10 Tips to Enjoying Your Newborn

Ten Tips to Enjoying the First Few Months of Your Baby’s Life

 

Let’s face it!  9 out of every ten women over dramatize the first few months of having a baby around.  Not because they are prone to drama, but because pregnancy and childbirth seem to breed so much anxiety and tension about taking care of a newborn that the natural course just seems to remain in a static state of frenzy.  Here’s what you should know.  The first few months of your baby’s life are the easiest by far!  Your baby wont be mobile, wont be eating every little speck of fluff on the floor, there are plenty of people who will baby-sit, she will sleep 90& of the time and the diapers early on really aren’t that bad.  Not only that, but there are no rules to follow, discipline to hand down or arguments to have.  Most things can be solved by rocking, a bottle, and a diaper change or by carrying your baby around in a sling or baby carrier.  They won’t have a real opinion yet and will be just as happy at the hair salon as they are at the park.  Why oh why, can’t more moms take this early time to heal themselves from pregnancy and enjoy the ease and simple joy that having newborn brings? 

For those of you that are anxious about the first few months and who fear that you will be spending all your time taking care of baby, here are ten tips that will make it easier for you now and down the parental road. 

1. Do what YOU like to do!  Go to yoga, for a jog or to a movie.  In a few months it will be much more difficult to indulge in your personal passions.
2. Train the baby’s father now!  Empower him, and make him feel like HE CAN take care of the baby.  If you trust him now and he gets used to it, you will never have to break him in down the road which can be very difficult.
3. Don’t spend all your money on clothes and trinkets for your baby.  There will be plenty to buy once he is mobile – right now he is happy watching the ceiling fan.
4. Go out to eat as much as you like.  Not only do you have an excuse to not want to cook at home, but your baby will enjoy the scenery and won’t disturb others.
5. Take naps when your baby does and you will never feel fatigued.  Things will wait for you!
6. Let others baby-sit wile they want to.  In a few months when your swaddled bundle becomes a handful, fewer will offer.
7. Plan ahead.  Make the bottles ahead of time, lay out clothes and organize your life.  The simpler things are, the easier they will be in the future.
8. Don’t read parenting books.  They just try to make parents feel as though they are doing something wrong.  Follow your heart instead.
9. Feel confident making decisions and talking to your pediatrician.  Find your mom voice and realize that YOU know your baby better than anyone.  Ask questions and if something doesn’t seem right with your child, pursue it – no matter what the consensus is.
10. Change your mind!  Go from assuming you will be stressed, tired and fatigued – to realizing that this is the easy part.  This will shift your consciousness into finding all the joys.  

The bottom line is that holding and catering to your baby are enjoyable.  Live by your rules during the first few months and you will become a much more confident parent who is not overly stressed or exhausted all the time.  Use this time to reconnect with your partner, to strengthen bonds and to allow your self to simply…fall in love over and over again with the new baby in your life.