1) Your baby used to have two or three bowel movements a day, but now hasn't had any in 24 hours. She's probably:
C. Just fine. It's normal for bowel habits to change over the first year. In the first six weeks babies usually have several BMs a day. But at around 6 to 8 weeks, when digestion slows, they begin to poop less frequently.
You may also see changes in bowel habits when your child starts on solids, says Ari Brown, M.D., coauthor of Baby 411: Clear Answers and Smart Advice for Your Baby's First Year. If you've been breastfeeding, switching to or supplementing with formula can slow down bowel habits too, because formula takes longer to digest. Once your baby is past the newborn stage, no bowel movement for several days is usually not a problem. If a week passes, your baby seems uncomfortable or fussy, his belly is distended, or he's vomiting or running a fever, call his doctor.

2) The best approach to treating a baby's stuffy nose, no matter how young, is to:
A. Gently squirt saline drops into his nose. Put two to three drops of saline into each nostril. "Don't suction his nose with a bulb syringe without applying the drops first; you may irritate the lining of the nose," says Carolyn Lopez, M.D. "Saline loosens the mucus, making it easier to remove with the syringe." Decongestants aren't usually recommended for babies. If the saline drops don't work and the stuffiness is interfering with your child's ability to breathe, sleep, or eat, call your doctor.

3) Your 3-week-old spikes a 101-degree fever. What should you do?
C. Call her pediatrician immediately. "Any fever during the first month of life is an automatic ticket to the hospital for two days to be evaluated," says Dr. Brown. "Infections can progress rapidly in a young baby, especially if she's under a month old, because the immune system is immature and may not be able to fight them off well." The risk of a serious infection is also higher in the first month because birth itself can sometimes lead to it. For example, some moms naturally carry group B streptococcus bacteria; though harmless to them, in a newborn it can cause infection or even meningitis, which may not occur for up to a month after delivery. A high fever can also be an early symptom of an infection caused by structural abnormality in the kidneys or liver.

4) You should never apply sunscreen to a baby younger than 6 months of age. True or false?
B. False. Until recently, the AAP did recommend waiting until your child was 6 months old before applying sunscreen, to encourage parents to keep infants that young out of the sun entirely or, at least, to stress the importance of making sure your baby is completely shaded and covered when outdoors.
The new thinking: You should apply sunscreen (sparingly, though, around the mouth and on the hands), as long as you use a product that says "chemical-free" on the label. This means that the sunscreen contains a physical block, such as zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which won't irritate your baby's skin. (Steer clear of products containing a chemical block -- it can trigger a reaction.) Look for SPF 30, and reapply every one and a half to two hours. (Two good options: Neutrogena Sensitive Skin Sunblock Lotion and Coppertone Water Babies.)

5) Your baby has diarrhea. What should you do for him?
B. Give him frequent fluids and, if he's eating solids, small amounts of food that combine fiber and fat. Try yogurt and oatmeal with a little milk or formula. If your baby isn't eating solids yet, continue to feed him breast milk or formula as usual. If there's vomiting, offer only clear fluids that contain salt and/or sugar (such as Pedialyte, Gatorade, or diluted juice). Then reintroduce breast milk, formula, and, if your baby's on solids, shoot for the fat-fiber combination.

6) Your baby may have signs of a food allergy if:
A. She breaks out in a rash and has diarrhea or vomits after the third time you give her a food. Since it can take more than one exposure to become sensitized to any allergen, your child wouldn't break out in a rash the first time she tries a food.
About 6 percent of children under age 5 have a food allergy, most commonly to milk, eggs, and/or peanuts. Your baby is more likely to have allergies of any type if they run in your family. He can develop a food allergy directly by consuming a food, or indirectly by nursing if you've eaten it.
Allow five to seven days between the introduction of each new food to see if symptoms develop. If your baby exhibits symptoms, call your pediatrician. She may run tests to confirm the allergy and recommend you stop giving your child the food or avoid consuming it yourself if you're breastfeeding. Most kids with food allergies eventually outgrow them, says Robert Wood, M.D., a pediatric allergist in Baltimore. Sometimes you can reintroduce a food safely within a few months of a reaction (check with your doctor first); in other cases, you may need to wait a few years.

7) Your baby still spits up after every feeding. You should:
A. Shift the position she's in when you feed her. All babies up to age 6 months have gastroesophageal reflux to a certain degree, says Dr. Brown. A long as it's a small amount of spitup, your baby doesn't seem upset by it, and she's continuing to gain weight, it's harmless. But to minimize the mess for you, try burping her frequently and changing her to an upright position during feedings and for 30 minutes after each feeding. If this doesn't work, your pediatrician may suggest thickening her formula, or expressed breast milk, with a little bit of rice cereal.

8) Your baby just received a vaccination, and now he has a fever and is really fussy. What should you do?
D. Give him a pain reliever, such as acetaminophen, and monitor his fever for the next day. Contact your pediatrician if things don't improve in a day or so. "A low-grade fever after a shot is very common. It means the immune system is revving up," says Dr. Lopez. "Some fussiness is normal, too, but if your baby is inconsolable for more than three hours or if the fever spikes higher -- 102 or 103 -- call your doctor."

9) Your 3-week-old has started screaming for at least three hours every night. She probably:
C. Has colic. Colic occurs in around 20 percent of all infants. Colicky babies typically cry for more than three hours a day and more than three times a week, for more than three weeks. Colic usually develops at around 3 weeks and usually resolves by between 3 and 6 months of age. There are some experts who believe that these intense crying episodes are because young babies have trouble calming themselves; all infants have to learn this skill, and in babies with colic, it takes longer.
There's really no known "cure" for colic. To soothe your fussy infant, try motion (rocking, car rides, an infant swing), "white noise" (shushing, a ceiling fan), swaddling, or a pacifier.

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Healthy Baby Challenge: Quiz Answers By Laura Flynn McCarthy, Parenting 1) Your baby used to have two or three bowel movements a day, but now hasn't had any in 24 hours. She's probably: C. Just fine. It's normal for bowel habits to change over the first year. In the first six weeks babies usually have several BMs a day. But at around 6 to 8 weeks, when digestion slows, they begin to poop less frequently. You may also see changes in bowel habits when your child starts on solids, says Ari Brown, M.D., coauthor of Baby 411: Clear Answers and Smart Advice for Your Baby's First Year. If you've been breastfeeding, switching to or supplementing with formula can slow down bowel habits too, because formula takes longer to digest. Once your baby is past the newborn stage, no bowel movement for several days is usually not a problem. If a week passes, your baby seems uncomfortable or fussy, his belly is distended, or he's vomiting or running a fever, call his doctor. 2) The best approach to treating a baby's stuffy nose, no matter how young, is to: A. Gently squirt saline drops into his nose. Put two to three drops of saline into each nostril. "Don't suction his nose with a bulb syringe without applying the drops first; you may irritate the lining of the nose," says Carolyn Lopez, M.D. "Saline loosens the mucus, making it easier to remove with the syringe." Decongestants aren't usually recommended for babies. If the saline drops don't work and the stuffiness is interfering with your child's ability to breathe, sleep, or eat, call your doctor. 3) Your 3-week-old spikes a 101-degree fever. What should you do? C. Call her pediatrician immediately. "Any fever during the first month of life is an automatic ticket to the hospital for two days to be evaluated," says Dr. Brown. "Infections can progress rapidly in a young baby, especially if she's under a month old, because the immune system is immature and may not be able to fight them off well." The risk of a serious infection is also higher in the first month because birth itself can sometimes lead to it. For example, some moms naturally carry group B streptococcus bacteria; though harmless to them, in a newborn it can cause infection or even meningitis, which may not occur for up to a month after delivery. A high fever can also be an early symptom of an infection caused by structural abnormality in the kidneys or liver. 4) You should never apply sunscreen to a baby younger than 6 months of age. True or false? B. False. Until recently, the AAP did recommend waiting until your child was 6 months old before applying sunscreen, to encourage parents to keep infants that young out of the sun entirely or, at least, to stress the importance of making sure your baby is completely shaded and covered when outdoors. The new thinking: You should apply sunscreen (sparingly, though, around the mouth and on the hands), as long as you use a product that says "chemical-free" on the label. This means that the sunscreen contains a physical block, such as zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which won't irritate your baby's skin. (Steer clear of products containing a chemical block -- it can trigger a reaction.) Look for SPF 30, and reapply every one and a half to two hours. (Two good options: Neutrogena Sensitive Skin Sunblock Lotion and Coppertone Water Babies.) 5) Your baby has diarrhea. What should you do for him? B. Give him frequent fluids and, if he's eating solids, small amounts of food that combine fiber and fat. Try yogurt and oatmeal with a little milk or formula. If your baby isn't eating solids yet, continue to feed him breast milk or formula as usual. If there's vomiting, offer only clear fluids that contain salt and/or sugar (such as Pedialyte, Gatorade, or diluted juice). Then reintroduce breast milk, formula, and, if your baby's on solids, shoot for the fat-fiber combination. 6) Your baby may have signs of a food allergy if: A. She breaks out in a rash and has diarrhea or vomits after the third time you give her a food. Since it can take more than one exposure to become sensitized to any allergen, your child wouldn't break out in a rash the first time she tries a food. About 6 percent of children under age 5 have a food allergy, most commonly to milk, eggs, and/or peanuts. Your baby is more likely to have allergies of any type if they run in your family. He can develop a food allergy directly by consuming a food, or indirectly by nursing if you've eaten it. Allow five to seven days between the introduction of each new food to see if symptoms develop. If your baby exhibits symptoms, call your pediatrician. She may run tests to confirm the allergy and recommend you stop giving your child the food or avoid consuming it yourself if you're breastfeeding. Most kids with food allergies eventually outgrow them, says Robert Wood, M.D., a pediatric allergist in Baltimore. Sometimes you can reintroduce a food safely within a few months of a reaction (check with your doctor first); in other cases, you may need to wait a few years. 7) Your baby still spits up after every feeding. You should: A. Shift the position she's in when you feed her. All babies up to age 6 months have gastroesophageal reflux to a certain degree, says Dr. Brown. A long as it's a small amount of spitup, your baby doesn't seem upset by it, and she's continuing to gain weight, it's harmless. But to minimize the mess for you, try burping her frequently and changing her to an upright position during feedings and for 30 minutes after each feeding. If this doesn't work, your pediatrician may suggest thickening her formula, or expressed breast milk, with a little bit of rice cereal. 8) Your baby just received a vaccination, and now he has a fever and is really fussy. What should you do? D. Give him a pain reliever, such as acetaminophen, and monitor his fever for the next day. Contact your pediatrician if things don't improve in a day or so. "A low-grade fever after a shot is very common. It means the immune system is revving up," says Dr. Lopez. "Some fussiness is normal, too, but if your baby is inconsolable for more than three hours or if the fever spikes higher -- 102 or 103 -- call your doctor." 9) Your 3-week-old has started screaming for at least three hours every night. She probably: C. Has colic. Colic occurs in around 20 percent of all infants. Colicky babies typically cry for more than three hours a day and more than three times a week, for more than three weeks. Colic usually develops at around 3 weeks and usually resolves by between 3 and 6 months of age. There are some experts who believe that these intense crying episodes are because young babies have trouble calming themselves; all infants have to learn this skill, and in babies with colic, it takes longer. There's really no known "cure" for colic. To soothe your fussy infant, try motion (rocking, car rides, an infant swing), "white noise" (shushing, a ceiling fan), swaddling, or a pacifier.