Newborns and infants (0-12 months)

Check out the information and advice about caring for your newborn baby.

It takes time and a lot of practice for tamariki (children) to learn the skill of nose blowing. Whānau (family) need to be patient and find the best way to support their tamariki. Giving lots of praise, making up games, and keeping it fun helps.

To give others easy access to KidsHealth's safe sleep for pēpi (babies) content, you can share a QR code poster. Anyone can scan the QR code with their phone and go straight to the KidsHealth safe sleep for pēpi content.

To give others easy access to KidsHealth's content on newborn pēpi (babies), you can share a QR code poster. Anyone can scan one of the QR codes with their phone and go straight to the section on newborn pēpi.

To give others easy access to KidsHealth's content on premature pēpi (babies), you can share a QR code poster. Anyone can scan one of the QR codes with their phone and go straight to the section on premature pēpi.

Pēpi (babies) need sleep to grow and develop. Sleep needs vary and change as they grow. Your baby's sleep needs may differ from other pēpi their age. Knowing what to expect at each stage helps you understand their sleep needs as they grow.

Pēpi (babies) need sleep to grow and develop. Sleep needs vary and change as they grow. Your baby's sleep needs may differ from other babies their age. Knowing what to expect at each stage helps you understand their sleep needs as they grow.

Bonding with your baby can happen whether you breastfeed or feed your baby with a bottle (either expressed breastmilk or infant formula). Practice responsive feeding when bottle feeding.

Check Whānau Āwhina Plunket's chart on how to store expressed milk.

Frequent feeding is normal when your baby is first born. Your baby may feed as often as every 1 to 2 hours. After the newborn period, your baby should be feeding at least 8 times in 24 hours including during the nighttime.

Breastfeeding is a learned skill for both mum and baby, and it's very common to need a bit of extra support before you both become experts.

See hunger cues in pictures. Frequent feeding is normal when your baby is first born. Baby may feed as often as every 1 to 2 hours. After the newborn period, your baby should be feeding at least 8 times in 24 hours including during the nighttime. 

If you are worried about how your baby is feeding, ask to have a breastfeeding assessment.

Tongue tie is a condition that involves a small piece of tissue connecting the tongue to the bottom of the mouth. This is called the frenulum. When a baby's frenulum is short or tight it can stop their tongue from moving properly. This is called a tongue tie. Tongue tie may cause a problem with breastfeeding for some pēpi (babies).

Some premature pēpi (babies) need eye checks to screen for a condition called retinopathy of prematurity. Find out what happens when your premature baby has an eye check to look at the back of the eye.

Keep your child safe in the car. Make sure your baby is in a rear-facing car seat until they are at least 2 years old. Keep your child in a booster seat until they are 148cm tall - for most tamariki (children), that's somewhere between 10 and 12 years of age.