Night shift. No clock-off.
Feed, nappy, temperature, sleep. Then again. The first weeks are small jobs done over and over. Safe sleep and the first fortnight sit here.
Start here
Week one is smaller than you think
A healthy baby born at 37 weeks or later feeds on their cues, often every 2 to 3 hours, around 8 to 12 times a day. Your job is warmth, nappies, and telling someone if the face looks yellow or the cord stump goes red or sticky.
Back, firm, clear, smoke-free
On the back, on a firm flat level mattress, face uncovered, with no pillow, doona or hat. A car seat is for the car, and if you smoke the risk stays even when you smoke outside, so Quitline is 137 848.
Same room, own surface
Room-sharing on a separate safe surface for the first year, or at least six months, is linked with about half the SUDI risk. That is not the same as having the baby in your bed.
The cry, then your hands
Run the list: hungry, wants to suck, upset, tired, wet, too hot, or sick, and never shake a baby. If you are at the edge, put them down somewhere safe and walk out until you can come back.
There is no schedule yet
In the early months, follow the baby, not a clock you found online. At night, feed and straight back down beats a play session, and if you are angry, five minutes out of the room is a legitimate tool.
Yellow skin is a phone call
Yellow skin or eyes, a sleepy baby, a poor feed: get a nurse, midwife or doctor to look. Do not decide it is the mild kind because a relative had it.
The bath is a two-hand job
Water at 37 to 38 degrees, and the baby is never left, not even for the phone. Cold flush the tap if you use a sink, empty it when you are done, because they can drown in a few seconds of shallow water.
You are useful at the breast
Bring water, a snack and the baby, then take the baby back. You can settle better than she can sometimes because you do not smell of milk, and the breastfeeding helpline is 1800 686 268.
Formula without the fairy dust
Ordinary cow's milk is not a baby milk until after 12 months. Stage 1 can be used through the first year, and the dearer tin is not the safer one.
Leave the stump alone
Fold the nappy down so the stump can dry, and do not pull it off. If it is still there after two weeks, or the skin is red, hot, smelly or tender, see the GP or child health nurse.
A hot baby under three months
From birth to three months, a fever is immediate care, GP or emergency, and you do not wait out the night. Do not give aspirin, and ibuprofen is not for babies under three months.
Awake on the belly, asleep on the back
Start tummy time soon after birth, while they are awake, one to two minutes at first, building toward 10 to 15 minutes several times a day. The moment they sleep, they go onto their back.