Your baby already has more skills and abilities than you think. Discover your unique little one.
Now that your baby is here, you’ll gradually get to know each other. Little by little, your newborn will also discover the world around them. Though they are still completely dependent on you, they have more skills and abilities than you might think.
Interaction
The best way to get to know your baby is to spend lots of time with them. You’ll figure out their temperament and how sensitive they are to touch, noise, and their visual environment. How a child wants to be carried, fed, comforted, entertained, and soothed is as unique as they are. With time, you’ll get to know what your baby likes and what bothers them.
To learn more, check out our fact sheets:
Sleep
Your newborn will spend most of their time either sleeping, feeding, or crying. Some babies sleep more often, waking up mainly to nurse, while others naturally spend most of their time awake.
In general, newborns sleep about 14 to 18 hours a day. They usually sleep 2 to 4 hours at a time—closer to 2 hours if they’re breastfed. It will take 8 to 10 weeks for your baby to begin distinguishing between day and night. Once they do, they’ll start to nurse more during the day and less at night.
To learn more about your baby’s sleep, check out our fact sheets:
Feeding
It is recommended that you feed your baby “on demand,” meaning when your baby shows signs of hunger. Newborns usually feed more than 8 times in 24 hours. There’s no need to limit the number or duration of feedings. A baby never takes more milk than necessary. They know how much they need.
To learn more about breastfeeding and feeding your baby, check out our fact sheets:
Crying
Crying is a way for your baby to express hunger, pain, discomfort, tiredness, boredom, and more.
The first three months is the stage when babies cry the most and when their crying is at its most intense. Crying often starts and stops suddenly and without explanation, especially in the late afternoon or early evening. These crying spells generally last about 45 minutes, but can continue for up to 2 hours.
Babies never cry to manipulate you. Consoling your baby every time they cry will not spoil them. When you respond quickly and calmly to their cries, they feel loved and safe, and this helps develop your attachment bond.
To learn more about crying and how to soothe it, check out our fact sheets:
Care and precautions
Newborn babies are unable to hold their heads up on their own, which is why you must always pick up your little one with care, making sure to support their head. The umbilical cord also needs careful treatment. Though it seems there are a thousand different things you need to remember, you’ll get the hang of it soon!
To learn more about how to care for your baby, check out our fact sheets:
Exploration
In the first few months of life, your baby is discovering their environment with all their senses. To help your baby learn about the world, give them things to look at—such as a mobile and objects in contrasting colours—that are shiny, move, or make sounds. Play music, or give them a rattle to shake, or fabrics and soft toys to touch.
For more ways to stimulate your baby, check out our fact sheets:
Photo: GettyImages/Olga Smolina