Finally, after all those months of struggle and months of being careful, you have finally brought your own child into this world. Even if you had to go through normal labor and had a routine delivery, you would still be very tired and exhausted. However, the feeling of exhaustion would be mixed with emotions of elation and exhilaration. Your little baby who can’t even stay awake for a few minutes would seem like the most fantastic thing in this world and you should enjoy all your time with the baby at this point and cuddle the baby, inspect the small fingers and eyes and observe those tiny smiles all you want!

Feeding in Baby’s First Week

The baby would simply sleep and then want to be fed and then sleep again initially. After the first week, the baby’s cycle would change and he would want to be fed first and then go to sleep.

Breastfeeding in Baby’s First Week

Breastfeeding has numerous advantages for both the mother and the baby. In order to start on the right note, it’s best to take breastfeeding advice and help during your stay at the hospital from a lactation consultant or doctor.

These tips may help you with breastfeeding:

Prepare yourself to feed your baby around 7 to 13 times each day at the beginning. In most cases, the more frequent you feed your baby, the faster your milk will come.
Set a target for yourself about how long you would keep your baby on breast milk. Once you have set a target, you will be encouraged and supported by people around you to keep going even if you start to face a few issues.
Ask for advice and help from mothers who have breastfed their babies, a lactation consultant oral pediatrician who favors breast milk in case your nipples get sore, get engorged or in case the breast milk supply isn’t how you want it to be.
Keep bottles and pacifiers away from the baby and don’t feed your baby any regular formula supplements till the pediatrician advises you to do so.

Formula Feeding in Baby’s First Week

You should give your baby iron-fortified baby formula milk if you don’t want to breastfeed the child for any reason. The baby shouldn’t be given more than a couple of ounces in one feeding and should be fed every two hours or so with the amount given to the baby increasing slightly with each passing day. The baby should drink around four ounces when he is a week old.

Sleeping in Baby’s First Week

Baby Sleeping Time

Newborns usually sleep a lot though they don’t sleep for more than a couple of hours at a stretch because of their small tummies waking them up. While the baby won’t sleep for too long each time, the baby would still sleep around 16 hours a day in total. You should note down the baby’s sleep patterns as doctors do ask for such information in the following checkups.

The baby would often make unusual sounds while sleeping though there is nothing to be worried about. Babies can’t clean their nasal passages on their own, which may create some sounds. Also, you can clean their nasal passages for them to help them breathe and sleep easier through a bulb syringe.

Signs to Concern

Usually, the sounds or some motions in your baby’s sleeping is not serious. In case the baby shows the following signs, you should give your doctor a call right away.

Loud grunting
Flaring nostrils
Retractions in the chest with the baby’s skin being sucked in around the collarbone or ribs
Constant fast breathing
Wheezing not from the baby’s throat or nose which are very commonplace amongst children but from the chest
Audible breathing which is heavy accompanied with whistles and wheezes as the baby exhales and inhales the air
Taking too much time between the breaths (around fifteen seconds between two breaths)

More Tips for Parents on Baby Sleeping

Before putting the baby to sleep, make sure that there are no blankets or pillows or quilts or toys lying close by the baby as all these items increase the chances of SIDS. Also, wherever you put your baby to sleep, make sure that he sleeps on his back rather than on his stomach. Moreover, you should never leave the baby alone when he is lying on a couch or on the side of a bed even when the baby hasn’t learned how to roll, which remains a chance that the baby might fall by sliding down the couch or bed.

Your baby should be sleeping:

In a crib or cot close to the bed of the mother
Not on his stomach but on his back
On a strong and comfortable surface like a cot mattress with a fitted sheet present over it
Far away from all types of soft items like toys and from soft bedding sheets and blankets in his cot

Here is video that a mom shares her experience of caring a newborn, it may help you a lot in your baby’s first week:

Some Common Questions of Baby’s First Week

1. How Can You Avoid SIDS?

SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) can be avoided by ensuring that babies are always put on their backs before they go to sleep. NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) also recommends that parents should only start sleeping with their child after the baby is one-year-old. NICE also suggests that parents should make sure that the baby doesn’t sleep on a couch or a chair while carrying the baby.

You should consult the doctor and midwife regarding other precautions that should be taken to minimize the risk of SIDS.

2. When to Give Your Baby First Examination

A baby is given his/her first complete checkup around 3 days (72 hours) after the birth. Unless the baby is born at home, this checkup is usually done at the hospital before leaving the hospital. After that, the following extensive examination is done when the baby is two months old with the purpose for checking out any abnormalities or any health related issues, so that they can be diagnosed early and treatment can be started immediately.

A blood spot screening test would be conducted five days after his birth. The test is conducted to check for a variety of different serious yet rare diseases like cystic fibrosis, etc.

Besides, a fair amount of vaccinations would be given to the baby during the second checkup, which is all done by doctors and nurses with certificates.

3. How Can You Develop a Bond with Your Baby?

Parents love to bond with the babies but it is important to understand that it doesn’t start right away. Mom would already be exhausted after giving birth and need time to get recovered. Also, you baby need to get acquainted with the new surroundings and life which is different from the womb. Things might feel slightly difficult at first. However, if you won’t fret and take these steps to initiate the bonding, your baby will start to respond soon.

Spend as much skin-time as possible. You should cuddle with the baby and hold him tightly when feeding him/her. Gentle stoking and massaging can help too.
Babies love the sound of their parents, so talk as much as possible. Make voices, sing and say whatever you want.
Keep on watching your baby and keep smiling. The baby would start to do the same with you as time goes by.

Baby’s First Week