Week-by-week library · the first week home
Week 0
Quick answer
What is my baby up to at the first week home?
This week, your baby is learning your voice was worth the wait.
What's developing
Senses
Newborns see best at eight to twelve inches away, roughly the distance to a parent's face during feeding, and prefer high-contrast patterns and faces over plain shapes (AAP). Hearing is fully developed at birth; many babies turn toward a familiar voice they heard often in the womb.
Reflexes
Early movement is mostly reflexive: rooting toward a touch on the cheek, a strong grasp reflex around a finger, and the startle (Moro) reflex when they feel like they are falling. These reflexes are the newborn toolkit, not yet controlled motor skill.
Sleep
Newborns typically sleep 14 to 17 hours across a 24-hour day, in short stretches, with no real day/night rhythm yet (AAP).
Try this together this week
- Hold your baby at that eight-to-twelve-inch sweet spot and let them study your face; this is genuinely one of their favorite things to look at right now.
- Talk and narrate ordinary moments in a warm voice. Newborns cannot understand the words, but they are tuning in to your voice's rhythm.
- Offer a finger for the grasp reflex to close around. It is involuntary, but it is also a real, physical first "holding on."
- Try skin-to-skin time if you have not already; many families find it settles both baby and parent.
What parents often notice
Parents often notice how much of the day is reflexive and instinctive right now, and how quickly a newborn calms to a familiar voice or heartbeat position.
Fun fact: A newborn's visual acuity is estimated at roughly 20/400, which is why faces up close are so much more interesting than anything across the room.
Sourced to
- American Academy of Pediatrics, HealthyChildren.org
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Last reviewed by the This Week Baby editorial team.