Everyone has their own methods. In the end, we all do whatever we need to do for our babies. That's just what parenting is. There were a few little things that I found really helped me when dealing with the newborn stage.
1. ASK FOR/ACCEPT HELP. This is so important. We all want to be supermom. We want to believe that we are strong/patient/smart/whatever enough to handle everything on our own. In reality, the strongest, most patient, smartest parents I've met are the ones that weren't afraid to ask for and accept help. You are going to be exhausted. Add to that the potential for baby blues/PPD and attach a completely helpless baby to yourself that knows how to do nothing but eat, sleep, poop and cry. It's a lot to take on, and you don't have to do it alone. When Grandma or Aunt Sally offer to watch the baby so you can nap, prepare a meal, assist with laundry, vacuum the house, etc. ACCEPT THE HELP! If no one is offering and you just need a break, don't be afraid to ask. You won't be judged. By addressing your body and mind's cues that you need to take a moment for yourself, you're being a responsible new parent.
2. Pack n' Play with removable bassinet/napper. Our little girl had a hard time keeping food down and she was frequently choking in her sleep because she was spitting up. We ended up putting the pack n' play in our room right next to the bed and she slept in the bassinet attachment in the pack n' play until she was 6 weeks old. The bassinet attachment is slightly inclined so it helped her to not have as much spit-up through the night. The benefit of the removable attachment, is that we could bring the bassinet downstairs and put it next to the couch so I could try to nap while she was sleeping. When we were ready to move her to her crib, we had a SUPER smooth transition, because we just took the bassinet attachment and put it in her crib for the first week to get her used to the new space, new noises and not having us right beside her. When we removed the bassinet and put her right on the crib mattress, she only fussed for part of one night and then went right to sleep. (We also started letting her nap in the crib on the mattress at 4 weeks to get her used to it.)
3. Swaddlers. Lord knows a new mom (and dad) need sleep. With swaddlers, our baby slept so much better through the night. She felt safe and secure and we didn't have to worry about her startling and waking herself up frequently.
4. Bouncer/Vibrating chair. Our couch was big enough that we could just set the chair on the couch with us and bounce her while we watched tv or ate dinner. Not all babies will like this particular thing, but the main take-away is to find something that will hold and calm your little one, a swing, rock-n-play, bumbo pillow, play mat, anything so you can take a break.
5. Bath Robes. I seriously lived in bathrobes the first 2 weeks. It seemed like Charlotte was eating every hour, I was sore from my C-Section, and I just had no extra energy to pick out an outfit to wear for the day. I bought a few comfy bathrobes, and they were my happy place.
6. If you're reading this before your baby arrives, this is for you: Freezer Meals. This was a life saver. Before Charlotte was born, I made 45 dinners and froze them so I could just pull them out of the freezer and pop them in the oven or dump them in the crockpot and eat them. This way, I was able to eat a variety of delicious meals without having to spend hours preparing and cooking. I'll be sharing recipes for my frozen meals in a later post!
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