Expert advice for the first few weeks with your newborn

Transitioning to the world outside of the womb is a big change for your newborn. Before birth, they were surrounded by loud, whooshing noises, the smell and taste of amniotic fluid, and dim light and shadows. Now, their environment is full of new smells, sights, sounds, and other sensory input.

The best way to help your newborn ease in is to maintain a calm environment with low lighting and the consistent sounds and scents of home. There will be plenty of time in the coming weeks, months, and years to socialize or take your baby on exciting adventures. For now, they need your help slowly adjusting to and learning about their new surroundings. Keeping their environment simple has the added benefit of keeping it manageable for you as well.

8 tips to ease your newborn’s transition from the womb

It may be hard to imagine your tiny newborn’s brain growing exponentially right now, but that’s exactly what’s happening. Providing your baby with some quiet alert time during the day will give them the chance to open their eyes, take in sounds, and slowly become aware of what’s around them. So much early learning happens for your baby at these times.

1. Keep visitors to a minimum. Having lots of people in and out can be noisy and overwhelming for your baby. Right now, they need closeness with their primary caregivers above all else.

2. Stick to dim light. Bright lights can be overstimulating to a newborn’s developing visual system. But some indirect light exposure can help them move toward a day and night cycle. Try spending time in filtered natural light with your baby during the day and minimizing artificial light, especially at night.

In low, indirect light, they may open their eyes and look around for a few moments. This helps them practice using both eyes together and exercises their pupillary reflex, which makes the pupil dilate or constrict in response to different amounts of light.

3. Limit background noise. Common home sounds, like regular conversation, cooking, and the sounds of siblings or pets, help your newborn learn about their new environment, but all of them together can be too much for your newborn’s brain to filter. Try finding a few quiet times during the day so your baby can focus. Frequent exposure to highly stimulating sounds like television and loud voices or music may overwhelm them.

4. Talk and sing to your baby. Brief moments of interaction are wonderful ways to engage their attention and their developing brains from day one. Try talking softly to them or humming a simple song. If your baby fusses, turns away, or starts rooting and sucking, try shushing, feeding, or gently swaying them instead.

5. Soothe them with physical touch. Skin-to-skin contact and gentle baby massage can help remind them of the womb. Being close to you can also help calm them if they become overstimulated

6. Let them quietly observe. Give your newborn the space to take in and learn about the smells, sights, and sounds around them. Place them on their back in The Play Gym and stay close by or simply hold them in your arms while they take in the smells and sounds around them.

7. Give yourself a break. Brief periods of overstimulation are sometimes unavoidable—your newborn may simply fall asleep during a grocery run or other errand. That’s one healthy way that their brain takes a break from a lot of sensory input.

8. Adjust for different circumstances. If your newborn is spending time in the hospital, be assured that many NICU and PICU wards aim to keep a calm environment that mimics the womb. Stay close to your baby if it works with their treatment plan, and know that they’ll learn the sights and sounds of home once they get there ❤️