Newborn babies usually feed often, sleep in short blocks around the clock, and cry for reasons that are not always clear. This page describes what is usual for newborns in general, so the first fortnight feels less strange. It is health information for learning, and it is not medical advice about your baby. Anything about your own baby's health belongs with a midwife, health visitor, paediatrician or doctor, and anything that frightens you belongs with emergency care today.

The shape of the first two weeks

Most of a newborn's day is feeding, sleeping, being changed and being held. There is no routine yet, and days and nights run into each other.

Babies also spend part of the day awake and alert, often for short stretches. Holding your baby skin to skin helps keep them warm and settled, and it is a good time to feed.

A newborn's breathing can be irregular, with faster and slower patches, and they make a lot of small noises. What matters is not the noise but the signs listed further down this page, which need care quickly.

Feeding

Newborns feed frequently. NHS guidance says a breastfed baby feeds at least 8 to 12 times, or more, in every 24 hours during the first few weeks, and may want to feed roughly every hour in the first days.

The first milk, colostrum, is thick and golden, and a baby takes only a small amount of it at each feed. Feeds usually become longer and less frequent once fuller milk comes in after a few days.

Bottle-fed babies also vary, and take different amounts at different feeds. Feeding your newborn covers cues, patterns and what a midwife or health visitor looks at when feeding is being checked.

Weight in the first days

Babies commonly lose some weight in the first days after birth, then start to gain. NHS guidance says babies are weighed during the first two weeks to see that birthweight is being regained, and that most babies are at or above their birthweight by three weeks old.

A midwife or health visitor is the person who weighs your baby, watches a feed and puts the number in context. No app can do that, and this page cannot tell you whether your own baby's weight is on track.

If you are worried about feeding at any point, ask for a feed to be watched rather than waiting for the next appointment.

Nappies and what comes out

A newborn's first poo, meconium, is sticky and greenish-black, and may appear during the birth or in the first 48 hours. NHS guidance says the colour changes to yellow or mustard after a few days, and that newborn babies are usually changed around six to eight times a day.

Breastfed babies' poo is runny and does not smell much. Formula-fed babies' poo is firmer, darker and stronger smelling.

Wet nappies matter because they are one of the things clinicians ask about. Far fewer wet nappies than usual, or no wet nappy in the past 12 hours, is a reason to seek urgent care. There is more in nappies, skin and the cord stump.

The cord stump and the skin

The cord stump is kept clean and dry while it shrivels and drops off. NHS guidance is to wash around it only if it gets dirty with pee or poo, using cotton wool and warm water, then pat it dry.

Newborn skin often looks dry or peels in the first weeks, and many babies have small spots or blotches that come and go. Signs that need care are different: a rash that does not fade when you press it, skin that is blue, grey, pale or mottled, or skin that is cold and clammy.

Jaundice, which means yellow skin or eyes

Jaundice is common in newborn babies. NHS guidance says the yellow is most noticeable at around three days old for most babies who have it, and that it usually takes about two weeks to go. It can be harder to see on black or brown skin, so it helps to look in good light, and at the gums, tongue and the whites of the eyes.

Jaundice still needs to be looked at. NHS advice is to ask urgently for a midwife or GP appointment if you think a baby over 24 hours old is yellow, if jaundice is not improving or is getting worse, or if pee is dark or poo is a pale creamy colour.

A baby under 24 hours old who looks yellow, or a baby with jaundice who is sleepy, floppy, feeding poorly or feverish, needs emergency care rather than an appointment.

Sleep

Newborn sleep comes in short blocks, day and night, and adds up differently for every baby. Nobody sleeps through anything in the first fortnight.

Where and how a baby sleeps is the part with the strongest guidance behind it, and it is worth reading before you are exhausted rather than after. See safer sleep for your baby.

Crying

Crying tends to increase from around two weeks old. It is the most common reason parents feel they are failing, and it is not a verdict on you.

Newborn crying, and what helps covers what to try, what excessive crying can mean, and what to do when you have had enough — including the safest thing to do when you feel you cannot take any more.

The checks that usually happen

Most countries offer a physical examination of the baby soon after birth, a hearing check, a blood spot test in the first days, and weight checks. WHO's postnatal care guidance describes a series of contacts with a health worker in the first six weeks for both of you, not just the baby.

Ask what your own service offers and when, and say if a check has not happened. Take the record book, if you are given one, to every appointment.

Looking after yourself as well

Your own recovery is happening at the same time and matters just as much. Bleeding, wound healing, pain, mood and sleep all have their own patterns after birth.

Start with the first six weeks after birth, which covers what is usual for you and what needs urgent care.

When to see a doctor

Seek urgent care for any of the signs in the box below, or if your baby seems different in a way you cannot explain. In newborns, a high temperature, a change in breathing, poor feeding and unusual sleepiness are all reasons to be seen the same day rather than watched.

Seek advice sooner rather than later for jaundice, for feeding that is not going well, for a cord stump that looks red or smells, and for anything that worries you at two in the morning. Newborn warning signs is the fuller list.

Seek care now: Contact your local emergency services or go to your nearest emergency department if a baby under three months old has a temperature of 38C or higher, or is breathing fast, working hard to breathe or grunting, has blue, grey, pale or mottled skin, is floppy, is difficult to wake, is refusing feeds, has far fewer wet nappies or none in the past 12 hours, has a bulging or sunken soft spot on the head, has a rash that does not fade when you press it, or has a fit. Femio cannot assess a baby.

Frequently asked questions

How often should a newborn feed?

Often, and not on a schedule. NHS guidance describes at least 8 to 12 feeds in 24 hours in the first weeks for breastfed babies, with feeds sometimes closer together than that.

Is it usual for a newborn to lose weight?

Weight loss in the first days is common, and babies are weighed in the first two weeks to check that birthweight is being regained. Whether your own baby's pattern is fine is a question for a midwife or health visitor.

How long does the cord stump take to fall off?

It dries and drops off in the first weeks. Ask for advice if it is still attached after your baby is three weeks old, or if the skin around it looks red, smells, or leaks.

My baby makes odd noises and breathes unevenly. Is that a problem?

Newborns are noisy and their breathing is uneven. Fast breathing, grunting, pauses, or sucking in under the ribs are different, and need urgent care.