It can be a really daunting experience coming home from the
hospital with a new baby. The first trip in the carseat is
nerve wracking, you get home and then its "now what do I do with
him or her?!"
They say the first six weeks are the worst, and when you survive
those then you'll start to see the light again!
Here are a few of our tips:
- First of all, don't leave the hospital or birth unit until you
are 100% comfortable with breastfeeding your baby. Ask for
help.
- Try to have a few meals prepared beforehand in the
freezer.
- Make sure that you have a good supply of meat, tins and
pasta in the pantry.
- Make a paper sign for your front door which says something
like "we are all taking a nap, please leave a note" and leave a pen
handy.
- People will offer to help -
TAKE THEM UP ON it!! Get them to hang and
fold washing, vacuum, pick up a few supplies from the store.
- Ask people not to bring you baby gifts, but instead bring a
cooked meal. This can be a godsend.
- Stay in your PJs as long as possible each day, particularly if
your partner is home on leave. You will probably find that
you get more offers of assistance if you are still wearing your
PJs.
- In the first few weeks, sleep when your baby sleeps. Its
easier to do this when you only have one baby. But go to bed
early too.
- Take your phone off the hook when you nap
- Make sure that you eat three really good meals each day, and
snack in between.
- Drink a glass of water every time that you breastfeed, as you
do need to replace the fluid in order to make more milk.
- When you get up to do night feeds, keep lighting minimal and
don't put on the TV. Don't over stimulate baby or yourself,
and then it will be easier to get back to sleep.
- For the first six weeks, program yourself for the 4-5 hourly
baby cycle.
- Nothing else matters, so don't sweat the small stuff. A
messy house and piles of laundry are not the end of the world.
- The most important thing is that you get to know your new
baby