Top 5 Tips- Survival with a Newborn

Those early days with a new born can be magic but tough. Really tough. So here are five top tips from me, a midwife and mum of four, for survival with a newborn.

1. Fill your freezer

Any time in pregnancy you cook a lasagne, bolognese or coq au vin (if you’re a Nigella in the kitchen) then cook a bit extra for the freezer. You will appreciate it in those early days where cooking may not be on your baby’s agenda.

2. Changing/Feeding station in every room

I don’t mean purchase a whopping changing table for every room but if you could stash some nappy’s, wipes, a muslin and some breast pads maybe in a basket or small box for most lived in rooms (such as nursery, your bedroom and the lounge) it saves you leaving the baby unattended whilst ruuning upstairs. Or worse still carrying a baby with poo all up her back upstairs to locate your changing stash, meanwhile baby poo is being squelched into your favourite new top pyjamas. It also means that you have access to snacks and a drink, some breast pads etc. for you to use. Your baby will be very irregular with feeding. Sometimes they want a full 3 course meal, sometimes they are little snackers. Having a feeding basket with you means that you have a stash with you for when they’re being unpredectibable with their feeds.

3. Practise your ‘Thanks I will take that on board” face

Everyone including your friends, family, postman and Joe Blogg’s Nan will want to give you advice on how you should feed, deliver and name your baby. Yes your mother and grandmother have done it before but that was 20, 40 or 60 years ago. Times have changed, fashions have changed and so have evidence and professional advice. Take what they say, smile, say thanks and then scream into a pillow when you get home. Equally, your family and friends will be able to offer you a lot of help in those early days. So although, they may give you awful advice, they may also be able to provide you with the time for a warm shower and a cooked meal.

Same goes for a negative birth story.

Everyone is so quick to tell a pregnant lady their traumatic birth experience. Yet what they fail to mention is the absolute love and delight they feel when their baby is put into their arms. Not only that but they have gone on to have a couple of other children since so even though they may be trying to put you off, they would do it all again in a flash.

4. Adopt the 5 S’s into your life with a newborn

The fourth trimester is a period of 12 weeks where your baby is getting used to life on the outside world. Your baby has been use to being inside you for 9 months. They’ve felt your closeness and presence at all times and they want it to stay that way. The way to make this easier is to mimic life in the womb, especially when your baby is unsettled. Expect your baby to be like this. You are so much more likely to have a baby that wants to be held, rocked, to not be put down and to sleep on your chest. Often our expectations are way off in how a newborn is expected to behave.

Swaddle, Sway (or Sling), Suck, Ssssshh, Skin to Skin. These top tips deserve a post on their own so more on this next week.

5. Don’t be afraid to say no to visitors

Your baby needs you in those early days and needs you well and rested. Don’t be afraid to tell well wishing friends and relatives that you are not having visitors today/this week. It gives you time to establish feeding, for you and your partner to bond with your baby and for your new family to find your feet and adapt to life with your new baby.

For more tips and tricks to prepare for life with a newborn, check out The World Can Wait- The Fourth Trimester or 5 Items to help on your Breastfeeding Journey.