The first week with a newborn is wild. Your body has just done an incredible thing. You’re figuring out who the tiny human is on your chest. Their feeding rhythms are all over the place. And it’s exhausting. While no newborn is perfectly predictable, there is a little bit of a “pattern” to the ways they feed the first few days. Pregnant, postpartum, or thinking about baby? Join me @thelabormama for daily education + support! First 24 Hours: The Birthday Nap Many babies come out, eat well once or twice and then crash. They can be super sleepy - and yes we want them eating every 2-3 hours. Just keep waking them and trying! 24-48 Hours: The Second Night This night can be SO hard. Many of us think we’re doing something wrong - but we’re not. Baby has simply “woken up,” your milk is not quite in yet, and they probably will not leave the boob. Keep feeding. Keep trying. It’s coming. 48-96 Hours: All Day Buffet Days 3 and 4 baby is probably eating very often/cluster feeding. Transitional milk is often in (the milk between colostrum and mature milk) and that baby wants to be on the breast and getting it. All day and all night. Days 5+: The Night Owl For some, milk comes in towards the end of the week. Our babies enjoy eating all night and being awake all day. Eventually, these rhythms adjust, but it takes some time. I really want you to know about the first few days because it can often feel like something is wrong. Usually - there isn’t. The baby is intended to be on the breast “helping” our milk come in. Until you see signs that baby isn’t getting enough (poor output, weight loss, unresolved uric acid crystals, etc.) trust your body and your baby and give this system time to work. By the end of the first week, you may feel like you can take a bit of a breath. But also know that day/night confusion, cluster feeding, irregular rhythms - it’ll all continue. Get a a couple more weeks behind you and you should soon see baby slowly start to move towards a bit of a (more) regular daytime feeding rhythm and hopefully, sleep a tiny bit better/longer at night. ••••• Do you remember any of this? None of my kids took the birthday nap - but our second nights were SO hard.