Tips and Tricks for New Parents
You did it. You gave birth to a precious new life. You spent your time recovering and healing yourself for a couple of days, adjusting to new routines. New sounds. New feelings.
Now what? How do you know which registry item you were given does what? How can you tell which diaper to use when you take them home? Does the friendly nurse get to go home with you from the hospital? Or do your midwife or doula get to move in with you so every time you have a question, they’re right there?
Thankfully, with services like our Digital Doula service at Beautiful Births and Beyond, you can access around the clock support, especially in those first critical days and nights. There are also some tricks of the trade that may make the transition from womb to world a little less stressful on both you and your new baby.
Sleep is precious - protect it at all costs. If your baby is a light sleeper, you can try the following things to lessen the chance you’ll wake them up for when you have to perform a late night diaper change:
Bottom zip onesies - most babies get especially fussy when you mess with their upper half. If their hands and torso stay warm, their legs are usually okay to be exposed to the air when sleeping. A lot of babies prefer to sleep with just their top halves in some sort of shirt anyway! A selection of bottom zip onesies for sleeping will help save you from waking up your snoozing babe, and will get you back to bed sooner as well!
Red or pink lights help to keep the baby asleep - if you’re performing a diaper change in the middle of the night, or you forgot something in baby’s room and need to turn the light on to retrieve it, swap out your fluorescent lights for some red or pink lighting. You can use a tabletop model similar to this one, or if you’ve already got a headlamp with red light capability hanging around, that works too! Bonus - you still get the use of both of your hands!
Get a white noise machine - babies are used to constant noise in utero, and will feel right at home with a little background ambiance! This one has both color and noise! Double whammy!!
Eat when the baby eats - this is a mantra that parents to be have heard over and over (along with sleep while the baby sleeps). It’s so important to stay nourished during this transition time, especially if you are breastfeeding. However, any new mom will tell you that making meals may feel like an insurmountable task as you adjust to the newness of caring for a little life. Below are some options to help:
Sign up for a meal train - mealtrain.com is a site often used by friends, family, and coworkers to help coordinate meal planning and pick up for someone who may need a hand. It’s a free service and helps you schedule calendars, allows you to sign up right on the site, and even gives allergies/likes/dislikes of the recipients. This also eliminates your aunt Sally dropping by unannounced with a tuna casserole while you’re trying to feed the baby!
Meal subscription kits - with this fast-paced world we live in, subscription boxes like Blue Apron, Hello Fresh, and Home Chef have grown increasingly popular for those who like to cook but hate the prep. Most of these companies offer multiple meal plans, ranging from single to family, plant-based vegan to keto, and everything in between. These are perfect for families who have allergies as well, as each item is individually packed and can be easily omitted from the recipe, which comes in an easy-to-follow format with pictures and steps. Instead of having to suit up baby, get them in the car seat, take them out, bring them through the grocery store, bring the groceries home, unload them, and THEN cook on top of it all - all the ingredients are delivered directly to your door, perfectly portioned, and with the complete recipe ready to roll.
Grocery subscription boxes - if you enjoy the process of planning a meal and putting ingredients together, there’s options for you too! Check out Misfits Market, which brings quality organic produce to your door that doesn’t fit supermarket standards for color, shape and size (and would otherwise be thrown out) or ButcherBox, full of grass-fed, free-range meats of your choice.
Embrace the chaos - being a new parent is going to encompass a lot of different feelings and stretch you to limits you didn’t know existed. You can take comfort in knowing that you are not alone, that you are not the only one who has ever felt this way, and that you have help if you need it!
Housework is not important the first couple of months - if you feel like you’re letting things fall apart in the housework department, that’s okay. You do not need to keep a perfectly clean house in order to be a good parent. Let the laundry pile up. Do the dishes when you can, even if that is once every two weeks. Most importantly - ask those around you for help. You can change the baby’s diaper - when your friend comes to visit, request that they help you out with a two-handed task like folding towels you’ve been struggling to do while you get a well deserved break.
Stick to kid-friendly places when you first go out, especially if you’re going alone - bringing a newborn baby into the real world can be anxiety producing for some new parents. Add juggling a carseat, bottles, pacifiers, a fully stocked diaper bag, and any other items you might need while you’re out (yes, you really do need that iced coffee right this second!) and you’ve got a potential recipe for stress. Bring your baby to a read-along at the library, or a baby-and-me playdate at a local park. Not only will it help to ease your anxiety, but you will meet new parents and support each other as well.
Know that you are never truly alone - your partner. Your friends. Your family. Your doctor. Your doula. Your boss. Your old babysitter. Everyone who has ever been a parent has experienced some form of the beautiful, messy, wonderful chaos that entails. It can be hard to reach out, to feel like you’re “failing” if you can’t “do it on your own.” There’s a reason the expression goes “it takes a village.” Sometimes a knowing look between you and the person in line at Starbucks while your baby is having a meltdown because they’ve been there too is all you need.
At Beautiful Births and Beyond, we support parents through what is often called “The Fourth Trimester”, or the first few months after your new baby is born. Whether it’s a Digital Doula service or traditional Doula services, all parents are given the support they need to transition from womb to world in all aspects of life. Reach out for a consultation today and see how we can be part of your village!
