Life with a newborn - am I missing something?

[daisy86]

I’m settling into life with my firstborn, who is now two weeks old.

I’m unable to breastfeed at the moment sadly (a whole other story) so baby is formula fed.

So far things are going ok, but I’m worried that I’m not doing enough for my baby.

He basically just sleeps for a couple of hours, wakes up for feeding, I feed and burp him and change his nappy and then he falls back to sleep again until the next time. I’ve been putting him in his pram when he drops off so I can get on with other things.

I’m not able to bathe him yet as his cord is still attached, but have top and tailed a couple of times.

Is there anything else I should be doing for my baby apart from this? It just doesn’t seem enough!

You're doing perfectly, for the first few weeks all they do is eat, sleep, soil repeat.

I was truly shocked about how boring a newborn actually can be, noone tells you that bit!

When I say putting him in his pram - that’s during the day when he’s downstairs with me. He’s in his cot next to my bed overnight!

You have a content baby!!!! You are massively winning! Savour it and rest x

I didn't realise not bathing them until the cord drops off was a thing. We bathed ours from about 3 days old. But that aside, newborns are looking for the very basics - fed, changed and sleep. I'm sure you're doing fine.

Change bum, feed, sleep repeat is pretty much it for the first few weeks. If he wants more stimulation he'll soon let you know. Congratulations on your new arrival

You're doing perfectly, for the first few weeks all they do is eat, sleep, soil repeat.

So that’s really all there is to it? Is there anything else I should be doing to stimulate, bond with or entertain my baby? I’m just worried I’m missing something!

Also, how long does this first phase typically last?

Congratulations!! All this sounds totally normal AND on the luckier side of normal to be honest. My first was a flipping nightmare - wouldn't sleep, wouldn't be put down, fuss fuss fuss. I couldn't get anything done even when DH took him as he didn't want to be out of my arms for longer than about 20 minutes. It was relentless and exhausting! DS2 sounds much more like yours - lots of sleep and feeding. It's a much more relaxed experience I have to say. Enjoy it!

Definitely enjoy and appreciate the nothingness. This is my main goal for baby #2... To appreciate when they don't do anything!! I also remember feeling very surprised about how much my son slept, but he soon made up for that with nap resistance so like I say... Appreciate and don't worry you are doing just perfect!!

As for how long it lasts, I remember at about 6 weeks my son started to be awake a bit longer in the day, and at 2 months I had to actively try to get him to sleep.

Thanks everyone. I just had no idea what to expect I guess. Pleased to know I’m on the right track!

It’s completely normal, all a newborn needs is sleep and food. Also you can bath with the cord on.

Nope. Enjoy your lovely easy baby! Make the most of lots of cuddles, as when they get a bit older they won’t lie still for 5 mins!

Enjoy it - it won't last. My 2 never give me a second's peace. They're not content unless at least one of them (preferably both) is touching me.

Not missing anything, sounds perfect. Enjoy 🙂

In my day they had baths from day 1 - always did them in the evening as they have a good long sleep after.

Enjoy it while it lasts. Sounds perfect.

It can be very easy for the first few weeks IF they are good sleepers, feeding is ok, and you haven’t had a traumatic birth. That’s a big IF though. The hardest thing is getting used to life changing but that’s old hat under lockdown!

Every (almost) parent of a second child wonders how the first newborn seemed so hard, but it’s just the newness first time round. Toddlers are way harder. But never ever tell a first time mum that!

And never tell anyone irl who had a traumatic birth, non sleeper and breastfed (that’s me) that it’s easy, as you might get punched!

You can bath your baby while the cord is attached, so if you want to bath him then do it

Newborns are very basic, they just need their basic needs to be met and lots of cuddles! As he gets older and more alert then you can do more things, but I think most things people do with their babies are to entertain themselves...

Congratulations and be kind to yourself!

He'll let you know if he need anything else, you'll know, trust me.

DS was totally content when he was a newborn, like yours sounds, I cuddled him and read to him while he napped twice a day, he's 10 months old now and actually loves books. Not a fan of being read to when he's in my lap anymore though... So that backfired 🙈

Sounds totally par the course! They sleep a lot of the time, they don't need stimulating or, god forbid, educating or anything. Remember the whole world is pretty overwhelming and mindblowing for them - let them get used to it in their own time.

That’s it! I found newborns incredibly tedious. V cute but there’s nothing much to it.

They get to be a bit more challenging when they start moving around!

Sounds about right. I was surprised at just how boring the first few weeks were. If you want to feel like you're doing something, a few minutes of tummy time is no bad thing but otherwise watch tv and eat cake!

I had a very traumatic birth unfortunately, hence the breastfeeding issue. So I’m counting my blessings that baby seems to be quite contented, for the moment at least.

I thought you weren’t meant to bathe them until the cord drops off because you’re not meant to get it wet?

Lots and lots of cuddles! 🥰

Lots and lots of cuddles!

Perhaps I’m not cuddling him enough? We have a cuddle after feeding but then I tend to put him in his pram once he’s dropped off to sleep...

You are soooo lucky!
I've heard they start to "wake up" and get fussy at some point.
Mine were like that from the get-go .