Your 1 and 2 Week Old Baby A Parent's Guide to Newborns

What's New For Infants

The first two weeks after a baby’s birth are generally very uneventful in terms of interaction between baby, parents and siblings. Your new baby will spend much of his time sleeping during these weeks, often causing you to have to wake him up to feed him, change his diapers, etc. You will find yourself wondering when you can play with your baby. Use the time when you are feeding and changing your baby as cuddle time, as time to get to know each other and as time to talk to your baby.

At this point your baby is only awake 10% of the time. This stage is referred to as quiet alert because your baby is often just looking around quietly. Use this time for extra bonding.

Your baby will startle at loud noises like the phone ringing, a plate dropping, or the vacuum cleaner starting up. However, this won’t wake up your baby and your baby will begin to tune it out. You don’t have to worry about too much noise around your baby, as your baby won’t be bothered by it.

Developmental Milestones*

During the first two weeks of life, your baby won’t be doing much except sleeping. In the few minutes of him being awake, you may notice that your baby seems to be able to focus on your face a bit more than before. You may also notice that your baby is trying to lift his head more frequently during tummy time, actually getting it off the floor for several seconds at a time. If your baby isn’t quite accomplishing these tasks yet, he should be by the end of the first month!

Your Baby’s Umbilical Cord

During the first two weeks one of your jobs when changing your baby’s diaper will be taking care of his umbilical cord. Some doctors suggest patting it dry, while others suggest using alcohol swabs to keep it dry and germ-free. As you keep it clean, your will notice the umbilical cord starting to dry up, shrink and fall off. While it looks bad, and may smell bad, it is a natural process. Once it falls off, there might be a tiny spot of bloody puss, which will probably heal on its’ own within a couple of days.

Your Baby’s Stool

The first few stools’ your baby has will likely be black in color. These stools are referred to as meconium. The color of and consistency of your babies stool will change to reflect the way you have chosen to nourish your baby. If you are breastfeeding your baby his stools are likely to be yellowish in color, and very loose. If you are giving your baby formula, the color can be from yellowish, to brown, and possibly much firmer, making it seem like your baby is constipated when he is attempting to have a bowel movement. The frequency of a baby’s bowel movement varies from a few times a week, to once a day, or even every diaper change.

What Might Concern You at 1 and 2 Weeks
Jaundice

You may notice some yellowing of the skin during the first couple   of weeks after birth. This is called jaundice and is more common in breastfeed babies than in formula fed babies. If your baby looks too yellow to you, take him to the doctor who will suggest treatments to help clear it up.

Does your baby spit up?

Some spit up is normal when you burp your baby. Some babies will spit up and it will seem to be more than “normal” to you. If your baby is spitting up a large consistency at a time, projectile, or at times other than when you burp him, it might be a sign of reflux. If you think your baby is spitting up more than what is normal, write it down, take it to your doctor, and get a professional opinion on the situation and what you should do about it.