What mums wish they knew about newborns

Are you pregnant with your first baby (or multiple babies), and you really don’t know what to expect when your precious bundle comes along? You’ll no doubt receive advice from other parents about what it’s like, and see plenty of funny memes about how challenging the newborn days are—and yes, they are—but we thought we’d give you a heads up about some of the practicalities of the newborn stage. So, we asked our community of Newbornbaby mums what they wished they’d known when they had a newborn. Remember, though, that every baby and every woman’s experience of motherhood is unique.

This is what our lovely NBB mums wish they knew about newborns:

  • To ignore the negative stories, and instead focus on the ones about the love, the cuddles, and feelings of elation whenever you hold, see, or think about your baby. 
  • To not feel guilty if the only job you do all day is cuddle your baby.
  • That you realistically won’t have time to be yourself for about the first month, but just ride it out and don’t push yourself to do anything. It is totally okay for the house to be a mess. 
  • To try to shower every day – it’s one thing that makes you feel human. You may not shower alone, and if you do, you’ll inevitably hear a baby crying! 
  • That the washing is more than you think it will be, and it never ends. Ever!
  • That you will sleep, but it will be broken. It’s a bit like being ‘on call’ every night. 
  • Two words. Cluster feeding. Prepare for it and know that it’s normal. Read about it here. 
  • Buy yourself a really great dressing gown, because you’ll never get out of it. (We like this one because you can match it to your baby’s outfit)
  • What ‘down there’ would be like for a few weeks after giving birth. No one warns you. 
  • To enjoy them while they sleep soundly nestled on your chest, and when they look up at you with their sweet little smile and love in their eyes. It’s hard but try to savour it, because they soon grow into whirlwind toddlers. 
  • The fourth trimester – what it is, and how you can help your baby (and yourself). Read about it here. 
  • That you’ll never finish a hot drink!
  • To take your time, and do it your way. Read about parenting your newborn from the heart. 
  • That the Wonder Weeks was discussed before having a baby so that you can understand it more. 
  • That you might feel like an emotional train-wreck and cry a lot in the early weeks postpartum, but that’s hormones and normal. Read about the Baby Blues here. 
  • That it’s all over too soon, so enjoy the ride! There are no shortcuts in the newborn stage
  • You will discover who your true friends are. The ones who want to visit, who bring you meals, and who offer to help. 
  • Whatever you’re going through…it will all be worth it.

 

When we asked this of our wonderful community, we received hundreds of responses. Would you like to know what the most popular one was by far? LAUNDRY! So, if there is only one takeaway from this list for you in preparing for life with a newborn: make sure you’ve got a good washing machine…or at least plenty of baskets to hold the bottomless pile!