When your little miracle announces its arrival, your life is turned upside down. Sleep is just one of the areas where your previous routines will no longer be as they used to. It is both normal and natural that you go through different phases in the first long time as a new mother.
There are phases of overwhelming joy, phases of unyielding fatigue, phases of doubt and uncertainty, and many other periods.
Becoming a mother will change your lifestyle, your attitude towards life, and your future. Below, you can read more about the experiences you share as a new mother with thousands of other new mothers. And you will find the best advice that can help you in the first many months of your baby's life.
Advice #1: Get a handle on the practical preparations during pregnancy
It will benefit you when your baby has come into the world that you do not have to spend both time and mental energy on handling the basic practical tasks. While you enjoy the growing life in your belly, make sure to use the time (and peace) to take care of all the tasks that need to be prepared before your baby arrives. This can include purchasing the necessary baby equipment.
As soon as your miracle has entered the world and has received its CPR number, you and the baby's father will need to consider the choice of daycare or nursery. It will benefit you in terms of getting your wishes for a specific spot fulfilled when you are out in good time to register your child.
Advice #2: Trust your instincts when in doubt
There will be many situations where you will doubt whether you are doing the right thing regarding your little baby. Doubt and uncertainty can stem from well-meaning advice from friends or grandparents to you comparing yourself and your baby with information from blogs and descriptions from other new mothers.
Whether we like it or not, we will compare our way of caring for, nurturing, and raising our children with other parents. As a new first-time mother, there are no experiences to draw on, and this is where you often need to rely on your own gut feeling when you are in doubt.
When it comes to the health and well-being of the baby, it is primarily the health visitor you should listen to and consider. And even in this case, it is worth remembering that advice from the health visitor is just advice – not requirements. You know your baby best, and therefore it is often you who knows the answers to how to tackle various challenges and areas of doubt.
Advice #3: Be honest and reach out for help
If there is one thing that every new mother knows, it is the need to occasionally take a little break and get some good advice. There is no recipe for how a mother should be. Becoming a mother is a personal development and an individual matter. Women are very different, and therefore mothers are too.
It is completely normal to need to ask a friend with more children for advice or your own mother.
All mothers go through phases of doubt, where they have sought knowledge from other women who have been in their situation. It is much better to ask for help with childcare or practical tasks, so you avoid putting yourself under mental pressure, which can ultimately affect both you and your baby.
Advice #4: Be patient regarding breastfeeding
A major focus point of becoming a mother is breastfeeding. For many new mothers, it can be a significant mental pressure not to be able to breastfeed from the start. In this context, it is important for you to be aware that many new mothers face challenges with breastfeeding in the first weeks after giving birth.
It can cost you both mental energy and important reserves if you spend time getting frustrated or worried that your little son or daughter is not breastfeeding 100% effectively from the beginning.
It requires adjustment, and almost all infants learn it.
Tip: A nursing bra can make breastfeeding easier.
Tip #5: Remember yourself and make space for the father
Life with a little baby is challenging, active, demanding, and wonderful. You can easily get into a rhythm where your child takes up almost all your time, and where it becomes a task just to be able to go to the toilet. Make sure to have prepared snacks for yourself so that you don't go cold if there are hours in a row where you don't get to prepare meals.
This element is especially important for you who are breastfeeding. Feel free to make larger portions of food at a time so you can freeze easy meals. Fresh carrots, nuts, bread, cold cuts, and fresh fruit are gold to have stocked in the kitchen so you can always nourish both yourself and thereby your baby.
There may be times when you need to completely disconnect when your baby sleeps. Here, various streaming services can come to your rescue. Whether you prefer to watch movies on your iPad or follow your favorite series in front of the TV is entirely up to you.
Becoming a mother will not only affect your lifestyle but also your body. Make sure to have loose clothing available that you can wear in the first months after giving birth. It is nice and relaxing to wear loose clothing that doesn't constrict (this also makes it much quicker to get dressed in the morning).
Remembering yourself as a new mother allows space for the baby's father to take over. While you can rest, the father can bond with your baby by changing, caring for, cuddling, and changing diapers.
Tip #6: Make sure to have a wrap
A wrap is essential equipment to have available at home. With it, you can manage both practical tasks and ensure that your baby gets plenty of close contact with you (or the father). There are many beautiful wraps that vary in materials, sizes, and designs. It can be nice to have 2 wraps so that one can be washed while the other is in use.
