Getting a good night's sleep

2 Week Old Newborn Development: Peek-a-Boo! Your Baby Sees You!

Baby staring at you like she’s had one too many margaritas? No worries, she may look a little loopy, but she’s fine! Even though she’s still too small to focus perfectly on your gorgeous face, she definitely knows it’s you staring right back at her.
What You’re Thinking: “OMG I’m so in love! OMG it hurts to sit down! OMG my boobs are enormous!”

Baby Milestones

• So far your little sleeping beauty’s spent most of the time snoozing (except when she’s eating!). Newborns sleep from 16 to 18 hours a day, broken up into two- or three-hour “naps.” Great for her, not so great for you. But while you may feel sleep-deprived, know that baby’s sleep patterns are a necessary part of her brain and visual development.
• Babies at this age actually prefer to look at faces more than anything else. So indulge her! Hold her close—and pass her along to grandma, grandpa, older siblings, your siblings, the neighbors …
• Her newborn hearing is also developing right now, and your baby will turn toward a noise. Try ringing a bell—you know, the one you use to call your live-in nanny and butler (or you could just steal the cat’s)—and watch her turn her head to that side.
• The most important reflexes for your baby are probably the suckling and rooting reflexes. To see her root for food, stroke your baby’s cheek—she’ll turn her mouth to the cheek in search of dinner.

Mommy Milestones

• Peeing no longer reminds you of having paper cuts and sticking your hand in a vat of lemon juice. It still may be uncomfortable, but you’ve stopped muttering under your breath as you reach for the TP.
• You’re not quite singing “I’m woman, hear me roar” yet, but you have mastered feeding the baby and operating the remote at the same time.
• You’re beginning to accept (and believe) that individual choices are just that, individual. Breastfeeding, formula feeding, a combination of the two—it’s all good, and what’s best is what’s right for you and your bébé.
• You figured out how to collapse your stroller … with two hands and some assistance from your significant other. It’s all about baby steps—next week you’ll graduate to doing it by yourself!
• Your partner went back to work and you survived. Wait a minute, forget survived. You thrived! You rocked it! You turned it out! Period.

Home Front

These days, sleep probably ranks above just about everything on your to-do list (except maybe chocolate, but hey, you’re only human!). Unfortunately, with a newborn in the house, sleep can be as elusive as hot shoes—in your size!— on the sale rack. Check out these infant sleep tips to help baby sleep so you can get a little more rest. (As for the sale-rack shoes? Sorry, it’s every woman for herself there.) Read more …

Everything you ever wanted to know … and were just about to ask …

• Why is my newborn’s skin tone so different from mine and my partner’s?
• How do I bathe my baby?
• My newborn has bumps under the skin on the back of his head. Should I be worried?
  
• Breastfeeding Positioning Tips
  
• Choosing Between Liquid, Powder and Ready-to-Serve Formula

Do It: Pamper your Mini with a baby massage.
Buy It: Booby Tubes
Give your burning, aching boobs a break!
Share It: Milk Doesn’t Make the Mama
Whether your baby drinks from a bottle or a boob, it’s all good!
Discuss It: Chat with other new mamas and papas on our Baby Board.

BACK: Newborn Development: Week 1 / NEXT: Newborn Development: Week 3

All babies grow and develop at different rates. So please don’t compare your kid with so-and-so’s baby from across the street—you’ll just drive yourself nuts. If you have any concerns, bring them up with your pediatrician at your baby’s next checkup.

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