Your baby

Holding your baby

After nine long months of anticipation, seeing and holding your baby for the first time is an incredible experience. You may feel overwhelmed with joy, or quite exhausted and detached after giving birth. All kinds of reactions are perfectly normal.

Yet your baby will love nothing more than being held and cuddled by you – and skin-to-skin contact is a wonderfully warm start in life. This can be the ideal time to try breastfeeding and is a great way to begin bonding.

Of course, many new parents feel nervous and clumsy when holding their tiny bundle. But as long as you support the neck and head, you can’t go far wrong. You’re sure to be surrounded by cooing admirers more than happy to show off their baby holding skills, so you’ll soon figure it out!

Hey good looking!

Of course, your baby is the most beautiful one in the world, but even your little miracle may look less than perfect in the early days. Newborn skin is often spotty or peeling and may be covered in vernix, the creamy white substance that protects a baby’s skin in the womb. Your baby may also have birthmarks, which are very common and quite harmless.

The head may be a little pointed at first, or have marks from a forceps or ventouse delivery. Your baby will have two soft spots on the head, called fontanelles, which close up later. And you may find that your baby has a thick head of hair and luscious lashes – or none at all!

After the cord is clamped, there will be a stump where the tummy button will form, which will shrivel and drop off after a week. And don’t be surprised if your baby seems rather… well endowed at first. Babies of both sexes may have slightly swollen breasts and genitals because of the high hormone levels from mum's body, which will soon subside.

Sleeping and feeding

For the first few weeks, your baby’s routine will probably go something like… feed then sleep, feed then sleep, feed then sleep. In 24 hours, some babies sleep for 21 hours, others for as little as 10 hours, so get your rest while you can!

Tiny babies wake throughout the night for feeds, but if you keep the lights dim, speak quietly and put your baby straight back down to sleep after the feed, gradually you will help your baby to understand the difference between day and night.

Worried about picking up your baby every time he cries? Don’t be. It’s actually good for a baby to be picked up and reassured. Babies who cry for longer are often harder to comfort. If all else fails, try rocking or singing to your baby, take a walk in the fresh air or a drive round the block. Those vibrations work every time!

Your progress

How are you feeling - elated or tearful? Or both? It’s normal for your emotions to be all over the place in the first few days after birth. It’s those hormones busy at work again. You may feel exhausted after the physical demands of the last few weeks. And if you’ve had a difficult birth, it can be particularly hard to recover. So go easy on yourself.

You may not be feeling exactly gorgeous either! Just as you’re coming to terms with your wobbly tummy, your breasts may grow larger as your milk comes in. But remember that all these changes are thankfully not permanent. Although it may be the last thing you feel like doing, now’s a great time to keep doing your pelvic floor exercises. Squeeze and count to ten…

Things to think about or try

Sights and sounds

Newborn babies can see best at about 8-10 inches and they bright colours, so a colourful crib mobile is a welcome sight. Babies also have very sensitive hearing, so keep your baby’s bedroom quiet and calm – though a musical toy fastened to the crib could quickly become a soothing idea.

Breastfeeding

Even if you’re not confident about breast feeding your baby, it’s great to give it a go at first, as the early milk - colostrum - passes antibodies to your baby to protect against infection. Feel free to ask your community midwife or health visitor for as much support as you need to get into a breast feeding routine. After all, breastfeeding is the healthiest way to feed your baby - and it’s free!