The first few days after bringing your newborn baby home can be simultaneously joyful, overwhelming, and exhausting. Caring for a helpless new life is a big responsibility, and establishing breastfeeding or bottle feeding is a top priority. Proper nutrition sets the stage for your baby’s lifelong health.
While getting feeding established, you are also recovering from childbirth and adjusting to a huge life change. It’s normal to feel tired and emotional. Take it one feeding at a time, ask for help when needed, and know that it will get easier. With patience and practice, you will get the hang of caring for your precious new arrival.
What to Expect the First Days After Birth
After birth, babies are hardwired to seek the breast and feed. However, every newborn is unique. Yours may latch on immediately after delivery or be too sleepy those first days to show interest. Reasons your baby may be slow to feed at first include:
- Medication given during labor made baby drowsy
- Born via c-section or with forceps/vacuum assistance
- Born prematurely
- Experienced slow growth in the womb
- Has newborn jaundice
While in the hospital, your baby will stay in your room in a bassinet for bonding time, known as “rooming in.” Take advantage of this 24/7 access to get familiar with your baby’s sounds, movements, and feeding cues. Don’t hesitate to ask nurses for help. Before discharge, you’ll be given instructions on feeding and connect with a lactation consultant if breastfeeding.
That Crucial First Feed
Your baby’s first feed is a special moment. If interested and alert after birth, babies instinctively crawl up their mother’s belly toward the breast. This innate reflex lasts just an hour or so. Skin-to-skin contact right after delivery facilitates first suckling. As your newborn smells, hears, and feels you close, it helps them relax, stay warm, and root around for the nipple.
If bottle feeding, you can still do skin-to-skin while giving that first bottle. Hold baby upright, tucked close to your body for security. Make eye contact and talk gently. Go slowly so they don’t get overwhelmed with too much formula too fast.
Newborns have tiny bellies, so they feed frequently day and night. Colostrum, your early milk, comes in small amounts that are perfect for your baby’s needs. This liquid gold milk provides immune protection, nutrition, and helps the gut mature. Over the next days, your mature milk supply will increase.
The Importance of Skin-to-Skin Contact
Right after birth, holding your naked newborn against your bare chest and abdomen for uninterrupted skin-to-skin time is highly recommended. This intimate contact provides numerous benefits for both mom and baby by:
- Calming your baby and regulating heart rate, breathing, and temperature
- Reducing infant crying and stress
- Promoting bonding, attachment, and recognition of mom
- Colonizing your baby’s skin with your beneficial bacteria
- Stimulating your breastmilk supply
- Facilitating breastfeeding by encouraging baby to latch
Skin-to-skin can be done at any time for as long as wanted. It is an ideal way to soothe a fussy baby, make breastfeeding more relaxing, or just spend quality time together. Many moms love naptime skin-to-skin.
Signs Your Newborn is Hungry
Cue-based feeding means watching your baby closely for any hunger signals, then promptly reacting by feeding them. Since newborns eat so frequently, don’t wait for crying, which is a late sign of hunger. Early hunger cues include:
- Moving mouth or sucking motions
- Raising head/opening mouth as if searching
- Bringing hands to mouth
- Nuzzling into breast/chest
- Increased alertness or activity
Crying is the last resort when your baby is extremely hungry and frustrated. Over time you will come to understand your baby’s unique way of saying “I’m hungry!” Responding to those early cues will keep your baby feeling secure.
Getting Breastfeeding Support
Breastmilk is ideally suited to your baby’s needs. The nurses will help get you off to a good start by showing proper positioning, attachment, and how to hand express colostrum. Don’t hesitate to ask for help anytime, day or night. If baby is struggling to latch, you can request an appointment with the hospital’s lactation consultant for specialized support.
Nurses can also provide instruction for formula feeding, including how much and how often to feed, proper bottle preparation, pace feeding technique, burping, and recognizing satiety cues. Don’t worry about overfeeding breastmilk as the content self-regulates according to baby’s needs. For formula, follow recommended amounts.
Breastfeeding Challenges: Engorgement and Jaundice
Two common hurdles when your milk comes in around day 3-5 postpartum are engorgement and jaundice. Engorgement happens when milk builds up, making breasts extremely full, firm, and uncomfortable. To relieve, feed baby frequently and use cool compresses. If too hard for baby to latch, try reverse pressure softening.
Jaundice is caused by elevated bilirubin. It makes baby’s skin appear yellow. Jaundice is common but call your pediatrician if prolonged or severe. Frequent breastfeeding helps eliminate bilirubin so nurse baby often skin-to-skin.
Going Home from Hospital
Before hospital discharge, nurses will provide instructions on feeding, what to expect, and who to call for lactation support at home. Preemies or babies with health issues like tongue-tie may need specialized follow-up. During the first week home, a visiting nurse will monitor baby’s weight, jaundice, etc.
It’s normal for babies to lose around 5-10% of body weight the first days as fluid is excreted. Growth gets re-established within two weeks at which point they surpass birth weight. If breastfeeding, keep nursing on cue around the clock. If formula feeding, offer bottles slowly and patiently. Get comfortable feeding skin-to-skin.
Feeding Patterns the First Weeks
By weeks 2-4, you may notice your baby developing a pattern of feeding frequently at certain times. Many babies cluster feed in the evenings which can be tiring. Take sorely needed naps when possible, hydrate well, and eat nourishing snacks. Remind yourself this too shall pass!
Growth spurts lasting a few days also cause increased hunger. Breastfed babies may want to nurse for long periods cluster-style. Formula fed infants will take bigger bottles more often. These phases increase your milk supply or signal it’s time to increase formula volume.
Some babies feed more at night for comfort. Don’t try to force a schedule. Respond to your baby’s needs and accept your vital role in helping them feel secure. As baby matures over months, they will sleep for longer stretches.
Supplementing Vitamin D
Since breastmilk doesn’t contain enough vitamin D, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends all breastfed infants receive 400 IU of supplemental vitamin D daily beginning soon after birth. Deficiency can impact bone growth and development. Talk to your pediatrician about the best vitamin D supplement for your nursing baby.
Getting Support and Sharing the Load
Caring for a newborn is hard work even when feeding goes smoothly. Emotions may run high those first weeks. Support from loved ones makes all the difference. Don’t try to do everything yourself. Ask your partner, friends, and family for help:
- Cooking meals and doing chores
- Caring for other children
- Running errands like grocery shopping
- Organizing baby’s space and belongings
- Limiting visitors to allow rest and privacy
- Providing encouragement and reassurance
Lasting a lifetime, the parental journey starts with these newborn days. Despite the tiredness and trials, cherish this fleeting time. Before you know it, your tiny baby will be grown. With each feeding you are fulfilling your baby’s needs, developing confidence in your abilities, and building a nurturing bond that forms the basis of health and happiness.
Frequently Asked Questions About Feeding a Newborn Baby:
- How often should a newborn feed?
Newborns need to eat every 2-3 hours, ideally 8-12 times within 24 hours. Their small stomachs empty quickly. Frequency of feeding varies by baby and whether breast or bottle feeding.
- How long should a newborn feed?
Allow your breastfed newborn to nurse from the first breast as long as they want before offering the second. A feeding may last 5-40 minutes. Bottle fed infants often eat 1–3 ounces per feeding. Pace bottle feeding and burp halfway through.
- How do I know if my newborn is eating enough?
Signs your breastfed newborn is eating well include hearing them actively swallow, seeing milk around their mouth after feeding, saturated diapers, and adequate weight gain. For formula, aim for the recommended daily volume.
- Is it normal for newborns to lose weight at first?
It’s common for newborns to lose about 5-10% of birth weight in the first days. This stabilizes within two weeks as feeding gets established. Weight loss beyond 10% calls for an evaluation of feeding technique, intake, etc.
- How can I tell if my newborn is still hungry after feeding?
If your breast or bottle fed newborn roots for the nipple, sucks their fist, or gets fussy shortly after finishing, they likely need more. Try nursing or offering another 1/2 to full bottle.
- Is it okay to give a newborn a pacifier?
It’s best to wait until breastfeeding is well established, around 3–4 weeks old, before introducing a pacifier. Early pacifier use can interfere with baby’s latch and feeding.
- What if my newborn falls asleep while feeding?
Gently arouse sleepy babies while feeding by undressing, burping, changing the diaper, softly talking, etc. Sleepy babies may not get full feeds, so keep them awake and actively eating.
- How can I get more sleep with a newborn waking to feed at night?
Sleep when baby sleeps during the day. At night, allow others to do diaper changes and bring baby to you for feeding. Avoid stimulation and feed in a dark, boring space. Ask for overnight babysitting help.
- How often should bottle fed newborns eat at night?
While breastfed babies may feed 1-3 times nightly, bottle feeding allows slightly longer sleep stretches. Aim for just one night feeding but follow baby’s hunger cues regardless of day/night.
- Is it normal for newborns to make noise, grunt or strain while feeding?
Occasional noises and strained faces are normal as newborns learn to coordinate sucking, swallowing and breathing. As long as baby seems content, keeps eating and producing wet/dirty diapers, noises are no concern. Discomfort or excessive straining warrants evaluation.