30 Secrets About Newborn Babies I Wished I’d Known

I was in blissful ignorance before I had my first baby girl almost 7 years ago now. That in itself is insane. I didn’t have a clue what was going to hit me after she was born. The exhaustion, the pain, the bleeding, the feeling of insane love for this little bundle but at the same time thinking, what has happened to the life I knew? Will I ever leave the house again? Will I sleep though the night again? The answer to those questions is yes but trust me in the early days, you can ever imagine it will. It does!! I wish I knew all the secrets about newborn babies and even now, after having another little girl and my little boy, I don’t think I really know. even now.

I always forget things about them too, each time I’ve had another baby.

I thought I’d brainstorm those early days and out together as many things as I can remember; secrets about the newborn days, and if you are expecting, hopefully get you prepared.

Secrets About Newborn Babies

– You may not bond with your baby immediately. I didn’t with my first. I hated it but it took me 2-3 weeks to truly bond with her. I felt numb when they handed her to me and I felt everyone else loved her more. It was a tough time.

– They are all so different! Don’t compare. I had a baby who slept for 4-6 hour stretches early on. My NCT friend was woken every 2 hours for weeks. They are not the same and it’s nothing that you do.

– Their breathing is so erratic. One minute it’s so slow and the next they are almost panting. Scares you to death in the early days. The amount times the breathing went so shallow, I had to check they were ok.

– Their skin sort of peels off. Like a full layer. We thought it was dry skin and put loads of coconut oil on my first. We soon realised it was just a normal thing that happened.

– They hate being cold. Mine have all screamed as soon as they came out of the water after being born and every time they come out of the bath. They have all loved a warm bath though!

– They are sooo teeny. You don’t realise until they start to grow and you look back at all the photos.

– They don’t know the difference between night and day at all! You may be lucky and get a baby who does sleep a little at night or not so much, and they party all night. This takes time to switch over.

– They can have boobs! This is so strange and is thought to be due to your circulating hormones in their bodies. This happens to boys too.

– This is the same with their genital areas. In boys the testicles are so swollen. This can be a bit of a shock when they are born.

– Their first poo is black, sticky and almost impossible to clean off their bums. My husband used loads of wipes, in fact he swears almost a full pack.

– They are always hungry. You can feed them once and literally 15 minutes later they will be screaming for more food. I found this tough as breastfed, so I’d have passed my eldest over to someone to hold and she would want feeding again!

You may enjoy reading about the start of my breastfeeding journey.

– They sleep a LOT during the day. Hours and then you panic during the day that they will never sleep at night. They usually do a bit, don’t worry.

– Wind can be the devil. You try everything to stop them crying and the lightbulb moment hits…you’ve forgotten to wind them. Few burps and they can really calm down.

– Breastfeeding does not come easy to them all. Two of mine latched on immediately. The other took some practice. You may just find it is not for you and bottle feeding works better.

– They are quite robust. I learnt that when my second baby was trampled and battered a little by her older sister!

– They grow so fast. One minute they are in newborn and the next 3-6 months. It flies by and you are sadly packing away a tonne of clothes.

– They change so quickly in their habits. They are alert for longer. Sleeping that little bit less during the day. Smiling and it’s not wind.

– They change so quickly in looks. From a squished up ET to a cute looking baby.

– You look back and they are actually quite funny looking! But you never see it at the time. They are just perfect after being born.

– They know their Mummies and family. My baby boy used to move his head loads for the sound of my voice and no one but me could stop him crying in the early days.

– They do not sleep through the night and don’t even try to expect it! I was lucky with my girls, as they started sleeping in stretches really quickly but my baby boy was rubbish and we co-slept for 6 months.

– They may not go down in their crib or Moses basket in the early days and I was told this is normal and can be hormone-related. They just want to be near you and near your milk. We didn’t have this issue with the girls but my little man was only happy next to me.

You may enjoy this post about why I changed my mind about co-sleeping.

– You have to get to know them. You don’t know each other when they are born. You have to get to know their ways and habits. It can be easy or a rough journey. Take your time.

– They don’t do anything. Boring, some may say! Forget the toys and the teddies and the books. Yes they look but nothing else happens.

– They don’t all poo at the same rate. Mine all pooped after most feeds in the early days. I had friends whose babies went a week! Always ask for advice if you are worried.

– They can projectile poop, especially if you are breastfeeding. Poonamis we called them. Literally fire across the room or right up their backs.

– Their cries can sound like an animal. Record it. Film it. You don’t remember it otherwise.

– They may just cry and you don’t have a flipping clue why. I found this with my baby boy. He’s a really happy 16 month old now but in the newborn days, he would just cry. This was hard work.

– They love being carried all day long. We invested in a baby carrier and when I’d had enough, my husband would carry them. They just want to be close to someone. It’s normal and natural and all three of mine stopped it. I wasn’t making a rod for my own back.

These secrets about newborn babies, I wish I’d known in the early days. I wish I’d known they could cry for no reason. I wish I’d known they may want to be stuck to you like glue. I wish I’d know I may not enjoy every second of being a Mother when they are first born, as the pressure and worry is immense.

I know it all now and I hope if you are reading these 30 secrets about newborn babies, it has helped and perhaps put your mind at ease a little.

The newborn days can be incredible but wow, they can be hard!!