Realistic Day in the Life With a Newborn Baby

I'm a pediatric occupational therapist and have helped thousands of parents improve their child's development, but the biggest question I get is what a day in the life looks like with a newborn and how it can be made easier. So today I'm gonna show you what a real 24 hours looks like with my three week old. Every feed, every nap, and even those middle of the night moments. I'll also be sharing the strategies I use so that you can also make your days a lot smoother. So grab your coffee or second coffee, which is completely understandable. Get comfortable and let's dive into what 24 hours really looks like. Starting at 6.45 when her older siblings come bursting into our bedroom like tiny hurricanes and startle me awake. After my morning scare, I head downstairs to get them breakfast and dressed while our little one keeps sleeping. Right now she's naturally waking up at around 8 a.m., which honestly works perfectly because it gives me time to sort out the kids first. But I know this won't last forever. Newborn sleep patterns are constantly changing. And in fact, when she's around six weeks of age, I'll start waking her by 7.30 in the morning, even if she's still sleeping. Now I know this sounds counterintuitive, but here's the thing. Establishing a consistent morning wake up time is one of the most powerful ways to help in the maturation of her internal body clock. And when her body clock matures, everything else falls into place. Better naps, more predictable bedtimes, and the ultimate goal of longer stretches of sleep overnight. But for now, I'm letting her natural rhythm guide us while I tackle the morning chaos with everyone else. At 8 a.m. on the dot, I hear her stirring over the baby monitor and I head upstairs and bring her down and immediately unwrap her. And that's when she does those adorable sleepy newborn stretches. They're just so cute. Now, since her last feed was at 3.30 a.m., she's absolutely starving. So I take her straight into the living room for her morning breastfeed while I keep an eye on the older kids who are still getting ready. About 10 minutes into the feed, she starts getting drowsy and her sucking slows right down. And instead of letting her drift off to sleep, I pause the feed and change her diaper and get a dress for the day. Now, she absolutely hates having her clothes and her diaper changed, like most newborns. But as much as I hate seeing her upset, I know that she desperately needs a diaper change, but more importantly, I know that this will wake her right back up. And that means she'll actually take a proper full feed instead of just snacking and wanting to eat again in an hour. Before I attach that diaper, though, I always make sure that I run a wet baby wipe across her belly and flap the front of a diaper a few times. Now, I know this sounds a little weird, but I do it for a good reason. When babies are exposed to air, it often causes them to urinate. So by doing these two things, I'm ensuring that if she does wee, it's going to be contained in the diaper and not land on me. After the diaper change, it's time for part two of the feed. And 10 minutes later, she's finished and it's time for morning cuddles with her siblings, skipping burping completely. Again, this might sound a little odd, but I've found that burping or not burping my little one makes no difference in how settled she is. In fact, after burping, she's more likely to spit up and she already spits up a lot. So I stopped doing it. My little one's siblings are absolutely obsessed with these morning cuddles, but it's a bit overwhelming for a three-week-old. So I keep them short and sweet. And yes, you'll notice that her brother still hasn't managed to get dressed. So while I wrangle him into clothes, I lay her down on the play gym for some playtime. This is something I've done from day one for two reasons. First, I wanted to make sure that she's comfortable lying on different surfaces like the floor, her mattress, and the change mat. Basically anywhere other than my body, because while I absolutely love our cuddles, the reality is I can't hold or baby wear her all day because of a chronic back injury and I've got two other little ones to chase around. But more importantly, as a pediatric OT, I know just how crucial this floor time play is for her development. Right now, her play looks like gazing around the room, perhaps locking eyes with a toy, turning her head towards sounds and those gorgeous little arm waves and leg kicks. And it's these tiny movements that are developing her gross motor skills, fine motor skills, and visual abilities. Essentially, every wiggle and wave is literally laying the foundation for the skills required for her to roll over, sit up, crawl, and eventually walk. Now, although this floor time is really important, she doesn't exactly love it. Honestly, her tolerance is about as long as a brother's attention span for getting dressed. So these play sessions are brief. After 10 minutes under the play gym, she starts to complain. So I change up the scenery a little and give her some play time on the change mat, where she starts staring off into the distance. This is her sign that she's getting tired. So I swaddle her and lay her down in the pram to have her first nap there while we walk to the playground so her older siblings can get rid of some of their endless energy. At 10 a.m., we arrive back home and she's still sleeping. So I get her out of the pram and lay her down in the bassinet to finish her nap. Initially, she stirs a few moments after I lay her down, but since she isn't crying, in fact, she's quite calm, I stand close by but out of her line of sight and just watch, giving her the chance to fall back to sleep, which is exactly what she does. At 10.42, she wakes from her first nap and she's very hungry. So it's time for breastfeed number two, where I follow my usual pattern of pausing mid-feed for a diaper change to keep her awake. But of course, mid-diaper change, she has a massive spit up. So it's time for a quick outfit change. Now, since my little one spits up a lot, which is honestly pretty normal for babies, especially newborns, I've become very fussy about what I dress her in. And I'm completely obsessed with onesies that have two-way zippers rather than press-style onesies as they're so much quicker when you're dealing with multiple outfit changes a day. And when it's too warm for a onesie and she needs to wear a T-shirt, I always try to go for ones with envelope shoulders, which is that overlapping material at the shoulders. This little design feature allows me to pull the T-shirt down over her body instead of up over her head. And this means that the spit up doesn't get smeared through her hair or all over her face. The other thing I always have within arm's reach for diaper and clothing changes is a pacifier. Because as I mentioned earlier, she absolutely hates having her diaper or clothes changed. And honestly, when she starts crying, it gets quite stressful and very loud, especially with two other children around. So to keep her calm, I always pop that pacifier in the moment she starts to protest. After the not-so-quick diaper and clothing change, it's back to nursing and 10 minutes later, she's finished and ready to play. And this playtime starts with having a chat while she's lying on my lap. And honestly, this is one of my favorite parts of the day. I think it's because it's one of those rare moments where I feel truly present. I'm not rushing to get anyone dressed, I'm not chasing her siblings, and I'm not thinking about the next task on my list. It's just me and her having our little conversation. After our little conversation, it's back under the play gym for some more floor time. And after only five minutes of playtime, she starts showing me those unmistakable tired cues. So I swaddle her up and lay her down in the bassinet for nap number two. But here's the thing, I never know how long she's going to nap for. And this is because her sleep is driven primarily by sleep pressure. So she'll simply stay asleep until she's no longer tired, gets hungry, or becomes uncomfortable from something like a dirty diaper. This could be anywhere from 20 minutes all the way up to a few hours. Really, it's anyone's guess. Now, if you're sitting there wondering, is this normal or how much might a newborn actually be sleeping? You should grab my free New Parents Guide to Naps because in it, I break down exactly how much sleep your baby needs in 24 hours, how many naps they typically have, and how long they can realistically stay awake between naps based on their age. And you can grab it by clicking the link in the description below. Now, although my little one's naps are unpredictable in how long she will stay asleep for, I do everything I can to promote longer stretches of sleep. And this means that when we are at home, she always naps in the bassinet in our bedroom. I keep the room dark and cool and have white noise playing to help mask the chaos from her noisy siblings. Now, I know some people worry that creating this perfect sleep environment means she'll never sleep anywhere else, but trust me, when babies are exhausted enough, they'll fall asleep anywhere, in bright restaurants, noisy playgrounds, and even when their brother is clapping, laughing, and talking right next to them. Now, something I do want to mention is the American Academy of Pediatrics and Red Nose Australia do recommend room sharing for daytime naps, but they're also very clear that what matters most is that your baby sleeps on a firm, flat surface like a cot, bassinet, or a playpen rather than necessarily being in the same room as you. And that's why I'm comfortable letting her nap in the bassinet in our bedroom. I just make sure that I pop in regularly to check she's still on her back with her face clear. Now, this particular nap was a winner. She gave me a solid hour and a half waking at 1 p.m. And of course, she's hungry again. So it's time for breastfeed number three. I do my usual, pausing mid-feed to change her diaper and wake her back up a bit before continuing. But during this feed, she actually falls back to sleep while nursing. Now, during the first two weeks, this was pretty much the norm. Most of the time, she'd wait for a feed and then drift straight back to sleep with hardly any playtime at all. But over the past few days, she started staying awake a bit longer after feeds and we're managing to fit more playtime in. But this doesn't happen all the time. So when she fell asleep mid-feed, I simply swaddled her and put her straight back down in the bassinet to continue sleeping. After a 45 minute nap, she wakes up again. And this time she's had a blowout while sleeping. So before doing anything else, I quickly change her diaper and pop her into yet another outfit. But because I'm running low on clean clothes, my only option is a press stud onesie. So I'm really hoping she can manage to stay in this one until bath time tonight. Since I fed her at one and it's only 2.15, she isn't hungry yet. So I skipped the feed and lay her straight down on the play gym for some playtime. And she actually surprises me, happily playing there for 15 minutes. Just enough time for me to get our wet washing and take it outside where Little Miss and her siblings join me. Now, because hanging out the washing takes me a long time and she's just had a good stint on the floor, I pop her in the bouncer. The bouncer is brilliant for these moments where she's starting to get a bit grisly after floor play, but I need some hands-free time to get things done. And today she happily sits there watching her sister hunt for the four leaf clovers and her brother play with our dog. I do wanna mention though, that while bouncers give me some precious hands-free time, I'm careful not to overuse them because too much time in bouncers, swings or gliders can actually hinder gross motor development. So I always limit her time in it and make sure that she gets plenty of time on the floor, lying on her back, inside lying and some tummy time as well. I also never let her sleep in the bouncer due to the risk of positional asphyxiation and suffocation. Now, after hanging out the clothes, she starts to show me her hunger cues. So I feed her, change her diaper to wake her back up and then continue the feed. And just like before, she falls asleep while feeding, even with all the racket of my husband and the older kids playing nearby. So I lay her down for nap number four. After another 45 minute nap, she wakes up four o'clock and since she's only had a feed 45 minutes ago, she isn't hungry. So I skip the feed and we go straight to play time, starting with some tummy time on my chest. Now, tummy time is another position she's not particularly keen on simply because it's quite hard work for her little muscles. But it's such an important activity for newborns as it helps to strengthen those crucial neck, shoulder and back muscles and reduces the risk of developing a flat spot on the back of their head as well as positional tautocollis, which is basically a tight neck muscle. Because it is so important, I try to squeeze in tummy time multiple times a day. And now that she's starting to stay awake after feeds, it's getting easier to fit more sessions in. But today, we just haven't managed it until now. Now, since tummy time is challenging, I make it easier for her by doing chest to chest tummy time while I'm semi upright on the couch. This way, she doesn't have to work quite as hard to lift that heavy little head, but she's still getting all the developmental benefits. After two minutes of tummy time, she is completely done. And honestly, that's pretty good for a three week old. So it's time to have a little chat with her sister. By 5 p.m., those tired cues are back. So it's time for nap number five. While she's sleeping, I cook dinner and actually get to eat it while it's still warm, which is pretty rare at this point. Then at 6.30, she wakes up again and she's completely ravenous as it's been three hours since her last feed. From 6.30 to 6.50, I feed her while her dad gets the older two kids ready for bed. And then just as he finishes their bedtime routine, our little one vomits all over me. So dad takes over baby duty while I race upstairs to get changed. Once I'm sorted, it's bath time. Now to minimize the chances that she will get upset during the bath, I get everything ready before I undress her. So I fill the bath, making sure the water temperature is at 38 degrees Celsius, which is 100 degrees Fahrenheit for my American friends. And I gather all the bathing essentials. That's two face washes to wash her body, two towels, one for her to lie on and the other to dry her with, two clean diapers just in case she does a wee or a poop mid-change, some baby wipes and some barrier cream, two changes of clothes, again, one just in case of accidents, and some fragrance and dye-free soap and shampoo in a pump bottle so I can actually pump the product while I hold her in my other hand. Okay, now that everything's ready, it's bath time. And our daughter absolutely hated baths when we first started them. She would scream from start to finish. But we discovered that when we actually place a warm, wet face cloth on her chest, those tears stop. So that's what we do every bath time now and she actually enjoys it. And if that doesn't work, I've always got the pacifier nearby as a backup. After a 15-minute bath, it's time to get her out, dried and dressed for some playtime with her dad. And while they're playing, I get everything I might possibly need for overnight feeds because the last thing I want is to be creeping downstairs in the dark, potentially waking the older kids. Plus, all that extra movement just wakes her up more, which means that we'll both be awake for a lot longer. And I really don't want that at 3 a.m. My overnight survival kit includes some extra diapers, some wipes, some barrier cream, a disposable change mat, a waterproof mattress protector, a clean fitted sheet, a backup swaddle, and some spare clothes. Basically, I'm preparing for every possible scenario so those middle-of-the-night feeds can be as quick and quiet as possible. At 7.30, it's time for a final feed of the day. And this one's typically longer, usually lasting between 20 to 30 minutes, and sometimes she'll drift off while nursing. Tonight, though, she stays awake, so I complete her bedtime routine and lay her down in her bassinet at 8.00 p.m. for the night. Initially, she falls asleep, which is great, but then she starts stirring again just 90 seconds later. But since she's only squirming around and not actually crying out, I stay close by and give her the space to settle back to sleep on her own, which is exactly what she does. Now, as of this week, she's waking two times overnight for her feed, and tonight she wakes for her first feed at 11 o'clock. At this point, I get her up, unwrap her, feed her, then pause mid-feed to change her diaper, then swaddle her back up and continue the feed, and she falls asleep while nursing. Then I just gently lay her back down to continue sleeping, and we're both back in bed by 11.20. Then she wakes again at 3.30 for her second overnight feed, where we follow the same routine, where I unwrap her, feed her, do a diaper change, re-swaddle her, and then finish the feed. And again, she drifts off while nursing, and I lay her back down in her bassinet, where she continues sleeping until her wake-up time at 8 a.m. the next morning. One of the biggest reasons she's sleeping so well overnight is because I've learned to avoid four critical mistakes that can absolutely destroy a baby's sleep. I made every single one of these mistakes with my first daughter, and it cost us months of broken sleep. So if you wanna know what these mistakes are, and more importantly, the simple tweaks that can turn your nights around, make sure you watch this video next. Trust me, these small changes can make a massive difference in your whole family's sleep.