Overview

Bringing your baby home is a joyous milestone but can also feel overwhelming. In this episode, we explore what to expect during the first few weeks at home with your newborn. Gain practical tips for essential tasks like breastfeeding, diapering, umbilical cord care, soothing techniques, and bathing basics. We also cover critical topics, including postpartum recovery, SIDS prevention, and strategies to keep your baby healthy. Whether you’re a first-time parent or welcoming another child, this episode will equip you with the knowledge to navigate these early weeks confidently.

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Article and Resources

Hospital or Birth Center Stay

The first step in your postpartum journey is your stay at the hospital, birth center, or your house if you have a home birth. If you give birth in a hospital, you will likely stay for 1–3 days, depending on whether you had a vaginal or cesarean birth and how you and your baby are recovering. Birth centers usually discharge patients the same or the next day. You may be caring for your baby solo on the same day with home births.

Ask your doctor or midwife what you can expect regarding your discharge timeframe. Ensure you have contact numbers for your care provider and pediatrician if you need assistance or have questions after returning home.

Breastfeeding Basics

Many new moms expect breastfeeding to come naturally, but it can be challenging at first. Whether you exclusively breastfeed or supplement with formula, it’s essential to have accurate information and support. See this page for all the breastfeeding resources, episodes, and articles in one place.

Two Keys to Breastfeeding Success

Breastfeeding is a huge part of caring for your newborn. You can do two key things to ensure you are successful with breastfeeding. First, educate yourself on the breastfeeding techniques, benefits, and troubleshooting. The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding is a highly recommended resource, though it leans heavily toward exclusive breastfeeding.

The second key is to find support and proactively seek help if you encounter issues. Seeking the assistance of a lactation consultant can be invaluable. La Leche League is an excellent resource for free support in your area and online. Creating a network of supportive individuals can make a significant difference, even if it’s just a few close friends or family members.

Understanding Breast Milk Stages

Your breast milk will evolve through three stages. The first is colostrum, produced during pregnancy and the first few days postpartum. Colostrum is packed with immunological benefits. It contains high concentrations of an anti-infective agent that coats your baby’s intestines to protect against the passage of germs and foreign proteins that could create allergic sensitivities. Another ingredient is a pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor, which protects and repairs your infant’s intestine. It may not seem like you produce very much, but your baby’s stomach is the size of a marble at birth. Colostrum is nature’s perfect food until your milk comes in.

Around day 3 or 4, your milk increases in volume and changes in composition. You will know this happens when your breasts feel engorged. Maturation of your milk continues from two weeks until around 4-6 weeks. Your milk decreases protein and antibodies during this transitional period and increases lactose, fat, and water-soluble vitamins. By 4–6 weeks, your milk stabilizes, maintaining a perfect balance of nutrients for your growing baby.

How Milk Production Works 

Milk production works on a supply and demand system. This principle is the cornerstone of breastfeeding. The more milk you remove, the more your body produces. The first 2–3 weeks are crucial for establishing your supply, so frequent nursing is important. It is important to know that each breast calibrates individually. You do not need to obsess over equally splitting the time between your left and right breasts, but ensure you use both throughout the day.

How Often to Breastfeed 

In the early weeks, expect to breastfeed every 2–3 hours or on demand. Babies naturally lose weight after birth. You may need to ensure you feed them every few hours, even at night, until they reach their birth weight. Consult your pediatrician or a lactation consultant for personalized recommendations. Once you establish breastfeeding and better understand your baby’s cues, you can relax about how often you are breastfeeding.

Perfecting the Latch

You will hear over and over again breastfeeding is not supposed to hurt. I have yet to meet a mom who entirely agrees with that statement. Your nipples will be sensitive in the beginning. However, they should not be cracked or bleeding. The latch is everything, and you will be so much more comfortable if your baby latches properly. This means they open their mouth pretty wide, and your breast is in their mouth. If they only have your nipple in their mouth, you won’t be comfortable, and they won’t get much milk. When your baby latches on, they start with quick short sucking motions. This triggers your milk release, sometimes called a letdown, and once milk is flowing, their sucking will slow down.

If it hurts or you are uncomfortable, break the suction and help your baby get a better latch. You do not want to pull your nipple out of your baby’s mouth without breaking the suction because it will be uncomfortable. To break their latch, put a finger in the corner of their mouth between their gums and turn your finger. The better the latch, the more comfortable you will be and the more effectively your baby will remove milk.

Breastfeeding Gets Easier

The first few days and weeks of breastfeeding can be overwhelming as you and your baby adjust to this new routine. The good news is that it gets easier. Feedings will become more spaced out, and you’ll find your rhythm, making breastfeeding feel less demanding. While it requires effort and commitment, the benefits for your baby’s health and development make it worthwhile.

Skin-to-Skin Contact

Skin-to-skin contact is one of the most effective ways to bond with your baby and support their development. Placing your baby’s bare skin directly on your chest helps stabilize their heart rate, breathing, and temperature and reduces stress for both of you. It also increases your interactions with your baby and the likelihood and length of breastfeeding. In the early weeks, aim for at least 60 minutes of skin-to-skin contact daily. Skin-to-skin contact is most important in the first few weeks, but there is no time limit on when to stop skin-to-skin contact. Dads and partners can also participate in skin-to-skin contact to promote bonding.

Managing Spitting Up

It is common for babies to spit up milk after feedings or even in the middle of a feeding. While this can be inconvenient, especially when it ends up all over you, it rarely bothers babies. While it may seem like your baby spits up everything they just drank, it looks like more than it is.

To minimize spit-up, try burping your baby during and after feedings, and keep them upright for 20 to 30 minutes after eating. Burping helps get the air out of your baby’s tummy so it isn’t coming back up, along with some of the milk they just had. To burp your baby, you can hold them against your shoulder and gently rub or pat their back. You can also hold them in a sitting-up position in your lap and lean them slightly forward while gently patting their back. This is where burp cloths are handy, and you will probably go through a lot.

Diapering

Changing diapers is a big part of life with a newborn. Observing diaper output is a good way to know that your baby is consuming enough milk. In the first 24 hours, expect to see black, tar-like meconium, followed by brown, sticky poop on day two. By days three to five, your baby’s stool will transition to green and then yellow, with three or more poopy diapers a day becoming the norm. At your early pediatrician appointments, your pediatrician will ask how many wet and poopy diapers your baby has on a typical day. Keep a sheet of paper and pen next to your diaper changing station to keep track for the first week or so. Changing diapers is also a great area where partners can pitch in and help.

Newborn Sleep Patterns

Babies are hard-wired not to sleep for long periods and sleep in a polyphasic pattern, on and off throughout the day and night. Breastfed babies will sleep for shorter stretches than babies on formula because breastmilk is easily digested, and your baby needs to be fed more often. Even when examining studies on sleep for babies, researchers define sleeping through the night as 5-6 hours. They should start falling into a day-and-night rhythm around three or four months. By one year of age, they should be sleeping for a relatively long stretch at night with two naps during the day. By age four, they should sleep longer at night with one daytime nap. 

You can expect to get less sleep and to have your sleep disrupted by your baby. All you can do is prioritize sleep as much as possible within the constraints of your parenting responsibilities. Sleep when the baby sleeps may sound cliché, but napping can help you cope with sleep deprivation.

SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) Prevention

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is the unexplained death of a baby under one year old, and it usually happens while they are sleeping. SIDS is a concern for many parents, but following safe sleep guidelines can significantly reduce the risk.

The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommendations for a safe sleep environment, including:

• Babies should be flat on their back (supine position) every time they go to sleep until age one.
• Infants should be placed on a firm sleep surface (e.g., mattress in a safety-approved crib) covered by a fitted sheet with no other bedding or soft objects.
• Mothers should breastfeed exclusively or feed with expressed milk for 6 months. The protective effect of breastfeeding increases with exclusivity. However, any breastfeeding has been shown to be more protective against SIDS than no breastfeeding.
• Infants sleep in the parents’ room, close to the parents’ bed, but on a separate surface designed for infants, ideally for the first year of life, but at least for the first 6 months.
• Keep soft objects and loose bedding away from the infant’s sleep area to reduce the risk of SIDS, suffocation, entrapment, and strangulation. This includes pillows, stuffed animals, quilts, comforters, blankets, and nonfitted sheets.
• Consider offering a pacifier at nap time and bedtime. Although the mechanism is yet unclear, studies have reported a protective effect of pacifiers on the incidence of SIDS. The protective effect of the pacifier is observed even if the pacifier falls out of the infant’s mouth.

Welcoming Visitors and Setting Boundaries

Many friends and family members will likely want to visit and meet your baby in the first few days and weeks. However, you should never feel obligated to host visitors if you’d rather not. Your primary job is to care for yourself and your baby during this time, and it’s okay to prioritize your needs over others’ expectations. If you choose to have visitors, don’t hesitate to ask them to pitch in. You can ask them to bring a meal, help with laundry or dishes, or hold your baby so you can take a shower or a much-needed nap.

Your partner can greatly help play the gatekeeper role and set boundaries for guests. Consider setting expectations up front and keeping visits to a short timeframe to avoid getting burned out on entertaining guests. Communicating your needs can make this time more manageable and enjoyable for everyone.

Protecting Your Newborn’s Health

Newborns have underdeveloped immune systems, making them more vulnerable to illnesses. Fortunately, there are simple steps you can take to reduce the risk of getting sick. Ensure that anyone around your baby is healthy and free from symptoms of a cold, flu, or other illness. While it may feel inconvenient to ask someone with a sore throat or sniffles to reschedule their visit, it’s essential to prioritize your baby’s health and wait until they are fully well.

It’s also a good idea to request visitors wash their hands upon arrival. Depending on your comfort level, you may limit physical contact by asking visitors not to hold your baby or avoid kissing them to minimize the spread of germs. Clear communication about your boundaries can go a long way in keeping your newborn safe and giving you peace of mind during these early weeks.

The best thing you can do to boost your baby’s immune system is to breastfeed. Breast milk contains living cells to inhibit the growth of bacteria and viruses. Your body will produce antibodies in response to germs your baby transfers to your breasts. Then, you pass those antibodies back to your baby through breast milk. If you get any vaccines after you have your baby, you can also pass antibodies from a vaccine in breast milk.

While many vaccines are recommended during an infant’s first year, few are given immediately after birth. This creates a brief window of vulnerability when your baby may be exposed to illnesses before they develop their own immunity. Every family approaches vaccines differently; some may choose to require vaccinations for close contacts, while others may not. Whatever you decide, it’s important to feel confident in your choice. For more guidance, check out this episode on requesting close contacts to get vaccinated.

Caring for Your Baby’s Umbilical Cord

After birth, your baby will have a small stump of their umbilical cord attached. As it dries, the stump will change from bluish-white to black and eventually fall off within the first three weeks. During this time, keeping the area clean and dry is important to ensure proper healing. If the stump becomes sticky or dirty, clean it gently with plain water and dry it with an absorbent cloth or fanning it. Exposing the cord to air as much as possible will help it dry out faster. Folding down the front of your baby’s diaper can prevent it from rubbing against or covering the stump.

It’s crucial to avoid pulling off the stump, even if it appears to be barely hanging on, as this could cause irritation or infection. Letting it fall off naturally is the best way to ensure it heals properly. While it’s normal to see a small amount of blood, like a scab, you should contact your pediatrician if the area around the belly button becomes red, swollen, or begins to ooze.

Vernix

During the second trimester, your baby’s skin becomes covered with a protective coating called vernix caseosa. The word “vernix” is derived from Latin, meaning “varnish,” and “caseosa” translates to “cheese,” describing its greasy, cheese-like texture. This white coating protects your baby’s delicate skin from abrasions and hardening caused by prolonged exposure to amniotic fluid. As delivery approaches, much of the vernix sheds. At birth, your baby’s skin may still be partially or fully covered with vernix, especially in the folds of their skin. Babies born earlier or via cesarean delivery often retain more vernix.

Vernix plays several vital roles during and after birth. It acts as a barrier to water loss, helps regulate your baby’s temperature, and has antimicrobial properties that protect against bacteria. Additionally, it contains vitamin E and melanin, which are antioxidants, and its immune proteins are similar to those found in breast milk.

After birth, you can decide whether to leave the vernix on your baby’s skin, rub it in, or wipe it off. Many hospitals have traditionally wiped off vernix immediately, but there’s no risk in leaving it on. If left undisturbed, vernix will mostly absorb into your baby’s skin within 24 hours and should be fully absorbed by day five or six. Hospitals may offer to bathe your baby shortly after birth, but this is entirely your choice. While a bath provides a clean start, it also removes the vernix, reduces skin-to-skin contact, and can temporarily lower your baby’s body temperature. If you delay bathing, you can still clean specific areas, like your baby’s bottom, as needed.

Bathing Basics

Until your baby’s umbilical cord stump falls off, avoid giving them a bath with their body submerged in water. Sponge baths are the safest option during the first two to three weeks. You don’t need to use soap; warm water is enough to keep your baby clean. Wrap them in a warm towel to keep them comfortable, and gently wash them from head to toe with a warm washcloth, paying special attention to creases under their neck, arms, and diaper area.

Once the umbilical cord stump falls off, you can begin giving your baby a regular bath. Many parents find a baby tub or sink the most convenient option. Bathing a slippery, wet baby can be tricky, so make sure your baby is secure and not at risk of slipping. Gather all your supplies beforehand to avoid leaving your baby unattended, even for a moment. Babies don’t need daily baths; every other day or a few times a week is plenty to keep them clean.

Clothing and Laundry Tips

As a general rule, dress your baby in one more layer than you would wear to keep them comfortable. Be prepared for frequent outfit changes, spit-up and the occasional diaper explosion are all part of the parenting journey. You’ll likely go through a lot of baby clothes and burp cloths, which means plenty of laundry.

Since babies have sensitive skin, it’s a good idea to wash new clothes, blankets, towels, and any other fabrics that will touch their skin before using them. These items are often treated with harsh chemicals like formaldehyde during manufacturing. Some parents opt for detergents marketed specifically for baby clothes, while others choose fragrance-free or “free and clear” options to reduce the risk of skin irritation. You may also want to skip fabric softeners and dryer sheets, which can contain additional chemicals.

Consumer Reports found that detergents branded “free,” “gentle,” or “clear” don’t deliver the same cleaning power as other top-rated detergents. Ultimately, the best choice is one that works for your baby and your household. With the amount of laundry you’ll be doing, you might find it easiest to wash baby clothes the same way you do the rest of your family’s laundry. 

Soothing Techniques

Crying is your baby’s primary way of communicating in the early months. Most of the time, your baby cries because they need food, a clean diaper, or simply your attention.

One effective method for soothing your baby is the “5 S’s,” developed by pediatrician Dr. Harvey Karp. These techniques help recreate the comforting environment of the womb, easing your baby’s transition to the outside world. The 5 S’s include:

1. Swaddle: wrap your baby like a mini burrito with their arms snug and straight at their sides (hips loose). You can swaddle your baby in a swaddle blanket or use wraps specifically for swaddling. This is thought to recreate the gentle hug and security of the womb and decrease the startle reflex.
2. Side or stomach position: Hold your baby positioned on the side or stomach or even over your shoulder. This is only used for holding your baby; they should always be on their back to sleep.
3. Shush: make a “shhh” sound or play white noise to mimic the sound of blood flow in the womb.
4. Swing: swing or jiggle in fast, tiny movements while supporting your baby’s head and neck.
5. Suck: sucking on a pacifier, thumb, or breast helps soothe your baby.

Each baby is different, so it may take some time to determine which techniques work best or if a combination of these methods is most effective. With patience and practice, you’ll learn how to soothe your baby and help them feel safe and secure.

Postpartum Healing

Many new moms focus so much on preparing for childbirth that they overlook what happens after birth. Your body needs care and patience as it heals from nine months of pregnancy, childbirth, and the process of establishing breastfeeding. Postpartum recovery is a period of significant physical and emotional changes, and some aspects of this experience may come as a surprise. It’s important to know what to expect, how to prepare, and what warning signs to watch for to ensure you’re recovering well. For more guidance, check out these helpful episodes:

• Fourth Trimester What to Expect
• Fourth Trimester Planning Ahead
• Protecting Your Mental Health (Baby Blues and Postpartum Depression)

Embrace the Transition

The first few days and weeks with a newborn are a period of significant adjustment. Be kind to yourself and focus on what matters most: your recovery and bonding with your baby. Let go of the pressure to keep a spotless house or prepare elaborate meals, and don’t hesitate to ask for help, especially from your partner or loved ones.

Remember, feeling like you’re figuring things out as you go is perfectly normal. No one expects you to have it all together on day one or even day 100. Parenthood is a journey, and even experienced parents are still learning. Take it one day at a time, trust yourself, and know you are doing an amazing job.

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