Your First Week at Home with a Newborn: What to Expect

You're home. The midwives have gone. The visitors haven't arrived yet. And you're looking at this tiny, perfect, completely helpless human being thinking: what do I do now?

Welcome to the most intense, beautiful, disorienting week of your life.

Day 1–2: Just survive

Your only job right now is to feed the baby, keep them warm, and rest whenever you possibly can. That's it. The housework, the thank-you cards, the Instagram announcement — all of that can wait.

What's normal in the first 48 hours:

• A very sleepy baby (they've had a big experience too)
• Lots of feeding — 8–12 times in 24 hours is normal
• Meconium nappies — dark greenish-black, sticky. Transitioning to mustard yellow by day 3–4
• Your baby losing a small amount of birth weight (up to 10% is normal; they'll regain it by 2 weeks)
• You feeling tearful, shaky, or stunned — completely normal, whatever kind of birth you had

The first feed

Whether you're breastfeeding or formula feeding, getting that first feed in is the priority. Skin-to-skin contact in the first hour helps with breastfeeding and calms both of you.

If breastfeeding isn't going smoothly from the start — please ask for help before you leave hospital or birthing centre. A midwife, a lactation consultant, or a peer supporter can make a huge difference.

Sleep: take it where you find it

You will not sleep normally for a while. Newborns sleep in short bursts (2–4 hours typically) and don't yet know the difference between day and night.

What helps:

• Sleep when the baby sleeps — really
• Share night feeds with your partner if you can
• Keep night feeds quiet and dark (no stimulation, no bright lights)
• Start gentle "day/night differentiation": bright and noisy during the day, dim and quiet at night

Umbilical cord stump care

The cord stump will dry out and fall off in 1–3 weeks. Keep it clean and dry. Fold the nappy down below it to prevent friction. Don't try to remove it yourself — it will detach on its own.

Signs all is well

• At least 1 wet nappy on day 1, increasing to 6+ by day 5–6
• Baby is feeding regularly and you can hear/see swallowing
• Baby wakes for feeds (very sleepy babies who won't rouse to feed need to be checked by a midwife)
• Colour is good — slight jaundice (yellowing) is common but watch that it doesn't worsen

Signs to call your midwife

• Baby won't wake to feed and is very difficult to rouse
• Jaundice spreading to arms, legs, or white of eyes
• Fewer wet nappies than expected
• You have a fever, unusual pain, or heavy bleeding
• You feel something is wrong — trust your instincts

Start your memory book now

It sounds counterintuitive when you're this exhausted, but even a quick voice note in TinyYears — "Day 1 home. Tiny. Perfect. I cried for about an hour." — will be priceless one day.

You've got this. 💛

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