Newborn babies will be able to lift their head briefly

You didn’t expect newborn babies to be puffy-eyed and wrinkled with a bit of a cone head, but it makes sense considering them long stay in your cramped and watery uterus, followed by a tight squeeze through the birth canal. Luckily newborn babies beautiful to you, and happily they become even more photogenic as the week progresses.

Remember to savor all those first cuddles, first feedings and first skin-to-skin snuggles. Now’s the time to start the bonding process with the newest member of your family. Keep in mind, those feelings of love and attachment don’t always happen automatically but sometimes take time to grow over the weeks and months ahead. 

Newborn babies will be able to lift their head briefly when placed on their tummy. They will also be able to focus on objects that are within 8 to 15 inches away exactly the distance your face will be when you’re gazing at them, something you’ll likely be doing a lot this week.

Newborn babies up to 3 or 4 months old need 14 to 17 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period, usually waking every two to four hours to eat. Newborn babies typically exhibit several reflexes, including the rooting reflex, the sucking reflex and the startle reflex. Baby will lose weight after birth. Nearly all Newborn babies will leave the hospital or birthing center weighing less than when they first checked in.

Newborn babies behavior will be those built-in reflexes that come standard issue to all newborns, including the all-important rooting reflex, which helps baby locate the breast or bottle, and the sucking reflex. Don’t be surprised if your baby seems very sleepy at first. A long stretch of pronounced drowsiness the second and even third day of life is to be expected and possibly designed to give newborns a chance to recover from the exhausting work of being born. They have longer periods of wakefulness as the week’s progress. For now, take advantage of their sleepiness and rest when they resting.

The average newborn babies will weigh in around 7½ pounds and measure about 20 inches long. The vast majority of full-term newborns weigh between 5½ and 9½ pounds and clock in between 18 and 22 inches long.

Newborn babies will lose some weight in the first few days after birth. In fact, nearly all newborns will leave the hospital or birthing center weighing less than when they first checked in, with an average loss of 5 to 10 percent of their birth weight during their first week. Several factors come into play, including your own diet and weight, both before and during pregnancy. Other factors that can play a role include your prenatal health; your own birth weight, plus genetics; whether your baby is a boy or a girl whether this is your firstborn whether your baby is a twin or triplet and your baby’s race.

Breastfed infants who take in only teaspoons of colostrum during the early days of feeding won’t return to their birth weight until well into their second week. Formula-fed newborn babies may see their weight gain creep back up earlier than that.