Baby in Québec, day by day
Newborn at 1 day: what is happening, and what to do in Québec
Day 1: the meeting. Skin to skin, first feeds, first meconium, screenings before going home; the rest can wait.
Your baby
The first stools: meconium
For the first two or three days, stools are dark, almost black, and sticky: this is meconium. They change colour as soon as the baby digests milk. A baby who drinks enough has passed all the meconium before day five.
Wet diapers as a landmark
In the first two or three days, urine is dark and scant; the number of wet diapers rises by about one a day during the first week. After that, a baby who drinks enough wets at least 6 diapers in 24 hours. Orange crystals in the diaper are normal in the first two days, not after.
Weight dips, then climbs
Even a well-fed newborn often loses 5 to 10% of birth weight in the first days. Weight gain starts again around day four, and birth weight is back around day ten to fourteen. The nurse weighs the baby at each visit: steady weight gain is the best sign the baby drinks enough.
The cord dries and falls off
The umbilical cord stump dries, darkens and falls off on its own, usually within one to three weeks. Keep it clean and dry, folding the top of the diaper below the stump. Spreading redness, a smell or discharge should be reported to the nurse.
Lots of sleep, in short stretches
A newborn sleeps most of the day, often 16 to 18 hours, but in short stretches, day and night alike. The difference between the two is not there yet. Longer nights will come on their own over the weeks.
Frequent feeds, on the baby’s cue
In the first days, most babies ask to feed every time they wake. According to the INSPQ guide From Tiny Tot to Toddler, a breastfed baby usually feeds 8 or more times in 24 hours, and a formula-fed baby 6 or more. The number varies from day to day: hunger cues matter, not the clock.
Fever before three months
In a baby under three months, a fever calls for prompt assessment by a professional, even if the baby seems well. Take the temperature before calling and describe what you see: Info-Santé 811 will tell you where to go. This page gives no threshold and no medication.
On the back, in their own bed
From birth, the baby sleeps on the back, on a firm mattress, in a crib, cradle or bassinet that meets Canadian standards, with a fitted sheet and nothing else: no pillow, comforter or bumper pad. The Canadian Paediatric Society and Health Canada recommend sleeping in the parents’ room, but in their own bed, for the first six months. Once the baby rolls over alone, any position is fine.
Vitamin D for the breastfed baby
In Québec, a vitamin D supplement is recommended for breastfed babies from birth, because breast milk does not contain enough for our climate. The product and the amount are confirmed with the CLSC nurse, the doctor or the pharmacist; this page gives no dose.
In Québec
Hearing screening before going home
In Québec, hearing screening is offered free to all newborns. In hospital it is done before going home, often while the baby sleeps: a few minutes, painless, result right away. A baby born at a birthing centre or at home is screened in the first month, at the nearest hospital.
The heel-prick test
Between 24 and 48 hours of life, the nurse or midwife takes a few drops of blood from the baby’s heel for Québec’s newborn blood screening program, which looks for rare but treatable conditions. Since April 2025 a single sample is enough; the old urine test at 21 days no longer exists. Screening is recommended, free and voluntary.
The CLSC call and visit
In the days after going home, a CLSC nurse calls, then offers a home visit: the baby’s weight, feeds, jaundice, cord, your recovery and your questions. This is the moment to bring out your notes from the last days. Between contacts, Info-Santé 811 answers day and night.
Declare the birth within 30 days
The place of birth gives you the attestation of birth. With it, the parents fill in the Declaration of Birth of the Directeur de l’état civil, online or on paper, within 30 days of the birth: free within that time, with fees after. Common-law parents must both sign it to establish filiation. Once received, the declaration becomes the official act of birth, and it triggers RAMQ registration and the Family Allowance.
The other parent’s QPIP weeks
The parent who did not give birth is entitled to QPIP paternity or parental weeks: 5 exclusive weeks under the basic plan, 3 under the special plan, plus the shared parental weeks. Apply online, at the earliest on the Sunday of the week payments should start; both parents must choose the same plan. Our QPIP calculator estimates the amounts.
RSV protection in the cold season
Québec’s immunization program offers babies born during respiratory syncytial virus season, in autumn and winter, a preventive antibody treatment, often before leaving the hospital. These are ready-made antibodies that protect through the season. Ask at the place of birth or the CLSC if it was not offered.
Register the baby on the childcare portal
Since autumn 2025, the Childcare Services Registration Portal replaces La Place 0-5. A child can be registered only after birth, and it is the desired start date that counts for the allocation of places, not the registration date. Best to create the file early, with the CPEs and daycares you want, and keep it up to date.
With Maliah
Feeds and diapers, counted without effort
The nurse will ask how many feeds and diapers the baby had in the last 24 hours. In Maliah, every feed and every diaper is logged in two taps or by voice, “10-minute feed, left breast, for Noah”, and the last-24-hour total appears on its own, for both parents.
Weight, visit after visit
Each weighing is logged in Maliah with its date; the growth curve is drawn against WHO standards, as a fact, without judgment. Before an appointment, the summary for the doctor gathers the measurements and what was noted since last time.
The whole family sees the same thing
The partner, grandma or the babysitter see the last feed, the last sleep and the last diaper when they open the app, no texting needed. Everyone logs what they do, with their name and the time, and nobody asks the same question twice.
Related free tools
Sources : INSPQ : Mieux vivre avec notre enfant de la grossesse à deux ans (guide 2026) · INSPQ, Mieux vivre : Pleurs · INSPQ, Mieux vivre : Prévention de la tête plate · INSPQ, Mieux vivre : Baby blues · Directeur de l’état civil : Déclaration de naissance · RAMQ : Naissance ou adoption · Québec.ca : Allocation famille · Québec.ca : Dépistage sanguin chez les nouveau-nés · Québec.ca : Dépistage de la surdité chez les nouveau-nés · Québec.ca : Programme québécois d’immunisation · Québec.ca : Trouver un service de garde et inscrire mon enfant (Portail d’inscription) · RQAP : faire une demande de prestations · Agence du revenu du Canada : Allocation canadienne pour enfants · Service Canada : numéro d’assurance sociale
This article is for information; it does not replace advice from a health professional. In Québec, call Info-Santé 811 when in doubt (elsewhere in Canada, your provincial health line). In an emergency, call 911. Updated on October 27, 2026.