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The first few weeks of a baby’s life is both exciting and exhausting. They bring smiles and emotional fulfillment, but also sleepless nights. Both moms and babies are still adjusting to their new life. Knowing the days will be less stressful after a while brings comfort. As the baby grows, nighttime feedings will lessen. At the same time, moms will recover. Thus, they will be more capable of handling their tasks. But how soon is that? How long is the newborn stage?
Continue reading to learn the answer and find tips and how to make your days less stressful.
What Is the Newborn Stage?
The newborn stage encompasses the first part of a child’s life, which is the period starting from birth until approximately two months of age. For most clinicians, such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, a newborn is considered a child from 0-2 months old.
In the first stage of life, your baby is adapting to living outside the womb. They are beginning to breathe air into their tiny lungs, their stomachs have to adapt to milk, and their senses are fully engaged to process this new world.
This is, of course, a critical bonding phase. Skin-to-skin contact, soft voices, and gentle rocking helps your baby feel safe and loved. This stage, while perhaps feeling overwhelming, helps lay the foundation for a relationship for years to come.
How Long Does the Newborn Stage Last?
To this day, the newborn stage lasts approximately 0-8 weeks of life. Within this period, a new phase kicks in, the infant stage, where the baby starts showing longer periods of wakefulness, more frequent feeding, and the first feeding interaction.
Some parents feel the baby is ‘newborn-like’ for longer, especially in the event of premature births, while others feel significant changes much earlier.
While every baby develops at their own pace, the early weeks are marked by:
- Sleep cycles that aren’t yet in sync with day and night
- Frequent feedings, often every 2–3 hours
- Reflex-based movements, like grasping your finger
- Limited vision (mostly focusing on objects 8–12 inches away)
Understanding this timeline helps manage expectations. Newborn routines will soon emerge, while new expectations will replace old ones.
What to Expect in the Newborn Stage?
While every child is different, there is a set of experiences that parents should anticipate around these weeks:
- Routine Feedings: Expect to breastfeed or provide a formula every 2 to 3 hours during the first few months.
- Disjointed sleep: As a newborn, your baby will sleep a total of 14 to 17 hours a day, but sleep will be broken into short phases.
- From reflexes: Reflexes such as the startle reflex, finger grasping, and vying for sustenance are all within the normal scope of newborn behavior.
- Tears as a mode of communication: This is the principal way to convey, “I’m hungry,” “I’m tired,” or “I seek consolation.”
Having the right tools makes this phase easier, such as the Momcozy BreezyClear Pro™ 2-in-1 Spray & Suction Electric Nasal Aspirator. This nasal aspirator for newborn not only helps clear the baby’s nasal passages but makes breathing during sleep and feeding easier.
What Can My Baby Say in the Newborn Stage?
Even though your newborn will not be able to utter the words “Mama” or “Dada” anytime soon, they are engaging in full conversations in baby language. Every little sound, movement, and expression is a message.
- Crying for needs – The most common “language” of a newborn. Over time, you may notice different cries for hunger, tiredness, or simply wanting to be held.
- Gentle cooing (around 6 to 8 weeks) – Soft vowels which indicate your baby is trying to sing and responding to your gaze.
- Grunting or sighing – Common during rest, stretching, or during bowel movements. These sounds can show comfort, effort, or transition between sleep stages.
- Facial expressions – Eyebrows in the center of the forehead depicting confusion, wide eyes of surprise, and those adorable first smiles are ways your baby “talks” to you.
- Body language – They are engaging and responding by kicking their legs and waving their arms, along with turning their head to where their voice is.
These early sounds are a way of connecting with you. Responding helps build the trust needed for future language development.
What Does My Baby Understand in the Newborn Stage?
Even though they’re tiny, newborns do not lack the ability to soak the world around them:
- Recognizing your voice - Hearing your voice is comforting for them especially after everything that took place before they were born.
- Feeling comfort and security. – Your gentle, familiar scent, and warmth assists in relaxing, and bringing a sense of safety.
- Responding to light and movement – Turning their head to face you is a way of responding to light and movement.
- Feeling your emotions - Tone of voice, and face can be processed by babies, albeit not fully understood.
- Associating you with care helps in feeding, holding, and soothing, which all teach your baby that you are their trusted source of comfort.
Bonding in this stage of development sets the stage for gentle emotional security. Your baby can feel loved and connected by simple actions like gentle eye contact, and soft speaking.
How Long Should My Newborn Sleep in the Newborn Stage?
The majority of infants sleep between 14 to 17 hours a day, but this slumber is punctuated by 2 to 4 hour bouts of sleep around the clock. This is due to the fact that feeding is a demanding process, as the baby’s stomach can only hold a small amount of milk at a time.
Safe sleep is extremely important during this phase. The American Academy of Pediatrics has specific recommendations:
- Make sure to always place your baby on their back for sleep.
- The crib or bassinet should not have any blankets, pillows, or toys.
- Smart baby monitors allow you to track your baby’s breathing and movements without interrupting their rest, making them an excellent choice to use during sleep.
Here’s a collection of the best baby monitors.
How Can I Help Increase My Baby’s Development and Emotional Security?
Small, everyday activities like talking to your baby help your newborn develop, so you can support them like this:
- Skin-to-skin contact: Helps with bonding and also, warms your baby and stabilizes their heart rate.
- Responsive feeding: Draw on pre-defined feeding schedules; only feed your baby when they show appetite signals.
- Gentle playtime: Spend only a few minutes a day on tummy time to boost their neck and core strength.
- Comfort and soothe — Your consistent response teaches them they can trust you.
While feeding, a supportive tool like the Momcozy MaxSupport Nursing Pillow. This nursing pillow allows you and your baby to enjoy bonding moments comfortably.
When Is the Newborn Stage Over?
By around 8 weeks old, most babies start showing they’re ready for the next phase:
- Longer awake periods: Your baby spends greater amounts of time alert and looking around.
- More consistent feeding and sleeping: Your baby is starting to develop a daily rhythm.
- First social smiles – Those heart-melting smiles are a sign of growing social awareness.
- Better head control – They begin holding their head up for short moments.
At this point, your “newborn” becomes an infant. According to the World Health Organization, “newborn stage” refers to the neonatal period - the first 28 days of life. It’s an exciting milestone — but also a little bittersweet. Those curled-up, sleepy newborn cuddles really do go by quickly.
Prep for the Newborn Stage
Planning ahead can help with the adjustment to the newborn phase.
- Prepare by gathering gentle baby clothes, wipes, and diapers.
- Keep a nasal aspirator for newborns handy for when their nose gets stuffy.
Here’s a collection of the baby nasal aspirators.
- Prepare your baby’s sleeping area with a firm mattress and a fitted sheet so your baby sleeps safely.
- Using a smart baby monitor allows you to check on your baby without having to get out of bed.
7 Tips for Parents to Navigate the Newborn Stage
- Accept assistance — Friends and family can help you with either grocery shopping or cooking.
- Sleep when your baby sleeps — Napping is a great way to help you refresh.
- Maintain a good balanced outlook — Learn to embrace days when things get a little messy.
- Create a flexible plan — Some order is helpful, though babies are often unpredictable.
- Try babywearing — Check out hands-free carriers from Momcozy for easier comfort.
- Follow your gut — No one knows your baby better than you.
- Capture the fleeting moments with photos, videos, and journals to preserve memories.
Conclusion
The newborn stage may only last a couple of months, but it’s packed with precious moments and big changes. Having the right tools, such as smart baby monitors and supportive gear, along with proper expectations greatly allow you to fully enjoy and optimize the two month window packed with rapid developmental changes.
From the very beginning, it is vital to appreciate each yawn and stretch the newborn does, as this allows you to easily witness and enjoy the transition to the newer and more exciting stages of life.
