A Guide to Your Baby’s First Month

What You Need to Know

1. The typical baby will put on around 30 grams during its first three months, while a number of other physical changes will be apparent, including a clearing of the skin and a strengthening of the neck muscles.
2. Alongside your baby’s physical development, she will also be developing mentally over the first month.
3. It may seem strange, but talking to your baby during the first month can aid her mental development. She will also find the sound of your voice comforting.
4. During the first month, it’s not uncommon for babies to sleep for up to 18 hours a day. Growing physically and mentally is tiring, so don’t be alarmed if your baby sleeps almost all the time.
5. At this stage, your baby will not have a working body clock, so be warned that you may struggle to sleep yourself as you are woken several times a night.
6. Read up on safe sleeping for babies. Cot death, though rare, is still a risk, so seek out expert advice on keeping your baby safe at night.
7. Your baby will have to have a number of medical check-ups and tests in the first month, so don’t be alarmed.

Physical Development

The typical baby will put on around 30 grams during its first three months, so you should see some notable changes in her physical appearance. For starters, the stump from the umbilical cord should shrivel up and fall off, but if not ask a health professional for advice. Similarly, spots, blotches and other marks that may have been caused by the trauma of birth should be disappearing, and even hair may start to fall off to grow back at a later date.

While your baby will be getting stronger every day, and may even be able to hold up her head unaided by the end of the first month, you should still be sure to give her plenty of head support at this stage. Likewise, though she will be developing at a fast rate, the first month is still too soon for her to have a complete understanding of her body and what it can do, so don’t be surprised if she doesn’t grasp a toy or even your hand.

Mental Development

Alongside your baby’s physical development, she will also be developing mentally over the first month. This will be only too obvious, as she starts responding to you, clearly recognising your face and even smiling at you. In fact, all her senses will be developing by now and it should become apparent how she is learning to distinguish between different sights and sounds.

Given this, it’s never too early to start talking to your new baby. However silly it may feel, experts believe recommend chatting to an infant from the very start of their lives as this will aid its mental development. Perhaps more importantly, having gotten used to your voice in the womb, your baby will be soothed by it, even if you’re just making cooing noises.

Sleep

New-born babies sleep a lot, so don’t be surprising if yours is sleeping for up to 16 or even 18 hours a day. In fact, given the rate at which she is developing, it’s hardly surprising that she’s tired all the time.

Unfortunately for you, at one month, your baby has yet to develop a proper sleeping pattern, while she will also tend to sleep in small bursts rather than for any great lengths of time. This means that you should be prepared to be woken several times during the course of a night, with this sleep deprivation often regarded as the toughest challenge facing new parents.

A good way of dealing with this is leaning to change your sleep patterns, too. Maybe invest in a portable crib or a Moses basket that will allow your baby to sleep around the house. Then, use the time when she sleeps to get some sleep yourself, with a mind to starting to establish more-regular sleeping patterns in the next few months as her body clock begins to develop.

It’s also highly-recommended that you read up on safe sleeping for babies, preferably while you are still pregnant. According to the Foundation for the Study of Infant Death Syndrome, you should always put your baby to sleep on her back, ensure that she isn’t too hot or too cold and refrain from giving her a pillow in order to reduce the chances of cot death.

Feeding

At this stage, you’ll have already decided whether breast is best for you or if bottle-feeding best suits your personal circumstances. Either way, your baby will need feeding on a regular basis over the course of the first month and beyond.

Fortunately, she will let you know when she wants feeding, so just follow her lead, though be prepared to have your sleep disturbed by regular calls for night feeds.

Medical Checks

Your baby will be given a number of routine checks over the first few weeks of her life, so don’t be alarmed.

While the exact tests carried out may vary between different midwives or nurses, generally-speaking, your baby will be given a heel-prick blood test to check for certain rare but serious conditions such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anaemia, and she will also likely be given a hearing test and a dose of vitamin K.

If you have any doubts or concerns about these check-ups, don’t hesitate to talk to your midwife. Without a doubt, they will have heard similar concerns countless times before and will be only too happy to help put your mind at ease.

Don’t Forget the Paperwork!

The excitement that a new baby brings can often mean that boring things such as getting all the relevant paperwork done gets overlooked.

Above all, you should be sure to register your baby’s birth. This needs to be done within 42 days (or 21 days if you live in Scotland), with the DirectGov website providing a guide to how this can be done.

At the same time, you should also think about getting your baby registered with your local GP and also ensure you’re getting the child benefits you’re entitled to.

Further Reading

• Read up on why you should be getting enough rest with our guide to the importance of sleep.
• You can find FAQs about your baby’s first month, and their answers here.
• Eating right is important, especially your dealing with a new baby. Read our guide to organic food for more information.