Bringing a newborn baby home from the hospital is a joyful experience. However, for many new parents, that feeling often comes 
alongside feelings of confusion and frustration. Providing a newborn with care is an around-the-clock job and understanding the basics can help you ease into your new role and feel comfortable caring for your baby. Find out more about caring for a newborn with your pediatricians at Children’s Physicians with locations in Palm City, Jupiter, and Palm Beach Gardens, FL.
Sleeping
A newborn baby sleeps up to 17 hours a day. However, newborn babies do not have the same sleep rhythm as adults, meaning that they sleep in short, two to four-hour bursts for the first few weeks of their lives. Parents will often be up several times a night to feed, change, and comfort their newborn until they begin to sleep longer stretches around six weeks.
Eating
In addition to sleeping a lot, newborns also eat a lot. Breastfed babies eat more frequently than formula-fed babies, but both receive the appropriate nutrients they need to grow and thrive. Newborns need anywhere from eight to 12 feedings a day which equals out to one feeding every two or three hours. Fussing and crying can also indicate that your baby is hungry, but other clues such as rooting (moving the head side to side), suckling the air, and sucking on their fists can help you meet their needs before they become fussy or cry.
Diapers
Whether you cloth diaper or use disposable diapers, one thing remains the same: newborn babies require many diaper changes throughout the day and night. It is not necessary to wake your baby to change their diaper unless they have had a bowel movement. Otherwise, babies normally need a new diaper about every two to three hours. Bowel movements will begin as tarry, black meconium for the first few days as your baby begins eating milk. However, as the bowel movements transition, there will be a wide range of normal as far as color and consistency go.
Newborn Care in Palm City, Jupiter, and Palm Beach Gardens, FL
For more information on newborn care, please contact your child’s pediatricians at Children’s Physicians with locations in Palm City, Jupiter, FL, and Palm Beach Gardens, FL,. Call (561) 626-4000 to schedule your appointment at the Palm Beach Gardens office, (561) 743-9000 to schedule your appointment at the Jupiter office, or (772) 219-4444 to schedule your appointment with your pediatricians at the Palm City office today!