Becoming a parent is so daunting. The whole pregnancy is full of excitement about a new baby arriving that you don’t think about what the reality is! Everybody will have different advice but I thought I would compile a list of my advice to any new parent!! Obviously i’m not a professional and others may not agree but this is purely from what I found when Lola was born.
1.)Sleep
The first few weeks feel like you are in a complete bubble! You won’t know the meaning of sleep at all. We were very fortunate to be able to stay at my Mums a lot the first few weeks so she helped by holding Lola and changing her whilst Babs and I got some sleep. Whilst we were at home I would fall asleep and Babs would have Lola and then we would swap over. Days and nights were a total blur! Certainly make the most of when people are there to go for a sleep and don’t feel bad if you don’t leave your house for a few days just so you can try and sleep as much as you can in between everything.
2.) Be prepared!
Well our flat became an utter pigsty! It quickly became that we would eat and then Lola would be asleep so we would try and sleep or just have some time together. Washing up was the least important thing! It’s so hard to keep on top of everything the first few weeks whilst you adjust to a new born. Don’t be afraid to ask others for help! Also be prepared have loads of easy food in ready to cook! I know a lot of people prepare meals and freeze them however we didn’t have time as we had so much going on when around when Lola was due. We did however pop to Iceland and get loads of quick easy things that just needed throwing in the oven.
3.) Visitors
Quite seriously only invite visitors you are comfortable with and that are actually going to help you! As soon as baby arrives you have an influx of visitors. We only really had family and close friends come round. Once you have a baby suddenly EVERYBODY wants to visit! When people pop up out of the blue asking to visit advise them it will be better in a few weeks when you are all settled (7 months in and we’re still not settled!!!) Quite often these are people you haven’t spoken to in months/years, if they genuiely want to see you and visit they won’t mind holding off and visiting once things have calmed down. I bet anything you won’t hear from these people again! The amount of people that contacted me as soon as Lola was born was crazy and most of those have never met her and i’ve not heard from since!
4.) Don’t be afraid
Don’t be afraid to ask for your baby back. When there are visitors the poor baby gets passed round and round and you end up getting the baby back and feeling like you’ve not held them for hours. As I breastfed (still am!) it meant that Lola was reguarly feeding and for quite long periods so this was quite a good excuse sometimes for her to come back to me. Don’t be afraid to cancel people even if you have already made arrangements. People will understand! Having a baby really is life changing so everybody should understand!
5.) Photos
Whilst you are sat on Maternity leave waiting for baby to arrive make sure and clear your phone memory. You will take THOUSANDS of photos of baby! You will want photos as soon as baby is born, with every person that meets baby, every new place baby goes, every face that baby pulls. Before Lola was born I had never deleted photos of my phone. Now every month or so i’m having to upload photos onto my laptop as we take so many! Also look around for offers on printed photos! We got 200 photo prints on Wowcher for £2! We got ridiculous amounts!
6.) Videos
If your baby is just laying asleep take a video! Even if its only 20 seconds! I LOVE looking back on the videos of Lola when she was only days/weeks old. All the little sounds she used to make and the little faces she pulled. I now try to take videos of her for most things even if they are short videos just so we can look back on them.
6. Don’t listen to advice.
I know this utterly contradicts me writing this but don’t feel you have to listen to everybody about advice. Everybody has an opinion and will tell you without a doubt. You know your baby go with your instinct. The amount of outdated advice that is given is crazy!
7.) Enjoy your baby
Totally what it says! Enjoy your baby! Before too long they will be crawling, walking and talking!! I love each stage with Lola but I also miss her total new born stage and having cuddles. Now she’s constantly on the go! It’s only going to get worse when she’s walking!! If you baby is crying then pick them up and cuddle them. If you spend a whole day cuddling then so be it you never get this time back! They are babies for such a short period of time that I don’t believe that you are ‘making a rod for your own back’.
Even if all this might helps just one person then i’m happy! There are so many other things but these are just a few! If there are any questions please contact me 🙂
Naomi xx