Ahhh, babies! We love them, but between recovering from birth and taking care of them, we start to get so overwhelmed. It doesn’t matter if you’re a first-time mama or already have kids, that newborn stage is rough! When I was pregnant with my son, Daniel, I couldn’t wait for all those newborn snuggles. It didn’t take me long to realize that although snuggling a newborn is the best thing ever, the newborn stage is not my favorite. After going through it, I have prepared a list of 30 tips to survive the first 30 days with a newborn.
1. Enjoy the First 24 hours- The first 24 hours after birth, babies sleep a lot and they don’t eat for very long. When they’re not eating, they’re sleeping. Enjoy those first 24 hours and rest! Life is about to become very very hectic.
2. Sleep- speaking of sleep, sleeping is a luxury when you have a newborn. The most common advice that you hear when you’re a first-time mom is “sleep when the baby sleeps.” That is a lot harder than you might think it is. When the baby sleeps, you want to sleep, but you also want to eat a meal without interruption or take a shower too. Believe it or not, newborn babies sleep 16-18 hrs! So yes, do try to sleep when the baby sleeps. I found that my newborn would sleep a little longer if I was cuddled up next to him napping too.
3. Zip-Up Jammies- When you’re changing diapers in the middle of the night, the last thing you want to do is fiddle with snap buttons. I loved zip-up onesies, especially ones with an inverted or upside-down zipper.
4. Pacifiers are Your Friend- a lot of blogs and breastfeeding classes are against using pacifiers for the first 4-6 weeks because of nipple confusion. I didn’t have an issue with breastfeeding and using a pacifier from the first day. Babies are born with an instinct to suck. It’s calming for them and if you use your breast, you risk having your baby can use you as the pacifier. If your baby doesn’t take a pacifier, try a couple of different brands. We found that Bibs was Daniel’s favorite.
5. Wait to Change the Diaper- When you feed your baby, wait a few more minutes before changing their diaper. I can’t tell you how many times I would change Daniel’s diaper only to hear him pooping into the clean one a minute later.
6. Get a Baby Lounger- There are lots of different options for baby loungers. I have the Snuggle Me Organic lounger and I loved having it. It’s made to “snuggle” your baby when he lays in it. It’s nice to be able to put your baby down and give your arms a rest. This particular lounger also works great for tummy time.
7. Feed on Demand- the first few days, your body is establishing milk supply for your baby. The key to having a good supply is to feed your baby as often as possible. Sometimes, babies cluster feed, meaning they have their meals close together. I got lucky because Daniel only cluster fed once or twice. He cluster fed the worst when he was 3 days old and he ate for 30 min every 45 minutes to an hour between 7 pm and midnight. So for 5 hours he was in my arms and I was feeding him and it was rough. Babies have to cluster feed to help establish your supply and grow. Also, the baby’s stomach is tiny and is still growing the first week. They’ll be eating frequently in the first couple of weeks.
8. Take Home Some Formula– when you’re leaving the hospital, they’ll most likely offer you some formula. Even if you’re planning to breastfeed, take the formula. Your milk won’t come in for 3-5 days so it’s better to have some formula on hand just in case your baby is hungry and you’re too tired to feed. I had my husband formula feed my baby for one of his feeds and I took a nap. It was glorious.
9. Learn the Hunger Cues- Did you know you don’t have to wait for your baby to start crying to know when to feed them? Babies give off hunger cues long before they start crying. Look for your baby smacking his lips, or eating his fist or rooting (opening his mouth to look for your breast when you hold him).
10. Skin-to-Skin- when your baby is just born, they put him on your chest for some skin to skin time. When you go home from the hospital, continue to do skin to skin time with your baby and have your husband do it too! It great for bonding with your baby, and it helps your breastfeed by triggering a stronger letdown! You are your newborn’s safe place and that’s a wonderful feeling.
11. Accept Help/Ask For Help- don’t try to do it all yourself. It’s hard mama, especially the first few weeks. You can read all about postpartum recovery on my Postpartum Realities blog. If someone offers to bring you a meal, accept it! The ladies at my church brought meals for my family for the first 2 weeks and it was so helpful! My mom was a huge help to me as she came to snuggle with her grandson and would also help by cleaning my house. Likewise, if no one is offering, ask for help yourself. There is no shame in it.
12. Get Out of the House- being cooped up indoors won’t help your mental health. Don’t go to places where there’s a lot of people but do go outside for a walk. Fresh air will do you and the baby some good.
13. Get in The Water or Go Outside- if there are two things that help my baby to calm down it’s going outside or taking a bath. He’s the most relaxed in those two scenarios. Babies spend the first 9 months of their lives living in water so it’s usually comforting for them to take a warm bath. They also like the fresh air, so take your baby outside if he’s being fussy and see if that helps.
14. Changing Blowout Onesies- I didn’t know this until I had my baby, but onesies are created to be taken off by the shoulders as well as over the head. This is helpful for when your baby has a blowout, which they will. Instead of pulling the onesie over their head, use the tabs to pull the onesie down over their shoulders.
15. Try a Heating Pad- if your baby wakes up as soon as you put him down, try putting a heating pad in the bassinet. The warmth might help them sleep longer.
16. Stock Up on Gripe Water- your baby’s digestive system is the last thing to develop. When they’re in your womb, they get all their nutrients through the umbilical cord, so when they’re born and the cord is cut, their digestive systems start working. This can cause gas a lot of it. Sometimes it can be pretty painful for babies. Stock up in gas drops or gripe water to help with that. It works almost instantly.
17. Keep Track of Your Diet- speaking of gas, some foods that you eat will make your baby hurt more than others. Some big triggers are dairy, cabbage, or coffee. Since people were bringing food to my house for the first 2 weeks I ate something different all the time but my one constant was coffee. I noticed that when I didn’t have coffee, Daniel’s tummy felt better and he was in a better mood. If your baby is fussing a lot after meals, try to figure out a constant and try cutting it.
18. Get a Baby Tracker App- I use Huckleberry. This helps you know when your baby napped last, when they ate, and when their last diaper change was. It’s helpful.
19. Velcro Blankets- It’s not recommended to put blankets in your baby’s bassinet or crib. At first, your newborn won’t move much but at about 1-2 months they start to kick up their legs. I learned fast when I woke up in the middle of the night because Daniel was making noises and his blanket was over his face. That was scary. Invest in a wearable blanket for your baby. I used Halo swaddles and they have been truly life-changing. They keep my baby warm and out of danger.
20. White Noise Machines- when I was pregnant, a lot of my mom friends recommended using a white noise machine for naps and bedtime. At first, I didn’t see the appeal of it but now I love it. When your baby is in your womb, that is not a quiet environment. They hear your heartbeat, your blood flowing, and your talking and a lot more. When they’re born, a lot of moms try to make silent environments for their babies to sleep but they probably won’t sleep very well in silence. I use the Hatch Baby Rest sound machine and it’s on all night long. I like this one because I can control it from my phone and don’t have to go into Daniel’s room to adjust the volume or noise selection. It also has a feature to create programs where the machine turns on and off by itself. Not only does it give Daniel some background noise to sleep to, but it also blocks out noises we might make when he’s trying to sleep.
21. Forget About Chores- I told my husband at the hospital that my focus is on Daniel for the next several weeks. I didn’t wash a dish or do any other house chores for the first few weeks. My husband stepped up and kept the house neat so that I could focus my newborn.
22. Keep an Extra Outfit- through blowouts and spit-ups, you’ll go throw several outfits a day with your baby. Keep some in the diaper bag.
23. Lots of Babies Have Fussier Times- for whatever reason, Daniel was always fussier in the evening. He always needed more attention in the evenings when he was first born. Try gripe water, try playing with them to distract them, or go back to number 13.
24. Puppy Training Pads- Nik and I adopted an 8-week old puppy a year before we had a baby and I had a ton of puppy training pads left. They’re meant to potty train your dog and let me tell you, they are awesome for diaper changes! I put one down before I change Daniel’s diaper so if he pees (and little boys pee everywhere during diaper changes) I don’t have to ruin my furniture. Instead it gets on the puppy pad and I just throw that away.
25. Car Seat Compatible Strollers- invest in a stroller that is compatible with your car seat. It’s so convenient to take the baby from the car to the stroller without having to take the baby out.
26. Practice the Pause- newborns make so much noise when they sleep. It took me several weeks to realize that a lot of the noises Daniel made when he was sleeping were in his sleep not because he was waking up. As a new mom, you become a very light sleeper and you want to jump up every time you hear your baby. But you should wait. Give your baby a couple of minutes because he might go back to sleep himself! You guys have no idea the facepalm moment I had when I decided to give Daniel a minute to self soothe for the first time and he fell asleep again without me. After that I got better sleep by not jumping up at his every noise.
29. Make Stations- I had diaper changing stations downstairs, in my room, and in Daniel’s room. Trust me you don’t want to be walking up and down stairs just to change a diaper. Also, make burp cloths and bibs accessible easily.
30. Give Yourself Grace- if you’re new mom, you’re learning. If you’re not a new mom, you’re still probably learning. You’re also healing and your hormones are probably out of control. Give yourself grace.
