New Moms survival guide part 2: Bringing your newborn home, the first 24 hours

September 24, 2018

Finally, you can bring your baby home! We all know that all that newborns do is cry, poo, eat and sleep, can't be that hard, right? Well, yes but it also does a hundred other tiny little things that could have you call your pediatrician every hour.

Worry not! We have you covered!

Let us walk you through the first 24 hours and everything that is normal and what to expect. If you have questions, you can also reach out to us, we are happy to share our experience with you.

Bringing your baby home for the first time is a life-changing experience and you will need some time to adapt. To be honest, it can take a few days to get the hang out of this huge adjustment, so it is very important to cut yourself some slack and get rid out of all thoughts and ideas of what perfect should be.

This is going to be an emotional rollercoaster for you, your hormone levels are still off the charts, you are still recovering from giving birth and you most likely will be sleep deprived too.

New parents go through all kind of emotions, especially the moms. It is natural to feel frustrated, to laugh, cry or feel excited within only a couple of hours, sometimes even minutes.

Taking care of your newborn will take up most of your time and energy, so make sure to ask for help! It is also very frequent to feel the so-called "Baby Blues" which fortunately is short-lived, however, there is a more serious condition called Postpartum Depression, which should not be taken lightly. To know more about this please read our article The Ups and Downs of Motherhood.

Let's look into the basic tasks you will have to do within the first 24 hours after bringing your baby home.

Feeding your newborn

Newborns have a very tiny belly and can only eat about 1 to 3 ounces of breastmilk or baby formula in one feeding. This is why your baby will want to eat every 2-3 hours, some babies even more frequently.

Signs that your baby might be hungry can be anything from crying to sucking on their little hands and licking their lips. If you choose to bottle feed your baby from the beginning make sure to choose an organic baby formula that is specially designed for newborns, for example, Lebenswert stage 1 or Holle Pre.

Crying

Unfortunately, there is no way to get around this one, your baby will cry. When, how, why, however depends on each baby. Usually crying is a symptom for being hungry, uncomfortable, needing a diaper change, feeling tired, but there could be other reasons to, like being over stimulated. Good news is, babies usually do not cry a lot in their first days after birth, but don't get alarmed if your until now peaceful baby suddenly starts crying more often as it grows older, an average of 2 hours daily. Crying will usually taper off about 6 to 8 weeks of age.

Sleeping

Your newborn most likely will sleep only a few hours at a time. This is because as we mentioned above, she/he will get hungry often which will cause her/him to wake up quite often. Your baby will sleep an average of 16-18 hours a day, through several naps though, rather than a lot of hours at the once, so we strongly advise you to get some sleep too when your baby is sleeping!

Your baby will also prefer to sleep in surroundings that provide closeness or tighter spaces such as a car seat or baby carrier, as the closeness will remind the baby of being safe in your womb, this is also a reason why babies love being swaddled.

Breathing

Did you know that your baby might make some funny noises when breathing? We are using the term "funny" to avoid saying “scary”, as most parents get quite freaked out. If your baby is breathing periodically, don't worry. It is normal for a newborn to breathe quickly, pause, and breath again. However, if your baby is: Flaring the nostrils, constantly breathing fast, grunting, wheezing from the chest or pausing for longer than 10 seconds, you should not take it lightly and best consult your pediatrician straight away.

Bath time

While the little one still has the umbilical cord stump, it is better to avoid immersing him/her into water. In the beginning, it is sufficient to sponge bathe newborns for the first couple of days. Use an organic damp warm washcloth and gently wipe your baby down. Some rashes, spots or dryness might appear. To get rid of them naturally you can consult our blog post. Make a nice relaxing routine out of the sponge bath!

Diaper change

There is no normal or average as for how many times your baby will need a change and opinions vary widely.

"In the first few days of life, a newborn should have the same number of wet diapers as they are days old. For example, a brand-new baby should have at least one wet diaper in the first 24 hours, a 2-day-old should have two wet diapers, a 3-day-old should have three wet diapers, and a 4-day-old should have at least four wet diapers per day. After four days of life, newborns often have five, six, or more wet diapers per day. Their bladders are small and don't hold very much urine at a time,...” says Dori Anchin, MD, pediatrician at Maria Fareri Children's Hospital, a member of the Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth), Valhalla, NY

We can't advise you enough to ask for help! It is extremely important you don't stress yourself, which is an essential clue to enjoy the first 24 hours. If you need more info, please reach out to us. We are real parents that opened Organic Baby Food Shop to share not only the best formulas available but also our experiences.

This post is part of the series New Moms survival guide. You can read the first part here.