Are you looking for newborn schedule week 1? I’ve got you covered!
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclaimer for more information.
If you’re here you’re probably pregnant or just curious about what the first week with a newborn is like. Maybe you’ve heard horror stories or maybe you’ve heard the opposite. In my experience, it was very tiring, especially as a first time parent. I wasn’t sure how often to feed her, how much she should be sleeping, and this thing called tummy time people keep mentioning? What’s tummy time?
Sometimes it seems like there’s so much you need to know. But in the first week, I think the most important thing to remember is that your baby is getting enough food and sleep. The first week is pretty much a blur! Wake, diaper change, feed, sleep, repeat. It’s a challenge but your baby will be so cute and give the best snuggles. It’ll go by so fast!
This post is all about newborn schedule week 1.
General Tips
Feedings
In general, you can expect your newborn baby to eat 8-12 times per day. Breastfed babies tend to eat more often than formula fed babies. In addition, looking for early hunger cues will help ensure that your baby is getting enough to eat. Early hunger cues include: lip smacking, rooting, and sucking on anything nearby.
Diapers
In the first couple of days after birth, your baby won’t have that many dirty diapers. But when your milk comes in between days 2-5, you will see the number of dirty diapers increase. Below is the minimum that you should look for per day:
- Delivery day: 1 black tarry stool and 1 wet diaper
- Day 1: 2 black tarry stools and 1 wet diaper
- Day 2: 3 black/brown stools and 2 wet diapers
- Day 3: 3 green stools and 3 wet diapers
- Day 4: 3 yellow stools and 4 wet diapers
- Day 5: 3 yellow stools and 5 wet diapers
- Day 6 and onwards: 3 yellow stools and 6 wet diapers
Sleep
You can expect your baby to sleep 14-17 hours in a day, usually in 30 minute to 4 hour stretches. I would never let my baby take naps longer than 2-3 hours during the day because I wanted those longer stretches at night. But you will fall into your own rhythm. As long as you’re getting those 8-12 feedings in a day, your baby will get the right amount of sleep they need.
It’s normal for baby to have a later bed time in the newborn phase. Having a later bedtime can help cut down nighttime feedings. Once baby gets a little older at around 3 months, that’s when you typically start earlier bedtimes because they will be taking less naps.
Playtime
After a diaper change and feeding session, it may already be time to put your baby down for another nap. However, you can do something called tummy time for 5 minutes a day. A lot of times you do tummy time without even realizing it. Doing it on the ground may be a little early at this point, but placing the baby, tummy down, on your chest counts!
Babies are made for human interaction. So some of our favorite ways to play with our daughter when we first brought her home were:
- Tummy time
- House tours
- Funny faces
- Talking
- Reading
- Singing
Growth Spurts
It’s no secret that babies grow at a rapid pace in their first year of life. You can expect a growth spurt when you bring the baby home, and then another one at 7-10 days old. I remember distinctly that our baby only wore the newborn size pajamas for maybe a week before she outgrew them. So it’d be a good idea to have multiple sizes of clothes on hand.
Another thing that happens during growth spurts is cluster feeding. It’s common for your baby to want to eat more often during a growth spurt, which is totally normal.
Doctor Visits
Your baby will have many check-ups before they turn 1. If you baby is healthy then these check-ups will be super quick. They are mainly for you as a parent for any questions you may have and to ease your mind about any concerns.
Typically pediatricians want to see your baby a few days after birth and then again after 2 weeks to ensure that baby is back at his or her birth weight. They may go over all of this with you at the hospital. But if they don’t you’ll want to call the doctor and schedule an appointment sooner rather than later.
Newborn Schedule Week 1
Below is a sample newborn schedule for the first week. There’s a really, really, small chance that your baby will follow this schedule to a tee, so I would use it as a light reference. Key things to focus on at this point in time is number of feedings and total sleep. You got this!
Early Morning – 7:00 a.m.
- Feeding and diaper change, hygiene care if needed
- Waketime: 45 minutes max
- Down for a nap
Mid-morning – 9:30 a.m.
- Feeding and diaper change, hygiene care if needed
- Waketime: 45 minutes max
- Down for a nap
Afternoon – 12:00 p.m.
- Feeding and diaper change, hygiene care if needed
- Waketime: 45 minutes max
- Down for a nap
Mid-afternoon – 2:30 p.m.
- Feeding and diaper change, hygiene care if needed
- Waketime: 45 minutes max
- Down for a nap
Late Afternoon – 5:00 p.m.
- Feeding (cluster feeding may occur) and diaper change, hygiene care if needed
- Waketime: 45 minutes max
- Down for a nap
Early Evening – 7:30 p.m.
- Feeding (cluster feeding may occur) and diaper change, hygiene care if needed
- Waketime: 45 minutes max
- Down for a nap
Late Evening – 10:00 p.m.
- Feeding, bath or hygiene care, diaper change, down for sleep.
Let baby sleep up to 4 hours at night before waking to feed
Middle of the Night – 1:00 a.m.
- Feeding, diaper change if needed, and right back to sleep
Pre-morning – 4:00 a.m.
- Feeding, diaper change if needed, and right back to sleep
This post was all about newborn schedule week 1.
