The feeding and sleeping rhythm during the first week of life
In the first days, and even weeks, a baby does not have an established rhythm of wakefulness and sleep. A newborn sleeps an average of 18 hours a day, so - except during changing and feeding - waking periods are short.
Most babies need to be fed every 2-4 hours and usually have 8-12 meals in 24 hours. A newborn's stomach is small and can't take a large amount of milk. The composition of breastmilk allows it to be digested very quickly, within 90 minutes, so the child becomes hungry again soon. Every baby has a distinct personality from birth; even very young babies have their own feeding habits, as do adults. Some babies suckle 6-8 times a day, while others like to "snack" more often, so they have 12-14 meals.
Most babies wake up by themselves at meal time. Some babies are drowsy and more passive in the first weeks (especially premature babies, babies with low birth weight or those who had a health problem or greater weight loss in the first days). These babies should be woken up every three hours and changed to wake up; skin-to-skin contact should be used to encourage the baby to suckle more actively and check their weight more often.
It takes time for the baby to establish his/her own rhythm of feeding and sleeping. The baby adapts and reacts to the environment day by day, and parents learn to recognize their baby's needs. The baby signals what he/she wants, you try to figure out his/her needs, you do everything you have learned, heard, assumed and somewhere along that learning path, an understanding of the baby's needs slowly develops. This period of getting to know each other can be challenging.
In the first weeks after the child is born, you should also think about yourself. This means that you should have regular meals, some physical activity, and sleep while the baby sleeps, which will allow you to make up for the lack of sleep. Seek help from family and friends!
In order to provide yourself and your child with peace and rest, postpone the celebration of the child's birth, the gathering of family and friends. It takes at least a month to recover from the delivery, adjust to the baby's rhythm, make sure that breastfeeding works well. When mom, dad and baby start functioning as a coordinated and smooth-running team, there will be time for celebrations and socializing.
