Bringing your newborn baby home for the first time can bring up a lot of emotions. You may feel excited to bring them home but anxious about having to do everything on your own.<\/p>\n
Luis Garcia, MD<\/a>, a pediatrician at OSF HealthCare, shared tips on your baby\u2019s first few days of life.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the most important things is giving your baby a loving environment,\u201d Dr. Garcia said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that includes everyone. It\u2019s about teamwork.\u201d<\/p>\n Your baby is entirely dependent on you. Making sure they\u2019re safe, loved and cared for is the most important thing.<\/p>\n After that, Dr. Garcia said that parents need to manage expectations. Caring for a newborn means needing to be flexible. Babies don\u2019t have any routines yet. They can be unpredictable. If parents have expectations for the way they want things to go, they may be disappointed or frustrated when they don\u2019t go as planned.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no one thing that is normal for babies. They operate on a range of what\u2019s normal.<\/p>\n \u201cBabies may poop<\/a> four to seven times a day. Or they may poop once every seven days. And that could be normal,\u201d Dr. Garcia said.<\/p>\n That\u2019s true of their eating and sleeping habits, as well. But Dr. Garcia said babies need four major things: sleep, food<\/a>, hygiene and play.<\/p>\n The most important thing when it comes to sleep<\/a> is keeping your baby safe. Your baby should sleep in a bed of their own, not in a car seat or swing and not in bed with you. Their bed should be completely empty except for a crib sheet.<\/p>\n \u201cKeep your baby\u2019s room quiet, dark and temperature controlled. Their room should be around 70-71 degrees Fahrenheit,\u201d Dr. Garcia said.<\/p>\n Babies usually sleep about 16 hours a day \u2013 sometimes more, sometimes less.<\/p>\n For the first three or four months, babies don\u2019t have a regular sleeping routine. They don\u2019t know the difference between night and day. Many babies sleep all day and are awake a lot through the night.<\/p>\n Many new parents find sleep deprivation to be the hardest part of caring for a newborn. It would be a lot easier if your baby slept through the night, but even if they could it wouldn’t be healthy for the baby.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t let them sleep through the night in the first few months. Especially premature babies,\u201d Dr. Garcia said.<\/p>\n For at least the first four months of life, babies need to wake up at least once during the night to eat.<\/p>\n If you think your baby isn\u2019t sleeping as well as they should, your child\u2019s pediatrician can help you to find some ways that may help your baby sleep through the night<\/a>.<\/p>\nHow do you take care of a newborn?<\/h2>\n
Sleeping<\/h2>\n
How do I swaddle a newborn baby?<\/h3>\n