The first week in a newborn's life

During the first week of life, a newborn adapts to his/her new environment. The outside world is completely different from the one he/she knows, where it was dark, the temperature was constant, and the sounds were muffled. By providing warmth, love, security and attention, you can help your baby adjust more easily and better.

Before discharge from the maternity hospital, read the discharge report carefully and, if necessary, seek additional information from the pediatrician about regular or, if recommended, additional specialist examinations. Find out if you can take the baby to the maternity clinic for an examination, if necessary.

After being released from the maternity hospital, the care of the mother and the newborn is taken over by the visiting nurse from the health center. If you think your baby has a problem or are concerned about something, talk to your nurse or doctor.

The appearance of a newborn

The caput succedaneum recedes and the newborn's head "returns" to its normal shape. If they were present at birth, both facial and eyelid swelling as well as hematomas and broken capillaries on the facial skin withdraw. Jaundice may occur: the skin on the face and body, as well as eye whites, turn yellow.

The umbilical stump dries slowly, turns black and eventually falls off, usually by 10th day of life. Make sure to keep the umbilical stump clean and dry. If the skin around the stump becomes red or sticky, seek professional assistance.

Various changes - birthmarks can appear on a newborn's skin; they are either present at birth or detected later. They are common and usually harmless, but if you are worried, consult a visiting nurse or doctor.

Weight loss is an anticipated and physiological phenomenon in the first days of life; the stomach is small and, with the first meals, the baby gets only 5-10 milliliters of milk. The child passes an abundant first stool (meconium) and sometimes also excess fluid, which occurs if the mother receives a larger amount of fluid through an IV drip during childbirth or cesarean section. Babies usually leave the maternity hospital with a weight that is 5-7% below their birth weight, and the maximum loss that should not worry parents or doctors, if the child is healthy and suckles well, is 9-10%. If a greater weight loss occurs, the baby and mother remain in the maternity hospital until it is confirmed that the baby suckles well and begins to gain weight. Return to birth weight is expected between 10th and 14th day of life. A mistake you should definitely avoid is the unnecessary introduction of formula supplementation!

Seek medical attention as soon as possible if your baby:

has difficulty feeding (during the previous 24 hours he/she suckled infrequently and briefly, or took only half of the meal from the bottle, gags or vomits frequently)
is very upset, or sleepy and has difficulties waking up
the skin is pale or yellow.

The rhythm of feeding and sleeping during the first week of life

During the first week of life, your newborn spends the most time sleeping, waking up every few hours for feeding. Newborn babies cannot sleep through the night, their stomachs are small and they need frequent meals.

In the first days, and even weeks, the 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 - the waking periods are short.

Most babies need feeding every 2-4 hours and usually have 8-12 meals in 24 hours. A newborn's stomach is small and cannot receive a large amount of milk. The composition of breastmilk allows it to be digested very quickly, within 90 minutes, so the child soon becomes hungry again. 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 on their own during meals, but it usually takes time for the baby to establish its feeding and sleeping rhythm.

Some babies are drowsy and more passive in the first weeks (especially preterm 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 stimulate more active suckling, and their weight should be checked more often.

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 gradually develops. This period of getting to know each other can be challenging. In order to provide peace and rest to yourself and your child, postpone the celebration of the child's birth, the gathering of family and friends. It takes at least a month to recover from childbirth, adapt to the baby's rhythm, make sure that breastfeeding works well. When mom, dad and the baby start functioning as a coordinated and smoothly-run team, there will be time for celebrations and socializing.

In the first weeks after the birth of a child, 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. If you need it, seek help from family and friends!