The birth of a baby can turn life upside down. How to prepare for the first days with a newborn at home? We present a handful of tips to make these beautiful, but also difficult moments less stressful.
Childbirth is a huge effort for both mother and child. The first moments with the baby are also a challenge. In the hospital you usually spend a few days after the birth. During this time, the mother recovers and regenerates, and also learns how to handle the child. After returning home there is still support available. Every woman is entitled to several free visits from the community midwife, who checks the state of health of the child and helps the new mother. She will also advise on how to care for the breasts, show comfortable positions for feeding and answer any questions.
We need to prepare ourselves, first of all, psychologically. The first days with a newborn may be difficult and overwhelming. It is worth giving yourself time to get used to it and to regenerate your body. Do not be afraid to talk directly about your mood swings and to ask your partner, family or friends for help. Clear communication will help everyone get through this special but also demanding time more easily.
It is best to take care of the space for the baby before the birth. First of all prepare the crib, the right cosmetics and bathing accessories, including a bathtub and towels. The crib may be set up in the parents’ bedroom, thanks to which at night we will be closer to the child, and in the first weeks it will be much easier. Let’s also take care of the lighting in the room where the baby will be staying. It should be slightly dimmed. Use small lamps and cover windows with blinds or shades to minimize the impact of sharp stimuli.
Also organize a place for feeding. A comfortable chair and pillows, diapers or towels for the baby, as well as nipple ointment and breast pads will be useful. It is still worth keeping water and healthy snacks for the mother nearby, because in the first weeks of the baby’s life feeding takes a lot of time.
Caring for a newborn in the early days can be considered uncomplicated, but tiring. In the first days of life the baby should eat frequently, on average 8 to 12 times a day. Night feeding is also very important as it satisfies the baby’s needs and stimulates lactation if you breastfeed. A full and sedated baby sleeps most of the day. It happens that some newborns sleep through the whole night, nevertheless during the first 4 weeks of life we have to wake them up for feeding. Remember to wait after feeding until the newborn gets rid of the air it has taken in while eating. For this purpose bamboo diapers will come in handy. Thanks to the material folded over the shoulder we will not get our clothes dirty when the baby urinates.
In the first days we will certainly also change the newborn frequently. Pampers and diapers should be changed as soon as they are dirty (usually before or after eating and always before going to sleep). Thanks to this we can avoid redness, irritation and rashes on the sensitive baby skin. Let’s also use cosmetics designed for newborn care, especially creams against chafing and delicate emulsions for the bath.
main photo: pixabay.com/Vic_B
