Your Newborn’s First 30 Days: 7 Tips & Tricks

Becoming a parent for the first time is an exciting experience, but it’s not uncommon for new parents to feel a little overwhelmed. You’ll have a newborn to look after on top of everything else that needs to be done. And that’s without even mentioning the impact pregnancy and childbirth has on your body.

Needless to say, your newborn’s first 30 days could seem stressful. There are ways to minimize this and make sure you can actually focus on looking after your baby – and yourself – without needing to be stressed about it. If you’re expecting your newborn to arrive soon, it’s worth looking at seven top tips and tricks that could help with their first 30 days.

1. Overlook The Housework

You’ll naturally have quite a bit of housework to do most of the time, such as cooking and cleaning, but you might not have the time to do it once your baby arrives. If you try, you could find yourself running yourself ragged. Nobody wants that, and it leads to a lot of stress and hassle. You could even end up neglecting yourself over it.

The trick to this is overlooking the housework for a little while. Just get the basics done and leave it at that. You may not have the time or energy for much more than that. Any noisy chores could even wake the baby, so they might be worth avoiding. Once you’ve settled into a routine and your newborn is a little older, this gets much easier. If friends or family are asking how they can help? Ask them to do a load of laundry for you or tidy up your kitchen. Maybe they can bring over dinner or make a few meals that you can freeze so you have them on hand for tiring days. The gift of healthy food goes a long way when you are first home with a newborn.

2. Have Your Schedule

You’ll need to have a schedule when you’re bringing a newborn home, as well as for the first while after they’re born. That includes a breast milk pumping schedule, when you or your partner will mind the baby while the other sleeps, and much more.

Get this schedule sorted as soon as you can. While you may not see much of a point in it, it’ll make your life much easier once you’ve brought your newborn home and in the weeks afterward.

3. Embrace The Chaos

Even with the schedule mentioned above, bringing a newborn home and their first 30 days will usually involve a little bit of chaos. It’ll be a while before you get them into a set routine, and you’ll have to do quite a few things to look after them. Between getting them to sleep to changing their diapers, there’s a lot involved in this.

Be aware of this before making any plans, as you could need to cancel your plans relatively quickly. Try not to get stressed about this, as it’s a natural part of your newborn’s first 30 days. You’ll get through it relatively quickly, and it’ll be over before you even know it. With your schedule, you’ll eventually get them into a routine.

4. Use Hospital Resources

Hospitals naturally have quite a few resources available for you to take advantage of, but you could still be surprised by how many of these you’ll find helpful; breast feeding, how to bath the baby. Use these as much as possible while you’re still there.

Many of these will be educational, so they’ll help with anything you want to find out more about before you bring your newborn home. Feel free to ask questions and get as much advice from the nurses and midwives as you can.

5. Play Music

There’s a theory going around claiming music makes babies smarter, but the science behind that is relatively dubious. What is confirmed is that music can help to calm babies. While you’ll need to find the right music for your newborn, there’s no reason not to give it a try.

They’ll end up crying less and being more focused on the music than you might’ve thought. With a little bit of time and effort, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about. And, if the claim about music making babies smart actually turns out to be true, then there’s another reason to play music for them.

6. Use A Warm Compress

It’s not uncommon for breastfeeding mothers to face a few issues, such as blocked ducts and engorged breasts. These can feel swollen and sore, which you’ll want to get rid of. Thankfully, dealing with this is relatively easy and you shouldn’t need to put much time or effort into it.

All you’ll need is a warm compress, and you’re good to go. By conforming this to your breast, you’ll start feeling relief relatively quickly. Heat it in the microwave for a little while, and you shouldn’t have a problem. Make sure it isn’t too hot, though.

7. Sleep When Your Baby Sleeps

There’s an age-old piece of advice that you should sleep when your baby sleeps, and there’s a reason why almost every mother knows this. You mightn’t get a chance to sleep otherwise. Without it, you could end up being awake constantly, which isn’t good for anyone.

Since your baby could have a relatively abnormal sleep schedule, getting some sleep on your own can be difficult. Even if it’s only for an hour or two, sleeping when your baby’s asleep makes sure you get at least some sleep.

It’s also worth taking the time to nap and sleep with them, as it helps you bond better. Since they’re close by, you wouldn’t have to worry about hearing them and waking up.

Your Newborn’s First 30 Days: Wrapping Up

As exciting of a time as your baby’s first weeks of life are, they can also seem stressful. You’ll naturally have put a lot of preparation into this, but it’ll still all be new to you. You could be worried about making mistakes and any other mishaps. This makes your newborn’s first 30 days more stressful than they have to be.

By using a few tips and tricks, you shouldn’t have to worry about this. Using as many hospital resources as possible, having a schedule in place, overlooking the housework for a while, and similar options can help.. They’ll take the stress out of the equation and let you focus on looking after your sweet newborn baby.