The first 48 hours at home
What newborns do in the first days, how to care for the cord and diapers, who will check on you both, and the signs that mean you should get help.
Bringing your baby home is exciting, and it can feel daunting too. There's no need to have everything figured out. In the first two days, your main jobs are feeding, changing, keeping your baby warm and close, and resting as much as you can yourself.
What's normal for a newborn
Newborns sleep a lot, but in short stretches, and wake often to feed, day and night. Expect at least eight feeds in 24 hours. Their breathing can be a little irregular, with snuffly noises and pauses of up to about 10 seconds. Pauses like these are called periodic breathing and can be normal. They often sneeze and hiccup too. A pause of 20 seconds or longer, or lips or a face that turn blue or gray, is an emergency: call emergency services. Their hands and feet may look slightly bluish and feel cool while their body stays warm.
Their first poops are dark and sticky. Over the next few days they change to green and then yellow as feeding gets going. The number of wet diapers should go up day by day. Most newborns lose a little weight in the first days, and that's expected.
Caring for the cord
The stump of the umbilical cord usually dries up and falls off within the first couple of weeks. Keep it clean and dry, fold the top of the diaper down below it, and let it fall off on its own. A little dried blood is normal. Contact your midwife, doctor or pediatrician if the skin around it becomes red and swollen, smells bad or oozes.
Bathing and changing
Your baby doesn't need a daily bath. Until the cord falls off, a sponge bath with warm water and a soft cloth, for the face, hands, neck and diaper area, is plenty. Clean the diaper area at each change, wiping from front to back, and let the skin dry before putting on a fresh diaper.
Checks in the first days
Your baby will have some checks soon after birth, such as weighing, a blood spot test from a heel prick and a hearing screening. Depending on where you live, a midwife may visit you at home, or you'll take your baby to a pediatrician or doctor within a few days. Before you leave the hospital, find out who will see you both next, and when.
Crying and settling
All babies cry. It's how your newborn tells you they need something: food, a clean diaper, warmth, comfort or closeness. You can't spoil a newborn by holding them. Skin-to-skin contact, gentle rocking, a soothing voice and a calm room often help.
Never shake a baby. If the crying feels like too much, put your baby down safely on their back in their crib, step away for a few minutes, and call someone you trust.
Visitors and help
It's fine to keep visits short or to say "not yet". Ask visitors to wash their hands, to stay away if they're unwell, and not to kiss your baby's face. The most helpful visitors bring food, do a load of laundry, or hold the baby while you shower or sleep.
Looking after yourself
You're recovering too. Rest whenever your baby sleeps, eat and drink regularly, and let other people take care of everything else. Bleeding after birth is heavy at first and should slowly ease. If you soak through a pad in an hour or less, or pass large clots, call emergency services.
Call emergency services if your baby is floppy, difficult to wake or won't stay awake, or not breathing normally (including a pause in breathing of 20 seconds or longer), if their lips or face turn blue or gray, or if they have a seizure or vomit green fluid. Contact your midwife, doctor or pediatrician urgently if your baby is very sleepy and not feeding well, or if they have trouble feeding, have a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher, have fewer wet diapers, or have yellow skin in the first 24 hours or yellowing that is getting worse. If you can't reach them straight away, go to the emergency room.
Keep a simple log of feeds and diapers in the first days. It helps you spot patterns, and it makes questions at your baby's checks easier to answer.
For information only — not medical advice. If something doesn't feel right, contact your midwife or doctor.
Sources
NHS — Your pregnancy and baby guide (nhs.uk/pregnancy)
ACOG — Patient FAQs (acog.org/womens-health/faqs)
WHO — Recommendations on antenatal care for a positive pregnancy experience
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