What will my newborn do?
Sleep
Newborn babies have one
important thing to do – grow bigger. For this they need plenty of sleep.
Newborns sleep around 16 hours in every 24, and at first not many of those will
be at night. They sleep in two, three or four-hour sessions until they’re old
enough to go for longer between feeds and can handle a sleep routine. At the
beginning, there’s no need to implement a routine – your baby will sleep and
wake to feed when he needs to and this is an important part of his growing
process, so try not to be strict with him just yet.
Being woken up repeatedly at 2
and 4am is bound to leave you tired and cranky. Try to catch up on sleep in the
day when your baby is napping and persuade your partner, parents or best friend
to come and watch your baby occasionally while you have a rare morning lie-in.
Eat
Apart from sleeping your
newborn’s other main activity is eating. Whether you’re nursing or
bottlefeeding, your baby will probably get hungry around every three hours
depending on his size and appetite. Newborn babies can’t hold much in their
tiny stomachs but if all your baby seems to do is feed be reassured that in
time his eating patterns will settle down and you won’t feel as if all you’re
doing is back-to-back feeds.
Cry
Newborn babies have only one way
of communicating what they want, and that‘s crying. It often new parents
literally pulling their hair out trying to work out what their baby needs.
Newborns cry for between one and three hours a day, but by the time your baby
is a few weeks old you’ll probably be able to distinguish which cry is a hungry
cry and which means he needs a comforting cuddle. The good thing about newborn
babies is that there are only a handful of things which actually make them cry,
so it should take just a short process of elimination till you work out which
it is.
The information in this feature is intended for
educational purposes only. If you have any concerns about your health, the
health of your child or the health of someone you know, please consult with a
doctor or other healthcare professional.