First Weeks With a Newborn – What To Expect Once Baby Is Home

Don’t suffer pain in silence

First time mums can often be surprised by how painful or uncomfortable your body can be for days or weeks after birth. The after-pains experienced when feeding your second, third, fourth baby can take your breath away they can be so painful. If you had a tear or have ended up with haemorrhoids, these things hurt a lot! Even a relatively easy natural birth will be very tender for quite a few days. Do talk this over with your midwife and discuss what pain relief is suitable.

If you are planning to breastfeed, expect the first week or so with your newborn to be somewhat challenging. Breastfeeding shouldn’t hurt but it can be uncomfortable and it takes time for you and your baby to learn to work together. Regardless of if you’ve breastfed before, every baby is different so it’s important you take the time to learn the mechanics of how you work together.

Prioritise yourself and your family

It’s OK to say no to well meaning visitors. You may or may not want to show off your little bundle. You may be happy for the company or you may need to retreat for a few days. Now is the time to prioritise yourself and your family. Feel free to say no if you need to. There will be plenty of time in the coming weeks and months for friends and whanau to visit and adore the new addition.

Nourish your body with food, water and rest

Rest may seem like a distant memory with a newborn, especially if you have other children in the house too. However, nourishing your body with rest can mean taking a rest from conversations, from social media, from feeling guilty for not doing the dishes or folding the washing. Rest doesn’t need to mean sleep. It could be a cup of tea enjoyed in the fresh air, or stealing five minutes with your eyes closed while the kids watch an episode of Bluey! If your partner, a friend or family member is able to help, declare your need for a nap and hand the baby over. Don’t ever feel guilty or embarrassed to take care of yourself – taking care of yourself is taking care of your family.

You may find that you are extremely hungry, especially if you are breastfeeding. This is totally normal and is not a time to be restricting calories. Breastfeeding increases your additional calorie requirements (even more than pregnancy) and although you don’t need to up your calories to produce milk, it’s important to listen to your body and eat healthy, nutritious food to fuel your demanding days.

It’s a great idea to keep water and snacks on hand while you’re feeding, as you may find yourself stuck on the couch for hours at time! Healthy snacks such as fruit, nuts, popcorn, Greek yoghurt, dark chocolate etc. are all great options. Motherhood is easier when you’re well fed!

Keep an eye on your mental health

Whether you’ve had baby number one or baby number five, pregnancy, birth and the demands of having a newborn are incredibly tough. It’s important to keep an eye on your mental health and seek help if you think you need it.

The baby blues are common and are often a culmination of birth hormones and physical exhaustion, as well as breastfeeding hormones and lack of sleep. The baby blues are often very sudden and appear to come out of nowhere. They can cause emotional outbursts, irritability, lack of concentration, mood swings, a short temper, anxiety and whole lot of tears. While these feelings are common and normal, anything lasting more than a few days should be discussed with your lead maternity carer. If at any point you have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, please seek help immediately.

Teamwork

It’s important to remember that making a baby is not a one-person job and neither is caring for a baby. Both parents are equally important and valuable. If you are breastfeeding and spending a lot of time with your baby feeding or napping on you, it’s easy for your partner to feel they are less needed or slip into more of a support role. However, this does not need to be the case. Some partners encourage new mums to introduce a bottle so that they can feed baby and bond this way, but this isn’t necessary. Partners can bond with the new baby in other, equally special ways like taking responsibility for the bathing and bedtime routine or taking baby for a walk in the carrier so mum can rest.

Say “YES”

Whether you’ve had baby number one or baby number five, pregnancy, birth and the demands of having a newborn are incredibly tough. It’s important to keep an eye on your mental health and seek help if you think you need it.

The baby blues are common and are often a culmination of birth hormones and physical exhaustion, as well as breastfeeding hormones and lack of sleep. The baby blues are often very sudden and appear to come out of nowhere. They can cause emotional outbursts, irritability, lack of concentration, mood swings, a short temper, anxiety and whole lot of tears. While these feelings are common and normal, anything lasting more than a few days should be discussed with your lead maternity carer. If at any point you have thoughts of harming yourself or your baby, please seek help immediately.

Take some fresh air

Fresh air can do wonders for your soul, especially when it feels like you’re hunkering down with a newborn. A walk around the block is great, but if you’re not feeling up to it, a cup of tea on the front steps can be just as nourishing. Take the time to walk to the mail box each day, or around your garden, anything that you can manage to get your daily dose of fresh air and vitamin D. Using a baby carrier can make little outings much easier as your baby will likely settle quickly for nap next to your heartbeat.

For many months you’ve been eagerly awaiting this moment: bringing home your brand new baby and introducing them to your world. Enjoy this time, get to know each other and prioritise your family. You will never have these days and weeks again. Take time, take stock and most of all, take care.