The Newborn Weeks
Newborns make far more noise asleep than anyone tells you
A sleeping newborn grunts, snuffles, squeaks and rearranges itself continuously. First-time parents spend weeks reacting to sounds…
Ekta Ranjan
Contributing writer, My John Baby
Ekta writes about the newborn weeks and how little of it anyone remembers clearly.
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7 articles
The Newborn Weeks
Who checks on a newborn in the early weeks, and what they are looking at
In most countries a set of professionals passes through the first weeks in a defined order. Knowing who they are makes it far…
The Newborn Weeks
Skin-to-skin costs nothing and is the least complicated thing in the day
Holding a baby against bare skin is one of very few newborn practices that requires no equipment, no technique and no decision. It…
The Newborn Weeks
A newborn day has no shape, and the first one arrives later than you hope
New parents keep waiting for a routine to emerge. For the first weeks there is nothing to emerge, because the underlying rhythm…
Looking After Parents
Partners get a smaller share of everything, including the support
The non-birthing parent is present for all of it and addressed by almost none of it. That gap has practical consequences for the…
Looking After Parents
Childcare and the return date arrive earlier in the diary than expected
The decisions about going back to work have to be made months before the date itself. Waiting until it feels relevant is what…
Looking After Parents
Friends without babies do not disappear, but the timetable does
Friendships change in the first year for logistical reasons that get read as emotional ones. Naming the logistics keeps most of…