But many first-time parents find that after the first month of parenthood, it can actually get more difficult. This surprising truth is one reason many experts refer to a baby's first three months of life as the “fourth trimester.” If months two, three, and beyond are tougher than you expected, you're not alone.
Coping with your baby
Most people find the first six to eight weeks to be the hardest with a new baby. And, although people may not openly discuss many of the challenges in these early weeks of parenthood (if at all), there are a number of common hurdles you may face at this time.
Part of the challenges of the newborn stage is the feeling of always having to play catch up. You're scrambling to find the nearest burp cloth because the baby spat up. Bathing a slippery, wet baby seems impossible, and trying to decide what to do next clutters your mind with even more tasks to do.
Usually by week 10, babies are less fussy, start going to bed earlier, and become more peaceful little creatures. Plan for it. Tell yourself it is coming whether you 'fix it' or not. Know that you can get there…even when it is really hard, tell yourself that you will make it to week 10.
The first three months with your baby often seem the hardest. Sleep-deprived parents can feel overwhelmed, but that is normal and you will quickly learn how to read your baby's cues and personality. Don't worry about “spoiling” your baby at this stage.
This means that newborn baby care during the first 28 days is critical in the survival and health of your baby. Hence, Dr. A.P. Mehta, Senior Consultant – Neonatology, says that the first 7 days of life are the most crucial for a baby's survival.
Vision is also improving. To top it off, there is also commonly a growth spurt happening at six weeks. A growth spurt may cause a baby to want to eat more often, day and night. All of these things put together means you will likely experience some extra fussiness and your baby waking even more often at night.
After a couple weeks, the extreme feelings usually subside. At three months, you'll see progress. And finally, at about six months you'll be totally back to normal. If you're in the middle of some serious baby blues, hold on tight.
As your baby passes through the milestones of learning to self-soothe, outgrowing colic, and sleeping through the night, parenting your newborn will get easier. While it'll get easier with each passing day, you can expect caring for your newborn will be much easier by the time they're about 3 months old.
Most babies will have a period of increased fussiness starting at around 2 weeks of age and usually peaking between 6-8 weeks of age. Although, this is a normal developmental stage for infants it can be very stressful for parents and caregivers.
The first 24 hours or so of your newborn's life is often full of blissful baby snuggles, long naps and establishing eating as they recover from their birth journey. However, night two can sometimes be jolting to some families. Night two can bring way more crying that the first 24 hours.
Some children (approximately 10-20%) are born with “difficult temperament.” Traits include: high, often impulsive activity level; extra sensitive to sensory stimulation; overwhelmed by change in routines and new experiences; intense, inflexible reactions; easily distracted or incredibly focused; adapt slowly to change, ...
At 6 weeks old, you are still in a phase with your baby marked by increasing crying, fussiness, and colicky symptoms. In fact, 6 weeks is a peak week of colic.4 Your baby is probably doing most of their fussing and crying in the evening hours, which are often known as “the witching hour.”
Colic is the main cause of recurrent crying during the early months. All babies have some normal fussy crying every day. When this occurs over 3 hours per day, it's called colic.
Using real birth data (covering 20 years of American births) gathered by FiveThirtyEight from the National Center for Health Statistics and Social Security Administration, Stiles concluded that September is the most popular month to give birth to a child in the U.S. In fact, nine of the top 10 days to give birth fall ...
So, the general consensus is that although the first two weeks with a newborn are hard, it's the first 6 weeks that are the hardest. This was certainly true for me with all 4 of mine. Of course, all babies are different and it may also depend on your circumstances too.
4-Week-Old (1-Month-Old) Baby Development
“They start looking around more and responding to sound,” she says. Unfortunately, this is also a time when your baby is extra fussy and may be exhibiting signs of colic, or inconsolable crying. Usually colic starts at around 3 weeks old, but it can start at 4 weeks, too.
What is sleep regression? Sleep regression is a period of time, usually about two to four weeks, when a baby who's sleeping well suddenly has trouble settling down for sleep or wakes up fussing in the middle of the night.
The witching hour is a time when an otherwise content baby is extremely fussy. It typically occurs daily between 5:00 pm and 11:00 pm. It can last a few minutes to a couple of hours. For most babies, the witching hour starts to occur around 2-3 weeks and peaks at 6 weeks.
“The first four to six weeks are the toughest, then it starts to settle down,” says Cathy. “And when you get to three months, breastfeeding gets really easy – way easier than cleaning and making up a bottle.
There are no set rules about how long to wait before taking a newborn out into the world or when to let people near the baby. Some doctors recommend that parents wait until their baby is a few months old before going to crowded public places (like malls, movie theaters, and airplanes).
Being a parent to a new baby can be hard. The joy you get from coos and cuddles is mixed in with the hard work of infant care. It's normal to feel frustrated and exhausted. If your baby cries all the time or won't sleep, parenting is even harder.
The first three months are the developmental stage. During this period your baby goes through the most rapid growth ever. From a single fertilized cell, your baby grows into a bundle of growing limbs and body systems in this short period of time. Vital organs are formed and the brain begins to develop by this time.
In the first three months, your baby will be growing and developing a lot. We look at what to expect at this age – from feeding to bath time to sleep. This is the start of your new life as a parent. There's so much to look forward to like their first smile but you're bound to be feeling some nerves too.