frequently found on the back of the neck or on the bridge of the nose, eyelids, or brow hence the fanciful nicknames "stork bite" and "angel kiss" , they can occur anywhere on the skin, especially in light-skinned infants.

Mongolian spots , flat patches of slate-blue or blue-green color that resemble ink stains on the back, buttocks, or elsewhere on the skin, are found in more than half of black, Native American, and Asian infants and less often in white babies.

These spots are of no significance and almost always fade or disappear within a few years. Strawberry or capillary hemangiomas are raised red marks caused by collections of widened blood vessels in the skin.

These may appear pale at birth, then become red and enlarge during the first months of life. Then, they usually shrink and disappear without treatment within the first 6 years.

Port-wine stains , which are large, flat, reddish-purple birthmarks, won't disappear on their own. As a child gets older, cosmetic appearance concerns may require the attention of a dermatologist. Cafe-au-lait spots , so called because of their "coffee with milk" light-brown color, are present on the skin of some infants. These may deepen in color or may first appear as the child grows older.

They're usually of no concern unless they're large or there are six or more spots on the body, which may indicate the presence of certain medical conditions. Common brown or black moles, known as pigmented nevi , also can be present at birth or appear or get darker as a child gets older.

Larger moles or those with an unusual appearance should be brought to a doctor's attention because some may require removal. Several harmless skin rashes and conditions may be present at birth or appear during the first few weeks.

Tiny, flat, yellow or white spots on the nose and chin, called milia , are caused by the collection of secretions in skin glands and will disappear within the first few weeks. Miliaria — small, raised, red bumps that often have a white or yellow "head" — is sometimes called infant acne because of its appearance. Although miliaria often occurs on the face and can appear on large areas of the body, it's a harmless condition that will go away within the first several weeks with normal skin care.

Despite the frightening sound of its medical name, erythema toxicum is a harmless newborn rash consisting of red blotches with pale or yellowish bumps at the center, which can resemble hives. This rash usually blossoms during the first day or two after birth and disappears within a week. Pustular melanosis , a rash present at birth, is characterized by dark brown bumps or blisters scattered over the neck, back, arms, legs, and palms, which disappear without treatment.

Also, it isn't unusual to see infants born with sucking blisters on the fingers, hands, or arms because the fetus can suck while still in the uterus. Newborn jaundice , a yellowish discoloration of the skin and white parts of the eyes, is a common condition that normally doesn't appear until the second or third day after birth and disappears within 1 to 2 weeks.

Jaundice is caused by the accumulation of bilirubin a waste product produced by the normal breakdown of red blood cells in the blood, skin, and other tissues due to the temporary inability of the newborn's immature liver to clear this substance from the body effectively.

Although some jaundice is normal, if an infant becomes jaundiced earlier than expected or the bilirubin level is higher than normal, the doctor will follow the baby very closely. The first days and weeks of a newborn's life are a time of great wonder and delight for most new parents. However, being responsible for this tiny creature can be scary, particularly if you're not familiar with how a newborn looks and behaves.

If you feel anxious or uncertain about any part of caring for your baby, don't hesitate to call your doctor, other health care professionals, or family or friends who have had experience caring for a newborn. Looking at Your Newborn: What's Normal. Reviewed by: Steven Dowshen, MD. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. What Should We Expect? Posture During the first several weeks, you'll notice that much of the time your baby will tend to keep his or her fists clenched, elbows bent, hips and knees flexed, and arms and legs held close to the front of his or her body.

Primitive Reflexes Infants are born with a number of instinctual responses to stimuli, such as light or touch, known as primitive reflexes , which gradually disappear as the baby matures.

These reflexes include the: sucking reflex , which triggers an infant to forcibly suck on any object put in the mouth grasp reflex , which causes a newborn to tightly close the fingers when pressure is applied to the inside of the infant's hand by a finger or other object Moro reflex, or startle response , which causes an infant to suddenly throw the arms out to the sides and then quickly bring them back toward the middle of the body whenever the baby has been startled by a loud noise, bright light, strong smell, sudden movement, or other stimulus Also, due to the immaturity of their developing nervous systems, newborns' arms, legs, and chins may tremble or shake, particularly when they're crying or agitated.

Sleeping and Breathing In the first weeks, infants usually spend most of their time sleeping. Face A newborn's face may look quite puffy due to fluid accumulation and the rough trip through the birth canal. Ears A newborn's ears, as well as other features, may be distorted by the position they were in while inside the uterus. But bow legs don't affect a child's ability to crawl, walk, or run. Sometimes, kids with bow legs may walk with the toes pointed inward called intoeing, or pigeon-toes or they may trip a lot and appear clumsy.

These problems generally resolve as the child grows. If the condition lasts into teenage years, it may cause discomfort in the ankles, knees, or hips. When babies are born with bow legs it's because some of the bones had to rotate twist slightly when they were growing in the womb to fit into the small space.

This is called physiologic bow legs. It's considered a normal part of a child's growth and development. As a child starts walking, the bowing might increase a bit and then get better. Children who start walking at a younger age have more noticeable bowing. In most kids, the outward curving of the legs corrects on its own by age 3 or 4. The legs might even look curved inward knock-knees.

The legs usually straighten by age 7 or 8. Bow legs in older children usually is because of Blount disease or another medical condition. Blount disease is more common in kids who:. Health care providers do an exam and ask about the child's medical history. Baby Products. Bookmark BookmarkTick BookmarkAdd save. My baby has bowed legs. Is it normal, and when will they straighten?

By Jeffrey Berkowitz, MD. Plus, more from The Bump:. Next on Your Reading List. Umbilical Cord Care