This blog post is designed to give new mums plenty of advice and tips that will see them through from birth to the first year with baby. Here are some great ideas and suggestions
- Remember your five a day:Keep up your fruit and veg intake after you’ve had your baby, especially if you’ve had a C-section, it really does help (trust me!) A balanced diet will help you cope with the night feeds and everything that a new baby brings.
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Get Dad involved:
Get Dad involved as early as you can with baby’s care: he may not be able to help with feeds if you’re feeding yourself, but that doesn’t mean he can’t help to dress, change or bath baby, although dads are notoriously reluctant to bath, they’ll love it once they’ve done it once!
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Buy baby some scratch mitts:
Scratch mitts are a good idea for the first few weeks, newborn’s nails grow in the womb so they are normally quite long and scratched faces is not nice!
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Get some swaddling for baby:
Swaddling is really great for settling baby in the first few weeks. As baby is so used to being squashed up inside you, to lie spread eagled in a cot makes them feel totally vulnerable, there are loads of swaddle blankets out there with swaddling methods attached for you to see what works best for you, just make sure you don’t overheat baby, layer blankets so you can remove one if necessary.
- Involve your other children with the day-to-day care of the newborn, it makes them feel part of everything, even if its just fetching a clean baby grow or nappy for you.
- Gentle exercise will help you get rid of the inevitable stresses that tiredness and new babies can bring, even if you’ve had a C-section, a walk to the shops will help you feel better and you’ll get some much-needed fresh air.
- Why not take footprints with a non-toxic child friendly paint from birth, every month for the 1st year? It’s a great keepsake!
- Always put aside some time to update your baby book as soon as milestones are reached. It can be difficult to think back and remember the exact date of things like ‘baby’s first crawl’ if you don’t record it at the time.
- Babies love to be sung to, so have a gentle cd in the car for when they are awake. Singing is a good stress reliever too! I had a play list of gentle songs for my daughter that I’d listened to whilst pregnant, and miraculously it always sent her to sleep!
- When baby wakes for a night feed, get into the routine of just having a night light on, and only changing nappies if necessary. This keeps them in sleep mode and helps to get them into a sleep routine.
- When baby gets older, a sleeping bag is brilliant as it stops the inevitable kicked off covers that happens once baby can move around. Believe me, these wonderful things will give everyone a better nights sleep, we recommend the aden + anais sleeping bags.
- Local baby groups: Join a local baby group, it helps you to meet up with other mums in the area and gets you out of the house. You get the opportunity to socialise and as baby grows, it will help their social interaction too.
- Donate baby clothing to charity: Give your smallest baby grows to the local neo-natal unit, they get through so many baby grows and they are always looking for small clothes.
- Get grandparents involved! You may be reluctant to let baby out of your sight, but even just a few hours away with your partner will help you get a bit of yourself back, and that is really important for your own benefit, and your relationship.
- Tummy time: Give baby some “tummy time” – stay with baby while they have ten minutes on their tummy, it will help with head lag, help to make their neck stronger and give them a different perspective of their environment (they are used to looking at the ceiling remember).
- Summer supplies: Don’t forget sunscreen and a hat in the summer, babies burn very quickly, even in half an hour, so make sure you’re vigilant!
- Travel buggies: Invest in a travel buggy, they are fairly inexpensive and fold up so small. They are perfect for holidays, especially where space is an issue.
- Weaning: When its time to wean, be adventurous! Adding sweet potatoes and butternut squash to veg dishes really excites the meal, makes it more enjoyable and variety of food will keep baby interested. Try lots of different foods: add mango and other yummy fruits to yoghurts once they are 6 months to make the whole weaning experience exciting for both of you!
- Baby led weaning: As soon as baby is sitting up in a high chair, you can let them feed themselves. Baby led weaning is a great way of teaching your child portion control, and it will give them independence.
- Food baby can’t have: Remember not to add any sugar or salt to baby’s food. Honey also cannot be given to baby during his or her year.
If you enjoyed this blog post you might want to take a look at Newborn Baby Development (from Newborn to One Year)
