Being pregnant is an exciting time as you anticipate growing your family and starting a new adventure with the little one growing inside of you. Knowing what to expect for the newborn’s first week can help you prepare for it to make the coming months smoother.

Photo by Isaac Taylor from Pexels

Get Extra Help

Taking care of a baby, particularly a newborn, is a team effort. It’s not something you can do alone, as much as you might insist on it. If you have a partner, ask them to help with laundry, cleaning up, making dinner, and other chores.

If a family member or friend has asked to help you, take them up on that offer. Make sure you choose someone who is trustworthy and preferably who has a child of their own.

Gather Supplies and Food

During the first few months, some baby’s develop patches of flaky, red skin. You might see it on their scalp, behind the knees, and other areas. This condition, called eczema, might develop in your infant so plan for it by grabbing Grahams Natural cream that is specially formulated to soothe and repair baby’s dry, itchy skin.

Also, make sure you have food in the kitchen as you likely won’t leave the house during the end of the pregnancy and immediately after getting home from the hospital. You will likely be too busy attending to baby to cook for yourself, so stock your kitchen with healthy snacks and prepare nutritious meals ahead of time. Put those meals in the freezer for when you want a quick meal during the newborn’s first week.

Baby’s Activities during the First Week

Anticipate that your newborn will sleep a lot. Typically, they sleep for approximately 16 hours in a 24-hour span. However, each baby is different, so you might find this average statistic doesn’t apply to your little one.

Each sleep period lasts about 2-3 hours, and then they wake up briefly to feed before wanting to return to slumber. As a result, there’s minimal playtime during this time.

More about What to Expect

Prepare yourself too for what is to come in terms of how the baby’s appearance will change. During the first week, you can expect the top of their head to become rounder if they had a cone shape to their head immediately after birth.

If the newborn’s face was swollen too, that should ease over the first few days of their life. If forceps were used at birth and they bruised the baby, you can also expect that to disappear.

Final Words on Baby’s First Week

The newborn time is a brief but hectic one. While you are likely to feel tired, know that you have support and that your family will get through it. It’s natural to be unsure about exactly what to do, as well.

Ask your doctor questions, as well as reaching out to family and friends for answers and help. Take time before the birth to talk with your spouse too about what they expect and make sure you’re on the same page and are ready to support one another.

Categories: Parenting

Vicky Charles

Vicky is a single mother, writer and card reader.

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