Second Week Of The Newborn Baby:
This second week of the newborn baby’s life will be very alike to the previous days, with a small big difference: it will give the first stretch of its life! That means that he will want to eat a lot more and also that you will notice some changes in his attitude from the previous week. Let’s see what the second week of the newborn baby has in store for you!
We recommend you to read another article on kidsrush.com which is about the Newborn’s first week of life.
The second week of the newborn baby: Growth, Diet, Skills, Development, and Feeding
How does your baby grow?
During the baby’s second week of life, his weight should return to the same as it was at birth. Some babies even weigh slightly more. But each baby is different, so do not get obsessed with this: if your baby is awake, eats well, his stools are normal, and is gaining weight, everything is going well.
With the second week of the baby, the first spurt also comes: these days you will notice that he is a little fussier, but also that he sleeps longer and is more hungry. The normal thing in this period is that the baby gains between 150 and 200 grams per week.
You may have the feeling that your baby’s head seems smaller these days: this is normal since the bones have been repositioning and any type of inflammation that may still exist after delivery has already disappeared.
Skills and development
Compared to the first week of life, you will notice that your baby is much more attentive and active. He will continue to sleep for about 18 hours a day, but when he is awake or awake he will begin to hold things in his hand, to stare at you for short periods of time, and his motor skills will improve.
During these days the umbilical cord will fall completely and, besides, small injuries that occurred during childbirth should disappear: small scratches, bruises, or even some broken blood vessels in the eyes, all due to the effort of the contractions. As your baby recovers, you will be able to better observe the color of his eyes: if he is light-skinned, they are likely to be gray or bluish, while if his skin is dark, they should be very brown. The color of the eyes will change during the first months of life and, in some cases, it can change until the first year.
Starting in the second week of your baby’s life, he should be able to:
- Cry to tell you that they are uncomfortable because they are hungry, cold, or hot.
- Raise your head a little.
- Startled by some stimuli.
- Stare into your face for a few seconds.
- Listen to loud noises.
In this second week, you must observe if the baby begins to respond to noise little by little. He will do it at his own pace, so do not worry if you see that at first, he ignores them: if you have any questions, you can consult with the pediatrician, just as if he cries inconsolably for three or more hours after having verified that he is not hungry, a diaper dirty or not hot or cold.
Any given day …
During this week your baby will continue to sleep for many hours, around 18 a day, but his attention will be greater in the moments in which he is awake or awake. This is a good time to start strolling, even indoors: the vast majority of babies are calmer when they are close to their parents, although it may also be friends or grandparents who start to introduce this new routine little by little. Take the opportunity to hold everything you want: skin-to-skin contact stimulates milk production, regulates the baby’s temperature, and helps him gain weight.
Basic care
If during the first week of life we recommended sponge baths, once the umbilical cord has completely detached you can start bathing your baby in his own bathtub. The first days it may not be necessary to do it every day, since it is not necessary to bathe both a newborn and an adult because the skin has its own cleaning mechanisms, but having a good bath routine will help induce sleep. Many mothers use the breast to calm the baby and relax before sleeping, but this can backfire in the long run. Instead, giving him a warm bath and a good massage can help him relax more easily.
As far as diapers are concerned, the transition from meconium to normal bowel movements should be over: in this second week of life, your baby should wet about 6 diapers and stain between 3 and 4.
Feeding
As we mentioned above, in this second week your baby is giving the first stretch of his life. This means, exactly, that he will be much hungrier than the previous week: he will ask you to eat every 2 or 3 hours if you breastfeed, or every 4 or 5 if he is drinking formula, and the feedings can last between 15 minutes and an hour according to each baby.
Keep in mind that the feeding begins the moment you start the feeding, not when the baby finishes feeding: so, if you start breastfeeding at 2:00 p.m. and finish almost at 3:00 p.m., it is possible that at 4:00 p.m. want to eat again! It is normal that you have the feeling that you spend the day breastfeeding, but this stage will pass and the feedings will become more and more space.
As general advice, we recommend that you do not wait until your baby is crying inconsolably to feed him: if this happens, it is not that the baby is telling you that he is hungry, but that he will be so hungry that it will cost you a lot to calm him down. Learn to detect the signs that your two-week-old baby is ready or willing to eat again :
- He wakes up after a long sleep and moves around a lot.
- Put your finger or fist in your mouth.
- His lips move into a sucking position and he sticks out his tongue.
- If you are holding him, turn his head towards your chest.
- Grimaces or makes soft sounds.
All of these signs are indicators that the baby is hungry, so try to give him a feed before reaching the critical point where he bursts into tears. If you learn to detect them, you will see that your baby still eats quite irregularly, but will be much calmer or calm.
Dream
Your baby will continue to spend most of the day sleeping during this week, probably for longer periods than in the first week of life. The vast majority of families choose to share a room with the baby for two reasons: firstly because it is much more comfortable to manage the moments when the baby wakes up, and secondly because this way the baby can smell you and recognize your voice, it helps you to be calmer.
It is you who must decide if you want to have the bassinet with you or if the baby will sleep in his room from the beginning. What you should not do under any circumstances is sleep with him or her while they are so young.
You must continue to sleep on your back and with the crib free of any object that could obstruct the airway; in your bed, being much more spacious, it is likely that it could end up turning over and lying face down
Do not leave your baby on high surfaces, such as your bed, while you cannot watch him: he could fall and hurt himself.
A fifteen-day-old baby does not yet distinguish between night and day, but you can start to get used to resting more at night. Many families choose to maintain a routine of light and noise typical of the house during the day and strive to create a quieter and calmer environment after nightfall so that the baby begins to get used to sleeping more hours.
This week the mother …
These days your lactation will just set in. After the first week, you may experience some discomfort from breastfeeding your baby: your nipples may feel sore due to suction and you may even have some wounds or irritation in the area. To avoid this, try to change position while you breastfeed so that it is not always the same part of the nipple that the baby sucks during feedings; applying a little lanolin after feedings will also alleviate this problem.
Same way, if the baby does not finish emptying any of the breasts, you may feel pain from an excess of milk and this ends up causing mastitis, a bacterial infection characterized by redness, pain, and a worse flow of milk. In this case, your doctor will prescribe the most appropriate treatment.
In addition to improving your way of breastfeeding, don’t forget to make sure your body is recovering well after delivery. Whether you have had a natural birth or if you have had a cesarean section, make sure the wounds are healing well. You should also notice that the bleeding begins to decrease, although it can continue until 6 weeks after the birth of your baby.
If you feel pain in the pelvic area, the smell of the bleeding changes or becomes unpleasant, it hurts when you breastfeed, or you simply detect any symptoms that indicate that something is wrong, make an appointment with your doctor to be evaluated.
At this point, when the excitement about getting home with the baby has subsided a bit, the tiredness can start to take its toll. Lean on your partner, your family, or your closest friends: they are there to enjoy all the good things that the arrival of a baby means, but also to help you whenever you need it. If you consider it necessary, you can even talk to your doctor to give you guidelines and advice with which to cope better these days.
Read Also: Why Am I Not Getting Pregnant?
Your environment
A two-week-old baby requires constant care 24 hours a day, and this can be exhausting for the whole family. A good strategy to rest better may be that you take turns taking care of the little one: divide the moments in which each one is in charge of taking care of him and take the opportunity to sleep a little while the baby does it.
Key points
- The baby gives its first spurt and needs to eat more.
- It recognizes your voice and can start to focus on your face.
- Learn to signal that they are hungry or hungry.
- You can now take baths if the umbilical cord has fallen.
- Sleep up to 18 hours a day.