Newborn Behaviors
Newborn babies are funny little creatures! They make strange noises and movements, they don’t know day from night, they cause us to do a lot of extra laundry, and it can be hard to figure out what they are communicating with us.
Some of these behaviors might cause us to think that something is wrong with our baby, or that WE are doing something wrong. But most newborn behaviors that new parents often worry about are completely normal and we just haven’t had a chance to learn about them yet.
Below, I hope to shed some light on a few things my clients often express concern about as well as let you know when a behavior might warrant some additional investigation. Hopefully this will help you experience more joy and confidence while taking care of your new baby. And when you experience these things you can think, “Oh yea, I learned about this!”
Frequent Feeding
Baby will probably want to eat VERY frequently. This is a good thing!
Before they get back up to their birth weight (which we hope to see by 2 weeks old) babies need to eat at LEAST every 3 hours (counting from the start of one feeding to the start of the next) and they will sometimes want to feed much more often than that (sometimes 12+ times in 24 hours). After they are back at birth weight, you usually do not need to wake them to feed if it has been 3 hours and you can just feed based on their feeding cues- although, many babies will continue to eat 8-12 times in 24 hours for the next several months.
Frequent feeding in the early days and weeks helps establish a great milk supply. And it lays the foundation for your long-term milk supply as well! Babies also have very small tummies, and digest breast milk quickly, so eating frequently is perfect for them. Isn’t it amazing how well our body works together with our baby’s? Frequent feeding is great for both of us. Tiring, but great.
One time when I would want to dig deeper or that I would be concerned about frequent feeding is if baby is feeding back to back around the clock and never seems satisfied after a feeding. Check in with an IBCLC if this is the case.
Night Waking
I have a lot of clients who express concerns over their babies waking at night, or not adhering to a sleep schedule. This is one of those instances where we might think we are doing something wrong by not being able to “get the baby on a schedule.”
Maybe this will help you feel better: babies don’t really understand when they are supposed to sleep and when they aren’ because they don’t develop a circadian rhythm until they are a few months old. They have the same needs during the night as they do during the day and they get a lot of their calories in the night (which happens to be an amazing thing for your milk supply and for their growth)!
So although it is very exhausting to be up in the night, rest assured that there is nothing wrong with your baby if they are feeding a few times at night. If your baby is consistently waking hourly each night, check in with an IBCLC and your pediatrician.
Spitting Up
Most babies spit up to some degree. As long as baby is growing and thriving, does not seemed bothered by the spit up, and is not having other symptoms of tummy troubles (a couple examples might be excessive fussiness or blood in their poop), spitting up is not usually something to worry about.
Excessive spit up or fussiness or issues with pooping could be attributed to something like tongue tie or food allergies. If you have concerns about the amount or frequency of the spit up, or if your baby has other gastrointestinal issues like I mentioned above, check in with your pediatrician and IBCLC, and/or a provider who works with babies with food allergies.
Crying
A crying baby never means a failing parent. Babies are going to cry sometimes, and they might not stop crying even with holding, feeding, diaper changes, etc. Try baby wearing, frequent feeding, and some extra skin to skin time with baby.
Put baby in a safe place or hand them over to another caregiver and step away for a moment if you need a break. If you feel that something just isn’t right, or your baby is crying for most of the day, that might warrant some looking into. Check in with your pediatrician and/or IBCLC.
Jitteriness
Jittery movements or jerkiness is another thing that newborns do that can look concerning. However, newborns have a very immature nervous system, and their movements are not as smooth as they will be a couple months down the road, when the nerve pathways mature. These movements will decrease over time, and they do not mean that something is wrong or that your baby is having a seizure (the concern I hear most often). Remember to check in with your pediatrician if you ever have concerns about a movement that you see, or if the movement is associated with loss of consciousness or trouble breathing.
I hope this helped explained some of the funny and confusing things that newborns do! As always, let me know if you have any questions or if you need to set up an appointment to discuss any concerns you might be having. And remember, you’re doing a great job with your baby!