Reflexes

New born will have many reflexes and will go way in periods of time. But reflexes will get over with activities in purpose sequentially. For example, you may get excited to feel your baby grabs your finger at first. But its purely a reflex and not on purpose. Your baby will start grabbing your finger in months time after the reflexes get over.

Rooting/Sucking reflex - Your baby will instinctively turn his head towards the direction of your finger when you stroke his cheek
Crawling reflex - Your baby will take up a crawling position when he's placed on the tummy position
Walking/Stepping reflex - When you hold your baby in the upright position with his feets in a firm surface, he will move his legs in walking position
Moro reflex - When your baby's drop back, he will throw his limbs with fingers outstretched, and then fall back slowly towards the body
Grasp reflex - If you keep any object or fingers in his palm, you will be surprised to feel the tight grasp

New born

Soon after delivery, your baby will be examined, his weight, length, head circumference will be measured in order to form a baseline against for assessing his future development. Here is the average chart(subjected to variations)

Average Birth weight - 5 pounds 8 ounces - 9 pounds 12 ounces(2.5 kg - 4.5 kg)
Average Legnth - 19 - 20 inches(48-51 cms)
Average head circumference - 14 inches(35 cms)

Fontanelle - This is the soft spot on babys head. You may notice 2-3 soft spots(front, middle, back). It is the space where the skull bones have not yet joined until your baby is 2 yrs old. Fontanelle allows the soft skull bones to mold and squeeze without damage to babys brain as the head passes thru birth canal. No special care is needed but dont be tempted to press hard.

Life with baby

In the initial weeks, you will be held up with diapering, feeding every 2-3 hrs and no wonder to see a over tired parents struggling to cope up their daily schedules and activities. But very soon, you would be able to plan your activities and execute effectively.

New born behaviors
Sounds - New born lungs are very shallow and breathing will be shallow. It may be fast, irregular and produce some strange sounds
Sneezing - New born are sensitive to bright lights and may sneeze whenever they open eyes for the first few days. Sneezing doesnt mean that babies have cold. Its just that their noses are very sensitive. Sneezing also helps in clearing out the dirt from nasal passages
Hiccups - New born hiccup quite a lot in the initial weeks which is very normal and not to be alarmed and it should not be a concern for parents. Its caused by sudden irregular contractions of the diaphragm and the muscles involved in respiration are getting stronger and trying to work in harmony.
Passing Gas - Passing gas loudly is perfectly normal as the digestive system are not fully developed in babies. They will pass more quietly and less frequently when it gets developed fully. So dont get noticed by the sounds then and there.
Poo poo - You can expect a life very soon with cleaning your baby's poo poo on every diaper change. When we first noticed our nurse in the hospital changed our baby's diaper without a fuss, we never turned head off for changing our baby's diaper then. Get used to it ...thats the best way ;)
Wet Diapers - Expect 6-8 during the first 3-4 months. It is always required to change diaper every 2-3 hrs, keep your baby comfortable, clean(though poo diapers require immediate attention)

Tip :

1. Always watch for baby sprays on diaper change. You can always expect the unexpected..especially on night time when you were sleepy and expecting more sleep, because babies do not know nights and days...they just spray, giggle at you and say 'hey mommy , clean it quick'..Better be quick in changing diapers and have some extra diapers handy always.
2. Always sing, make faces which would distract babies while changing diapers (make your life easy !!!!)
3. Diaper rash - You can notice a big improvement even if you keep open, air dry your baby's diaper area even for 5 mts. Make it as a routine till it vanishes.

Umbilical Cord

During pregnancy, umbilical cord supplies nutrients and oxygen to the developing babies fom mom and since it is not needed after birth, it is clamped. Parents would be asked to give only sponge bath to babies till it is fallen off by itself since it is required to keep the area dry and clean. Normally it would take 10-20 days to fall off on its own. Dont be tempted to pull off but keep lookingfor the day to pull off on its own. Cord on the little ones belly reminds you the bonding between you and your baby. Its really amazing and miraculous to remember the day when the dad cut the cord from the mom and gives baby's first breathe outside the womb. Clamped cord will not be painful to the baby as it is sensless..So no worries ..keep enjoying

Cradle Cap

You could notice a scaling on baby forehead in the initial week which is called Cradle cap. its a thick yellow encrustation on the scalp, mainly occurs in babies although children upto the age of three can have it.
The yellow scales appear in small patches or can cover the entire scalp. Cradle cap may look unsighlty but its quite harmless unless it is accompanied by red, scaly areas elsewhere on your baby's body in which case your baby may have seborrehic eczema. Its very normal in babies to have flakes on hair which is caused due to hormonal imbalance. This can be treated by gently rubbing the hair with a soft bristle brush to loosen the scales and washing the hair frequently(two/three times a week after the cord is fallen off).

Night wake up

During the initial weeks, babies wake up every 2-3 hrs in the night..Even if the baby is sleepy, parents are advised to wake the babies(especially breastfed) every 2-3 hrs since babies stomach is tiny and it can empty soon. Formula fed babies can sleep upto 3-4 hrs after a month or so. Some babies make it as a habit to wake up in the night for feeding, After 6 months, it was suggested by our pediatrician not to make this habit and even if the baby wakes, soothe him by a pat.

Remember that babies love to be in the hands of parents(or caretakers) and enjoy the warmth of the body...Since their uterus life was warm and not exposed to outside air, they love to enjoy the same warmth in parents. They can easily asleep when you keep them close with your body but when you put him in the crib, they would open the eyes all of a sudden. Babies could continue their sleep in crib if you dont remove your hands from them immediately after laying him in his crib. Have your hands on the sides or in the chest for a while in the crib so that he feels the warmth still and his sleep is not disturbed by this shift.