My Top 5 Tips For New Parents


Sabrina’s Honest Lifestyle Post
 

My Top 5 Tips for New Parents

There is always a vast array of advice that is hurled around when you’re pregnant or a new parent. Some of it I found wasn’t all that useful because it was either peoples opinion that was exaggerated or it was biased. Every parent and every baby is different, but I hope that you can appreciate my life honest post which is more about practical tips, rather than scare stories. I would never dream of telling someone how to parent, my tips are just my honest advice for what has so far worked for us. I hope that you enjoy my post.


Food and Drink 

You’re going to want to stock up on food and drink and snacks. Leaving the house is going to take a lot more effort from now on so take my advice, do a bulk shop to fill your cupboards, do some bulk cooking of basics for your freezer and make sure you’ve got a variety of snacks in too. You will find those early morning feeds a shock the first few days and tasty sugary things will be your new best friend. I recommend Mini Cakes or Dried Fruit, definitely sugar! Caffeinated drinks will also help, but be careful about your in take if you’re breast feeding.

My Top Tip – We keep a mini cool bag in our bedroom filled with snacks and bottles of water for those late nights and early mornings. It saves you from going downstairs when half asleep!

Muslin Cloths

I had a grand total of 4 Muslin cloths the week that my son was born. By the time he was a month old we had fifteen cloths! And some weeks it’s still not enough (with some being dirty or in the washing machine for example). My main tip is to always keep several at arms length. Then keep one at either of your bedsides, more than one in the area that you all lounge together, one where you change your little one and at least one in their changing bag too! There still won’t be one when you suddenly need it, unless you place a longer one over your shoulder while you’re at home. But on a serious note, these cloths are a godsend, especially when baby is having a sickly day, or is dribbling due to teething. The best ones that we found for absorbency were from Mothercare, the softest were from Tesco.

My Top Tip – Keep track of how many you’ve got so you don’t end up with them all in the wash and also purchase similar colours so they’re easier to wash in bulk!

Teach Your Hands Now!

So you’re Right handed, well you may want to try using your Left more. You will find that once baby comes along you will only have one hand free and sometimes not even very often! So train your hands now before your baby arrives. Make sure you can blow your nose, make a drink and eat – all with the hand you wouldn’t usually use! That will set you up if you can master at least something. After eight weeks I can prepare and eat things, plus fill the washing machine and start that off all one handed.

Support One Another

Before you have children you don’t realise what an overwhelming responsibility it is for most of the time. I kept hoping I would have the time to do things that I wanted, read a book, learn a new game, write a blog post… but the reality is nothing like that. Even if are lucky enough to have a baby who actually sleeps between feeds, there will always be clothes to wash, housework chores to do and getting yourself organised too! (Drink / Hot Meal / Shower and a Change of Clothes).

The thing that your partner who works must understand is that just because you’re at home, doesn’t mean you get a break. Some days you will eat and even go to the toilet with your child in your arms, because that’s safer than putting them down and them screaming so loud the neighbours 6 doors down hear them!

Compromise is the key. If your partner needs a break to shower or even go for a ten minute walk to get some fresh air, you need to support them. It’s tough being responsible for a tiny human, they rely on us 24/7 and sometimes we all need a few minutes to ourselves, mostly so we feel like us and not just Mum / Dad.
Another way you can support one another is that one feeds the other winds, and keep swapping. Your baby needs to get used to both of you putting him/her to bed so that both of you can be a comfort.

Finally remember that you’re in this together, if you’re tired take it in turns to take a nap. If one of you is feeling overwhelmed then do something nice together as a family and turn it into a positive experience.

My Top Tip – Take things in turns and ask one another every day if the other is doing okay.

Every Baby Is Different So Trust Your Instincts

So I found that within hours of having my son my instincts were kicking in. I knew things that I didn’t before and I had ideas about how to cope that came through the living experiences with my baby.

Trust that you know what your baby needs, and after a few weeks you’ll know what their cries mean anyway.
Don’t be afraid of asking your own parents for their advice, and remember you don’t always have to take it from anyone especially if you disagree.

You will know your baby after only a short time, trust yourselves.

Thank you for your on-going support for me and my blog, please leave me a comment if you enjoyed this article. And don’t forget to follow me on Social Media to see what I’m up to on a more daily basis!

✩ Sabrina 

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