Weeks 2-12
You’ve made it through the exciting yet tiring first week, and you may already be starting to feel like a parenting expert, but the reality is your journey with your new baby is just beginning. In fact, you’ll still be asking questions and experiencing anxieties even when your child is a fully-fledged adult with children of her own.
However, reaching week 2 is a real milestone. Inevitably, most of your questions at this stage will be about bottle or breastfeeding and weight gain, bowel movements and nappies, bonding, sleeping, skin-to-skin contact and what you should and shouldn’t be doing – especially as you are likely to have now taken baby home from the hospital and are away from the 24-hour help and support that this entails.
In a way, week 1 can be something of a mirage. Weeks 2-12 bring you closer to the post-birth reality. You may still have considerable soreness – particularly if you have had an episiotomy or have suffered an anal fissure during birth – and may be developing pain and dryness around your breasts and nipples – for example, nipple thrush or mastitis. Furthermore, you will not be so high on post-birth hormones and will be beginning to learn something of the reality of accumulated sleep deprivation caused by night feeding.
You may even get some visitors, but don’t feel any pressure in this regard. There is plenty of time and it is important that you do things on your terms, although during this period there are things you will have to do, from registering your baby’s birth to trimming her nails and checking in with your GP and midwife. Here at My BabyManual, we have all the major milestones in and questions in weeks 2-12 covered. You can read an overview of each week by clicking below:
Bringing up a new baby is always going to be an anxious time. Yes, as a new parent you are flooded with love but with love and care comes fear and anxiety about health, developmental milestones and your own ability as a parent. Here at My BabyManual we have created a vast online library of useful resources to help you on your journey to a happy, healthy and informed life as a parent. With articles written by GPs, midwives, obstetricians, paediatricians, nutritionists, and more, My BabyManual is your trusted baby and child guide.
