Things that got me through the first two weeks with a newborn
If you are like us and are at home with your first newborn you will feel like you want to buy anything that someone promises will make life easier - whether it's friends, family, the person in the next bed in the hospital or your midwife / health visitor.
Life with a newborn is relentless and you will find hours disappear in moments and the nappy changes and feeds seem constant, don't worry as you also lose hours to staring at the glorious human you made that is now the centre of your universe and everything they do is fascinating!
So what did we have / buy that made the first 2 weeks easier?
Support
Breastfeeding is not as easy as some mums make it look and it is not as easy as having a go and everything is peachy. There is a ton of support available so make sure you take advantage of it, don't shy away from discussing it, get all the support you can, it really will make a difference. 3 weeks in and I still don't have it completely nailed and friends and I are still hitting the local breastfeeding sessions to ask questions and get new tips.
Wet wipes and muslins
You cannot have enough of these - your first nappy changes you will go through loads of wet wipes, you will get better at this and hopefully not need to buy as many!
Have muslins around the house, in your lounge, nursery, kitchen etc, no one knows when sick, tears (yours and theirs) will strike and they can also be used to bundle up a wriggly baby or comfort them (as well as mopping up rogue unexpected wee on your changing table!).
Nappies
You will never have enough! At the same time, running out is a good reason to have to nip to a shop with a small goal in mind when you need to leave the house in the early days.
Chocolate
Buy loads, even if you haven't been a big chocolate eater before (I was not, now I'm practically a chocaholic) you will find a quick Wispa or Twix will give you much needed calories and a sugar boost in between a feed / on a walk.
Thankfully a lot of my friends who are already mums gave me lots of sweets and chocolate before the baby arrived - they knew the score.
Milk / teabags / toilet rolls
For you and all your visitors, leave out so people can see them and help themselves - enough said.
Baby Tracker App
This is one of many available but have it ready so you can keep a track of feeds and nappies, you may not need it for long but the midwife will ask you questions about regularity and in my sleep deprived state I struggled to know the answers, this app has been a godsend!
The Sleepyhead
Check this out if your baby is going in a fairly big bedside crib, it helped our baby to sleep in our room as the first couple of nights she wouldn't settle, she is much more cosy and happy in the sleepyhead and I am assured by friends who have them that she will not grow out of it as quickly as it looks like she will. I would also be delighted if sleepyhead made these in my size!
A dummy
I am extremely self conscious confessing that we have used a dummy as I know some people have extreme views on them, but when we hit the first night of almost constant inconsolable crying we reached for a dummy and our beloved baby was instantly soothed and then fell asleep. No amount of feeding, shushing, singing, rocking etc had calmed her down and we really need the momentary calm that the dummy brought. We didn't let her have it for long but it brought enough distraction and soothing for us to be able to move forward with other ways of calming her down, such as swaddling and going for a quick walk around the block.
Other tips
Patience
This pearl of wisdom is from Daddy Giles, I asked him what should be on this list and he also named the items above but this one above all else. It will be really hard, relentless and you should ask for as much support as you need, but no one said it would be easy and it really is totally worth it.
Other people will have their own hints and tips and so I hope this post starts a conversation so we can help all the new mums out there, these are just a couple of things that have made the first few weeks of parenthood easier for me.
Every day is a challenge and a privilege - bring on the next 3 weeks!
Life with a newborn is relentless and you will find hours disappear in moments and the nappy changes and feeds seem constant, don't worry as you also lose hours to staring at the glorious human you made that is now the centre of your universe and everything they do is fascinating!
So what did we have / buy that made the first 2 weeks easier?
Support
Breastfeeding is not as easy as some mums make it look and it is not as easy as having a go and everything is peachy. There is a ton of support available so make sure you take advantage of it, don't shy away from discussing it, get all the support you can, it really will make a difference. 3 weeks in and I still don't have it completely nailed and friends and I are still hitting the local breastfeeding sessions to ask questions and get new tips.
Wet wipes and muslins
You cannot have enough of these - your first nappy changes you will go through loads of wet wipes, you will get better at this and hopefully not need to buy as many!
Have muslins around the house, in your lounge, nursery, kitchen etc, no one knows when sick, tears (yours and theirs) will strike and they can also be used to bundle up a wriggly baby or comfort them (as well as mopping up rogue unexpected wee on your changing table!).
Nappies
You will never have enough! At the same time, running out is a good reason to have to nip to a shop with a small goal in mind when you need to leave the house in the early days.
Chocolate
Buy loads, even if you haven't been a big chocolate eater before (I was not, now I'm practically a chocaholic) you will find a quick Wispa or Twix will give you much needed calories and a sugar boost in between a feed / on a walk.
Thankfully a lot of my friends who are already mums gave me lots of sweets and chocolate before the baby arrived - they knew the score.
Milk / teabags / toilet rolls
For you and all your visitors, leave out so people can see them and help themselves - enough said.
Baby Tracker App
This is one of many available but have it ready so you can keep a track of feeds and nappies, you may not need it for long but the midwife will ask you questions about regularity and in my sleep deprived state I struggled to know the answers, this app has been a godsend!
The Sleepyhead
Check this out if your baby is going in a fairly big bedside crib, it helped our baby to sleep in our room as the first couple of nights she wouldn't settle, she is much more cosy and happy in the sleepyhead and I am assured by friends who have them that she will not grow out of it as quickly as it looks like she will. I would also be delighted if sleepyhead made these in my size!
A dummy
I am extremely self conscious confessing that we have used a dummy as I know some people have extreme views on them, but when we hit the first night of almost constant inconsolable crying we reached for a dummy and our beloved baby was instantly soothed and then fell asleep. No amount of feeding, shushing, singing, rocking etc had calmed her down and we really need the momentary calm that the dummy brought. We didn't let her have it for long but it brought enough distraction and soothing for us to be able to move forward with other ways of calming her down, such as swaddling and going for a quick walk around the block.
Other tips
- Leave a night light / lamp on near your changing table if in another room as it makes it easier to change the nappy of your newborn without both of you being blinded by the main light at 2am.
- Have changing apparatus upstairs and downstairs, particularly for mum, I found getting up and down the stairs was painful and took an age in the first 3 days.
- Hydrate - drink lots of water and have a drink on your bedside table for those night time feeds.
- Express - it will give you a break, help your milk supply and help your partner to support you. Our baby lost a lot of weight in the early days and expressing helped make sure there was plenty of milk for top up feeds and we were soon back on the right track. It also means that if I have dropped off to sleep unexpectedly and the baby needs feeding Liam can make a call on whether he really needs to wake me up or I can have a little extra rest.
- Ask questions - of anyone you know with kids - they will not laugh and there is no question too silly, they will genuinely be happy to help.
- Have a muslin with you for each feed - I have still not mastered this and regularly have milk / sick on my clothes.
- Make sure you have plenty of bin bags / have contacted the council re hygiene bags, as you will need these for all of the nappies.
- Pre buy some thank you cards and stamps so that they are ready to be sent if you want to, no one will expect a quick response from you but I've enjoyed writing short notes to thank people for thinking of us during nap time.
- Get some fresh air - it clears the mind, makes you relax your shoulders and your baby may fall asleep!
Patience
This pearl of wisdom is from Daddy Giles, I asked him what should be on this list and he also named the items above but this one above all else. It will be really hard, relentless and you should ask for as much support as you need, but no one said it would be easy and it really is totally worth it.
Other people will have their own hints and tips and so I hope this post starts a conversation so we can help all the new mums out there, these are just a couple of things that have made the first few weeks of parenthood easier for me.
Every day is a challenge and a privilege - bring on the next 3 weeks!
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