Are you a new parent?
Welcome to the party!! A baby changes everything, so let’s get to the REAL talk.
Below are my Top Tips for new parents. The things I wish someone told me to help manage my expectations for the newborn phase.
1. There is NO baby manual. The newborn phase is so much more than diapers and nursing and bottles and spit up. It’s recovering from labor, adjusting to loss of sleep and being responsible for something so much bigger than you. Give yourself some grace.
There is a huge emotional and mental shift you cannot prepare for. Be honest about your feelings with your partner, family, friends and doctors. Find humor in every messy moment and adjust your mindset to this new phase of life. Find positivity and goodness in every day.
No one can prepare you for new parenthood and the emotions you will feel going through this new stage of life. So, let me be one of the first to tell you… YOU ARE ALREADY DOING A GREAT JOB!
2. Accept Help. Even if it means eating a well-intentioned neighbors’ homemade lasagna for the 5th time that week. Even if it means someone seeing baby blowout in your laundry. Even if it means your house looks like a bomb went off.
Accept help in all forms offered. Believe me friend, these people in your life genuinely WANT to do these things for you. Especially those who have walked the parenthood path before you. We already know you can do it all… but allow yourself the grace and space to accept some help, too.
3. Invest in a Sound Machine. Silence is startling to a newborn! The womb is loud. Your baby has already heard the vacuum, traffic and the dog barking. Don’t be afraid to babywear while vacuuming during the day. A sound machine can soothe a cranky baby or lull them to sleep. It can be the difference between a catnap and a restorative nap.
A white noise machine is also a component of the ideal sleep environment, so you’ll be one step ahead of the game.
4. Slowly incorporate consistency and routine. Remember, babies are NOT clocks. Be open to a flexible routine as opposed to a set schedule. Most newborns will not follow a schedule of eating every 2-3 hours and taking 2-hour naps. You might find parenthood can be just THAT HARD and applying a schedule adds more stress. You have permission to throw away the schedule those first few weeks!
Give yourself some space to adjust to this new life as a parent while you and endure multiple visits from friends and family. The biggest things you really need to focus on during the newborn phase is making sure baby is taken care of and mama is taken care of. That’s the bottom line. Housework, chores, errands… can wait or be delegated.
That being said, you CAN slowly implement a little consistency into your days and nights. Start with a bedtime routine (and a nap routine.) Your consistency will create a pattern baby will eventually pick up on. And a little bedtime routine is a great way to bond with baby and build a healthy sleep foundation early on.
5. Self-Care. Take 20 minutes A DAY to yourself. No excuses. Have your partner, neighbor, family member, someone on your support team watch the baby so you can have at least 20 minutes to yourself.
Shower, brush your teeth, sit on the front porch alone, drive around the block… WHATEVER! If you can get more than 20 minutes – take it! But don’t surrender
those 20 minutes. That should be the only thing scheduled into your day and don’t
skip it.
That personal time will do wonders for your mental clarity and sanity.
Petite Sleep Tip: You CANNOT spoil a baby. No amount of rocking or nursing to sleep will prevent your baby from becoming an independent sleeper nor will you “spoil” your baby. The snuggle is real – get some!
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