12 Ways To Enjoy The First Month With A New Born

Now that I can look back at all our experiences with our three children, there were really challenging moments that made us walk the path even more aware with our third baby Kairos (God’s Time). We truly desired to enjoy the moments of this journey since the first and second time we had so much to worry about well as we thought and could not relax through these seasons.

We have learnt so much from our wins and our mistakes including negative patterns we have tried to turn into positive patterns over time as we noticed the familiar trends. So if we happen to consider having our fourth and fifth baby we trust what we have learnt will help us to have a stress free journey with our new born.

Today we are all about you, if you have just had a new baby or someone close to you and maybe you are planning on having a baby soon, this post is dedicated to you and your beautiful baby or babies and we pray and trust you will enjoy this journey from the beginning by worrying less.

When our baby shalom (2nd baby) was two weeks old, she was hospitalized for two weeks and it was a rough time for my husband and I. I was in pain due to a caesarean section gone wrong so i took pain medication for relief yet my baby was breastfeeding so it affected her. We noticed just how much she would sleep and fed less, while also losing so much weight. So, Watch what you put in your mouth very much closely.

Not to mention I had a difficult time latching on properly to feed her well because she will not feed well when not latched well and the nipples will crack and be extremely sore.

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However we were able to get her to pick up weight by feeding her every 2 hours day and night. Whatever it is you have gone through, are going through from conception, pregnancy, birthing options and the post partum journey know that you are not alone. We have all gone through moments of weakness and may you find hope and heal the worries, anxiety and fear you may feel. Parenting is a Journey and not a destination with a lot of learning, unlearning and correcting mistakes but love will guide and see you through this beautiful journey.

“Parenting is a journey and not a destination with a lot of learning, unlearning and correcting mistakes but love will see you through this beautiful journey.”

Baby’s Cry

The only way a baby communicates with you is by crying! Embrace that and know that you are also learning about your baby, and as you get to know your baby you will know what mostly triggers your baby to cry. You will understand her hunger cues, when she needs a diaper change and so on.

Of course there is much concern when your baby cries non stop and that is when you go through the most important things that could trigger a baby to cry like hunger, consistent burping, diaper change, feeling hot or cold, keeping the umbilical cord dry, tight uncomfortable clothing, feeling sleepy and that will help you to check all those things so you can soothe your baby.

Keep A Journal Close!

As you get to know your baby you may want to really keep track of what keeps the baby calm. When the baby sleeps more hours of the night, what kept or made her calm and write it down because you may forget yet that answer may be golden to you as parents. Of course it may have been that unique day, however write it and repeat what works so you can confirm if it really soothes your baby well.

It may be as simple as a comfortable breast feeding position that really worked and your back was free from pain, but its worth noting! Go through the list above of situations that can cause a baby to cry and write down as you discover what soothes your baby.

Sometimes it may just be heat rash and being able to deal with it that is worth journaling.

I remember when our son was born we were new parents and dressing the baby in layers of clothes and the baby developed really bad heat rash. We rushed to the hospital the following day and the doctor just reduced the baby’s clothes and told us to keep in mind the temperatures and not overwhelm the baby with too many clothes and blankets.

If it helps your baby to sleep by the belly if the baby has gas in his/her belly due to not burping well then its worth noting but just be very careful with this one. Make sure the baby’s nose is open for breathing.

“Do you find a journal far out of reach? Then record your voice notes and save them, they may come in handy.”

One Milestone At A Time

If you were never a patient person this is the perfect time to learn to be patient. When you learn each stage after the arrival of your new born, celebrate that milestone and not worry about the list of things you still have to learn.

Master holding a new born, breastfeeding well, burping the baby well, getting the baby to sleep well, sponge bathing the baby and each of these are a milestone on their own to be really grateful for.

Sometimes its a challenge to be calm when there is something major that challenges you. An example is when your nipples are cracked, red and sore from not latching well. It can really cause so much anxiety and uncertainty because the pain can be unbearable.

If that is the case, address it by committing to learning the perfect latch with each feed. Do not give up on learning until it becomes second nature. There are also nipple creams that could really help with the pain while you get better at breast feeding every day.

Do not Worry About A Messy House!

The house should be the least of your worries when nursing a baby. It is important to get it clean at least whenever you are able so you live in a healthy environment. So focus on more on the baby and your spouse may help with tidying the house while you focus on nursing the baby well and resting whenever you can.

Try tidying the house in the evenings when you are able to do so when the baby has just slept. You can take 10- 15 minutes just picking items on the floor, tidying and you will wake up to a cleaner house the next morning.

Mom’s Warm bath

There is something about getting into a nice warm bath that works for mom. After giving birth you bleed a lot and good hygiene does wonders for your body to relax. So if anyone is present to watch the baby or steal a few minutes while the baby sleeps to bath, then oil or simply moisturize your body so to keep it from drying out then get into comfortable clothes.

This makes the biggest difference I have noticed.

Even if fatigue had taken its toll on you but you feel more stronger after a good warm bath.

A great tip is to bring everything you will need to the bathroom. Your moisturizer, sanitary pads, clean under wear, your clean clothes so by the time you leave the bathroom you are done. This helps so when your baby wakes up with any noise as you leave the bathroom you are already done wit dressing up too. Some days i would keep all these ready in the bathroom so when my baby falls asleep i just go straight to the bathroom.

Ask For Help

Do not be afraid to ask for help in areas where you really need assistance. If you are having the second, third baby help with getting your other children to bed or attending to other household needs while the baby is with you.

It is also possible to desire to get a few things form the shop but you may not be able to do that with a new born so that is where help comes in handy especially if your spouse is at work during the day.

One of the main important things is a meal plan for the family and if there is nothing frozen that is prepared you might as well use as much help as you can.

Sometimes you may just ask for advise concerning a challenge you have with your new baby from other moms. It really goes a long way and something that could be stressing you can be easily addressed from one who has gone through it. It is okay to discern if the advise will work for you or not, some things you just trust your mom instincts.

This may be a great time to address many stressors or worries you may have like the baby’s weight fluctuations. There are many mommy blogs and some are only focused on new born babies and plenty of you tube videos on how to do certain things when you have a new born. We have help available as parents, do not be afraid to use it.

Cook Once For Many Meals

I cannot emphasize this enough, you cannot afford to stand for hours in the kitchen. On a day when you are feeling more energetic and the baby is sleeping more, there is your time to cook in the largest pots you have and freeze some for rainy days.

When our third born was an infant, i tried to master when she wants more attention and since it was in the evenings, i would wake up as early as possible in the mornings and cook once for the whole day including breakfast, lunch and supper.

If there is someone to help you with chopping some vegetables either your spouse or your nanny if you already have one so its easier and quicker to cook.

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Get Some Sun Or Fresh Air As Much As Possible

Staying in doors for long with a baby may make you feel lonely to a certain extent. If you can just go outside and enjoy the sun or the breeze it makes a big difference.

Taking a walk when you can also helps the body heal and get used to moving more. It does not have to be really long walks but even around your backyard can also do.

Satisfy Your Thirst!

If you are Breast feeding, you really need to pay attention to filling yourself up with liquids especially some water. I usually notice just how much i would be thirsty most of the time in the first month and sometimes i would not listen to that urge to drink water because all i want to do when the baby is sleeping is to rest too.

It would really help to keep bottled water next to where you spend most of your time with your baby so you can easily reach it.

Make Routines Much Easier To Handle!

At Night before going to bed, make your feedings, diaper change, hydration much easier by getting most things you will need right next to you.

Nappy Change!

Have two or three diapers within your reach, if you have a side table now you can get it into use. Have your wipes, bum cream or Vaseline to keep baby’s bum hydrated. If such things are far from reach like the baby’s bum cream, you may skip on applying it leaving the skin dry and cracked causing more discomfort you may not easily pick when baby cries.

Feedings!

Have all you need in your bedroom or the nursing room to easily feed your baby during the night or even during the day while you all nap. I made sure there is a small sofa i can use in the bedroom to nurse the baby when she wakes up. If you had your nursing pillow in the living room during the day, take it to the bedroom with you to make your lives so much simpler. Now when the baby wakes up to feed you save yourself a walk to the living room at night to fetch what you left before bed.

If you are bottle feeding, then make enough milk to last the baby for the night as you will know how much milk your baby takes in the night, For a new born it may be just one bottle.

Pumping For The nights!

I would try my best to pump milk during the day so that sometimes my husband would wake up and attend to the baby and i would have some bottled milk ready. Now depending on the temperatures you may need to warm it.

Bottled Water!

The concern for most moms is to have plenty of milk so keeping yourself hydrated is excellent and when you wake up having some water next to you goes along way.

Turn Off Notifications and Sleep As Much as You Can!

There is no need to feel pressured to check your notifications from messages, emails and social media. You need as much time to sleep as possible. You do not have to feel pressured to stay up an hour more just to attend to your phone, you need to save that energy for your nights and days with less sleep.

Have Skin To Skin And Whatever Works For You And Your Baby

Make use of your skin to skin time with your baby so it can soothe and calm the baby. Adopt what calms and soothes your baby as you get to know your baby day by day. Some days you will try something and the next it may not work, do not give up trying to see what is best.

You will eventually understand each other with your baby and know what your baby needs with each day. Let this list not restrict you but continue to discover more end enjoy your baby mommy!