The First Week with Your Baby
The first week of your baby's life brings big adjustments for both of you. You are adjusting to being a mother and caring for your baby and your baby is adjusting to life outside the womb. It is a time of great joy -- and possibly immense fear! Although you've been preparing for the birth of your baby for months, now he is here and depending on you for everything which can seem overwhelming. Don't expect too much of yourself during these first days! If anyone offers you help -- take it!
During your baby's first few weeks of life, he will be concentrating on getting to know you and his surroundings. Your baby needs to be handled so that life outside the womb seems as little different as possible to life inside the womb. Your baby's needs, while they may seem overwhelming to you, are really simple: food, warmth and comfort from cuddling. Wrap him snugly and warmly, hold him closely, handle him slowly, and feed him when he's hungry. Your baby will have the routing and sucking reflexes as well as tongue thrust. These are needed to get nourishment from the breast or bottle. You can also use this time to bond with your baby with lots of skin to skin contact.
Whether you decide to breast or bottle feed, feeding in the first few weeks is not an effortless process. Try to have early feeding sessions in a quiet setting with as few distractions as possible. Make sure you are in a comfortable position as it takes new babies a while to eat and you don't want to end up stiff and sore. Cuddle and caress your baby as feeding time is a wonderful opportunity to show your baby how much he is loved.
If you are breastfeeding, be patient while you and your baby are getting the hang of it! The benefits of breastfeeding are many and in order for it to be successful, it is important to start out right. Keep in mind though it may take several weeks until you both feel comfortable and get a feeding schedule down.
Most new moms feel and experience:
- Exhaustion!
- Bloody vaginal discharge for the first week or so
- Discomfort or pain in the perineal area if you had a vaginal delivery
- Incision pain or numbness if you had a cesarean delivery
- Abdominal cramping (afterpains) as the uterus contracts
- Elation or depression or swings between both
- Breast discomfort or engorgement
- Fears about your adequacy as a mother
- Profuse sweating after the first couple of days
Although it may be tempting to try to be a 'supermom', now is not the time. The best advice that I received as an new mom was to accept the help of others, eat regular meals and sleep when the baby sleeps. Now it's my turn to pass that advice on to you.
About The Author
Anne Cavicchi is a Canadian wife and mother of one boy and two step-daughters. She also owns Annie's Maternity Corner where you'll find everything you need for pregnancy and baby! Great products, articles, information and more to see you through pregnancy and baby's first years at Annie's. http://www.maternitycorner.com
MORE RESOURCES:
 USA Today | Bans sought for chemical BPA in baby, toddler products USA Today States are moving to ban the chemical BPA from food and drink containers, primarily those meant for infants and toddlers, because of health concerns. ... |
 New Zealand Herald | Prince vs. Dancing Baby: Toddler wins right to dance to "Let's Go Crazy" on ... Minneapolis City Pages (blog) The mother of a toddler featured in a viral YouTube video dancing to Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" went head-to-head with ... Mother Successfully Fights Universal Over Baby Video on YouTube |
Neighbor Defends Woman Whom Police Say Left Baby, Toddler Home Alone With Pit Bull WPXI Pittsburgh PITTSBURGH -- A mother is accused of leaving her young children alone in Homewood, and Tuesday, a neighbor said it was all a misunderstanding. ... |
Baby Mason auction keeps rolling ProFootballTalk We've gotten plenty of bids for the 30-plus items available for bid in the auction for our cousin Mason, the 17-month-old toddler who underwent a liver ... |
Indian baby murdered in Melbourne Times Now.tv In an extremely disturbing development a three-year-old Indian toddler has been murdered in Melbourne, in Australia. The Australian police are hunting for ... |
Baby in Brick foster home suffocates Asbury Park Press BRICK — A 17-month-old boy in the care of the New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services suffocated ... |
 San Francisco Chronicle (blog) | Baby survives 'global warming suicide pact' San Francisco Chronicle (blog) Any parent who has closely followed the global warming crisis has experienced fear about what their children and their children's children might face in the ... |
Baby, toddler found bound and gagged in Calif.; father arrested in attempted ... Los Angeles Times By AP RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a baby and a toddler have found bound, gagged and left on a bedroom floor in Southern California, ... Baby, Toddler Found Bound And Gagged; Father Arrested |
Li Chiao-Ping Dance treads lightly on life's tribulations Wisconsin State Journal Humor abounded all night but particularly in "(Baby)Toddler on Board," an ode to parenting toddlers. Choreographed by Li and Adams, it made reference to Dr. ... |
The Mother of All parentcentral.ca (blog) ... The Mother of All Parenting Books, Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler, Mealtime Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler, ... |
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