Welcome to parenthood!

Newborn

For nine months, you’ve been looking forward to finally meeting your baby! This phase is about adjusting to a new situation in which you suddenly have to care for a small human being who is completely dependent on you. At the same time, your little one needs to get used to life outside the womb. From an ideal living environment with a comfortable temperature of 37 degrees, babies suddenly find themselves in a cold world. Welcome to the newborn phase in which your baby sleeps, eats, cries and poops!

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Getting to know your baby

Getting to know your baby

It may seem as if all your baby does the first few weeks is sleep, cry, eat and poop. But while you’re getting to know your child, you’ll discover that spending a day with a newborn also includes cuddling and playtime. At first, much of your time will be spent getting to know your baby, what it likes and doesn’t like. Download our app to learn about the 10 mental leaps in the development of your baby.

Having a newborn can feel like a rollercoaster for parents. Not only do you have to get used to a baby, but also to being a parent. You are now responsible for another human being’s life. Take the time to get used to the new situation and your days will gradually become more structured for both your baby and yourself.

Sleep, nutrition and crying

Yawn! Your baby sleeps most of the day

A newborn baby needs a lot of sleep. Newborns sleep an average of 14 to 18 hours every 24 hours. Some babies need more sleep than others, so it is important that you not only consider the average number of sleep hours of newborns, but especially your baby’s specific sleep needs. It may seem like you have a lot of time for yourself, but it probably does not feel that way. Newborns have a short sleep cycle, which can vary from 30 minutes to three or four hours. This is not only during the daytime, but also at night. This means that a newborn sleeps quite a lot, but is also often awake in between. Babies do not develop a day-night cycle until around the age of three months. Most babies start sleeping for longer stretches at around two months, especially at night.

Proper nutrition is essential for your baby

Food is essential to survival, so it is only logical that this part of the brain is very active. Babies drink an average of six to eight times a day, especially during the newborn stage. Some drink even more when breastfed because breastmilk is often easier to digest. Apart from the fact that your baby needs proper nutrition to grow, feedings are also often an enjoyable and intimate moment between you and your baby, whether you are breastfeeding or bottle feeding.

What a newborn can see and hear

A newborn can hear well because hearing (in most cases) is fully developed before birth. That is why it is always recommended that you talk and sing a lot to your baby during pregnancy. He or she will hear your voice and recognize it immediately.

A baby sees the world very differently than we adults do. In the first two months of a baby’s life, he or she can see, but not very well.

A baby’s eye muscles are not fully developed at birth. Babies primarily see light, shapes and movement. At first, a baby’s world is mostly black and white because he or she can not yet see actual colors, but can see the difference between colors. To a baby, these appear as different shades of grey. At the age of around one month, babies start seeing patterns. After this, they start to distinguish colors. The first color babies can see is red, followed by green and yellow.

Crying is part of being a baby

Sometimes, it may seem like all your baby does is cry! This is completely normal because crying is the only way babies can communicate. The crying of a baby is not comparable to the crying of an older child (or adult) because babies cry more easily. When they register something that feels even the slightest bit uncomfortable, they will start to cry. This does not mean that your baby is throwing a tantrum. The exact opposite, in fact! One baby cries more than the other and this is completely normal. A few facts about babies and crying:

Babies cry an average of 60 to 90 minutes a day
One in ten babies cries more than three hours a day
Most babies cry most often in the late afternoon/early evening
After eight weeks, the number of hours a day that your baby cries will start to decrease
When your baby cries, this is usually because he or she needs something, such as food, a clean nappy or attention, or is tired
Crying could also mean your baby is going through a leap. Learn about the 10 leaps in the Wonder Weeks app

Playtime for newborns

Playtime with your baby is essential for overall development. It may seem like you can’t really play with a newborn, but there are absolutely different ways to play with such a young baby! Through play, your child learns about the world around him or her and how to cope with it. It also ensures that the different parts of your baby’s brain can connect and grow. Play that involves movement promotes muscle strength and helps to develop fine and gross motor skills. So, you may be wondering how exactly to play with a newborn. Babies love patterns, which is why they love books and cuddly toys, and you can also talk and sing to your baby often. Other ways to play are tickling, cuddling and counting toes. It is the simple things that are best for newborns.