The first week with a newborn is unlike anything else in human experience. The joy is real, the exhaustion is real, and so is the bewilderment at how such a small person can need so much, so constantly. Most new parents feel underprepared regardless of how many books they read - because newborn care is learned by doing, not by reading. Here is what to realistically expect.
Your baby will lose weight in the first few days - up to 7-10% of birth weight is expected and normal as they pass meconium (the dark, tar-like first stool) and feeding establishes. This is not a sign that feeding is failing. Weight should begin to rise by day 4-5 and return to birth weight by day 10-14. Logging weights from early health visits in the baby tracker gives you a visual curve to refer back to, which is far more reassuring than a single number.
Feeding will feel relentless. Newborns need 8-12 feeds every 24 hours - roughly every 2-3 hours around the clock. There are no nights off in the first week. If …
Feeding will feel relentless. Newborns need 8-12 feeds every 24 hours - roughly every 2-3 hours around the clock. There are no nights off in the first week. If you are breastfeeding and your baby seems to want to feed every 45 minutes, this is almost certainly cluster feeding: a normal behaviour that stimulates milk supply. It is exhausting but temporary, typically peaking at days 3-5 before settling.
Nappy output tells you more than almost anything else about how feeding is going. Expect meconium in the first day or two, then transitional greenish stools, then by day 3-5 the classic yellow seedy stools of a breastfed baby (or paler, more formed stools in formula-fed babies). Wet nappy count matters: at least 1 on day 1, rising to 6 or more wet nappies per day from day 5. Log every nappy change in the tracker - it takes seconds and removes enormous guesswork.
Sleep in the first week is survival mode. You may find yourself sleeping in 90-minute blocks through day and night. Accept every offer of help you are given. Sleep when the baby sleeps is genuinely the right advice for the first week, not a platitude. The dishes can wait.
Know the red flags that warrant immediate medical attention: temperature above 38C (100.4F) in a baby under 3 months, difficulty breathing or blue colouring around the lips, a high-pitched or unusually weak cry, a sunken or bulging fontanelle (the soft spot on top of the head), jaundice appearing before 24 hours or spreading to the legs, or a baby who cannot be woken for feeds. Your instincts matter - if something feels wrong, always get it checked. There is never a penalty for seeking reassurance.