Week 6

Days 36 to 42 · 5 weeks 0 days to 5 weeks 6 days old · about 5 weeks This week many babies measure about 55 cm (21.5 in) and weigh roughly 4.6 kg (10.1 lb). Babies vary widely, and what matters is that your baby keeps following their own curve on the growth chart. Your baby is awake for longer stretches and spends more of that time looking at faces, and the evening crying many families know so well is close to its peak. For you, bleeding has usually stopped or nearly stopped, and you may be ready to venture out more. This week looks at how your baby studies your face, the crying peak, getting out of the house, your first period, carrying your baby safely in a sling, preventing a flat head and sharing the invisible work of family life.

Day 36 · 5 weeks 0 days old

Your face is your baby's favourite thing to look at

Hold your baby about 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in) from your face and watch what happens. Their eyes settle on yours, and they may stay there for several seconds. At this age a human face is the most interesting sight in the world to them, especially the eyes, the hairline and a moving mouth.

Over the coming weeks their eyes start to follow a face as it moves slowly to one side. At first the movement is jerky and they lose track partway. With practice, the tracking becomes smoother and covers a wider arc. Strong contrasts help: dark eyebrows on a pale face, a black-and-white pattern, a bright scarf.

This watching is not passive. Your baby is learning what faces do, connecting your voice to your mouth and storing the features of the people who care for them. It is the groundwork for the social smile that usually appears around 6 weeks, which you will read about next week.

Do not worry if your baby looks away. Turning away is how a young baby says "that is enough for now". Give them a pause and they will usually come back to you.

Try this: During a calm, alert moment, hold your baby face to face and move your head slowly from one side to the other, watching whether their eyes come with you.

Day 37 · 5 weeks 1 day old

The crying is close to its peak

If your baby seems to be crying more than ever, you are not imagining it. In most babies, crying rises from about 2 weeks, peaks somewhere around 6 to 8 weeks and then eases by 3 to 4 months. At the peak, two to three hours of crying a day is common.

Much of it bunches up in the late afternoon and evening, starting and stopping for no clear reason. This pattern shows up in babies all over the world, whatever the family does, which tells you it is a stage of development, not a sign that you are getting something wrong.

The soothing techniques from a few weeks ago still help, even if they only take the edge off. What helps you matters just as much. Decide now, while you are calm, what you will do when you reach your limit: hand over to another adult, or lay your baby on their back in the crib and step into another room for a few minutes. A crying baby who is safe in their crib is fine. As you read earlier, never shake a baby, however exhausted you feel. Call your baby's doctor if the crying sounds different from usual, is high-pitched or weak, or comes with a fever, vomiting, poor feeding or fewer wet diapers.

Try this: Write your own "when I hit my limit" plan in a sentence or two and stick it on the fridge where you will see it at 6 p.m.

Day 38 · 5 weeks 2 days old

Getting out of the house is worth the effort

The first few outings can feel like planning an expedition. By the time you have fed, changed and dressed your baby, packed a bag and found your keys, they may need feeding again. Go anyway, even if only around the block. Daylight and fresh air do a great deal for most new parents.

Keep a bag packed and ready by the door so you only need to top it up: a few diapers, wipes, a change mat, a spare outfit for your baby (and a top for you), a burp cloth and, if you use formula, a ready-to-feed bottle or measured powder with a flask of water to mix it with. A small snack and a water bottle for you are not optional.

Dress your baby in about one more layer than you are wearing, with a hat in cold weather and shade in hot weather. Never drape a blanket over a stroller to block the sun, since it traps heat. In the car, take off thick snowsuits before buckling up, and never leave a baby alone in a vehicle, even for a moment. Start with short, easy trips: a café with room for a stroller, a park, a parent and baby group. Feeding in public is normal, and in many places it is protected by law.

Try this: Pack your outing bag tonight and plan one short trip out tomorrow, with no goal other than leaving the house.

Day 39 · 5 weeks 3 days old

Your period may return sooner than you expect

The bleeding after birth, lochia, usually tapers off by about 4 to 6 weeks. After that, the next bleeding you see is likely to be your first period, and its timing depends a lot on how you feed your baby.

If you are formula feeding, periods often come back around 6 to 8 weeks after the birth, sometimes earlier. If you are breastfeeding often, day and night, the hormone that makes milk can hold periods back for months, sometimes until you breastfeed less or stop. Combination feeding sits somewhere in between. All of these patterns are normal.

The first few periods may be heavier, longer, lighter or more irregular than before. Cramps can feel different too. It may take a few months to settle into a rhythm. Some people notice a small, temporary dip in milk supply around their period, which recovers on its own.

The important point is that you can ovulate before your first period. That means you can get pregnant before you have had any bleeding at all. You will read about contraception in week 7.

Call your care provider if bright red bleeding returns heavily after lochia had stopped, you soak a pad in an hour or less, you pass large clots, or bleeding comes with fever, pain or a bad smell.

Try this: Start a simple note on your phone to record when any bleeding happens, so you have dates ready for your 6-week check.

Day 40 · 5 weeks 4 days old

A sling or carrier can free your hands safely

Many babies settle more easily when they are held upright against a warm body, and a sling or soft carrier lets you do that while you make a sandwich or walk to the shops. Babywearing can be a real help in the crying weeks. It needs to be done carefully, though, because a young baby cannot move their head to clear their own airway.

Check these points every time you put your baby in:

Snug: the carrier holds your baby close, with no slack for them to slump into.

In view: you can see your baby's face by glancing down, with no fabric over it.

Close enough to kiss: their head is high on your chest, not low near your belly.

Chin off chest: there is at least a finger's width between chin and chest, so breathing is never squeezed.

Back supported: their back is gently curved and held, with legs spread around you and knees higher than bottom, which also protects the hips. Avoid carrying your baby while cooking at the stove, drinking hot drinks or cycling. Bend at the knees to pick things up. Check the seams, buckles and fabric regularly, and follow the weight limits on the label. Bag-style slings, where a baby lies curled in a pouch, are not safe.

Try this: Practise putting on your carrier in front of a mirror, then do the five checks out loud.

Day 41 · 5 weeks 5 days old

Small habits help prevent a flat head

A young baby's skull is soft, and spending a lot of time with the head in the same position can flatten one area. This is positional plagiocephaly. It became more common once babies began sleeping on their backs, which has saved many lives, so back sleeping is still always right. The answer is to vary your baby's position while they are awake.

Tummy time, which you began in the first weeks, is the most useful tool. Build it up to a total of about 30 minutes or more spread across the day by the end of the second month, in short sessions when your baby is awake and watched. Carrying your baby upright or in a carrier also takes pressure off the back of the head.

Alternate the end of the crib you lay your baby down at, so they turn to look at the room from different sides. Switch the arm you hold them in for feeds. Keep time in car seats, bouncers and swings short.

Call your baby's doctor if you notice a flat area that is getting worse, one ear sitting further forward than the other, or your baby always turning their head to one side. A tight neck muscle, called torticollis, responds well to stretches when found early.

Try this: Tonight, lay your baby down at the opposite end of the crib from usual, keeping everything else the same.

Day 42 · 5 weeks 6 days old

The invisible work deserves to be shared

Running a household with a new baby involves a huge amount of thinking that nobody sees. Noticing that diapers are low. Remembering when the last feed was. Booking the 6-week check. Knowing which sleeper still fits. This constant planning and remembering is often called the mental load, and it tends to fall on one person, frequently the parent who gave birth. The tiredness it causes is real. Even when tasks are shared, being the one who has to notice, ask and remind can be exhausting. It can also breed quiet resentment on one side and confusion on the other.

What helps most is sharing whole jobs, not just the doing of them. Rather than "can you buy diapers?", one person owns diapers entirely: tracking, ordering and restocking. The same can work for laundry, appointments or meals. Sitting down together for ten minutes once a week to look at what is coming up keeps both of you in the picture.

If you are parenting alone, or with little support close by, the mental load is all yours. Saying yes to specific offers, such as a meal on Thursday or an hour's walk with the stroller, is not a weakness. People often want to help and simply do not know how.

For your partner: Choose one area, such as diapers, laundry or appointments, and take it over completely this week, from noticing to finishing, without being reminded.