The Best Tips for How to Survive the First Month With a Newborn

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Adjusting to life with a newborn can be overwhelming. I would know, I’ve done it more than once.
And every time, I learn something new because all babies are unique.

Some things are insanely precious and so wonderful while other newborn things are just really hard, even if they don’t last forever.

If you are a new mom, here are some tips to help you navigate the first few weeks with a newborn.

How to Survive the First Month With a Newborn

The newborn stage is challenging for the best of us. Something important to keep in mind is that hard is not the same thing as bad.

I think all new moms are kind of shocked at just how much of a transition it is adding a new baby.
My honest wish is that I can help make it easier for you.

The more children I’ve had the more I’ve been able to enjoy it but that is what came with learning more and just general experience.

That’s what I’m going to share with you today.

#1 KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT

Just as you prepared for the birth of your baby it is so helpful to prepare for the postpartum period to follow.

Each mother’s experience will be unique but there are some basics to cover so that you’re not caught out completely.

POSTPARTUM HEALING

For a while, after you give birth, your body will be a bit wonky (actually, things can be kinda crazy). It will take a bit of time to get back to the way things were previously.

After having had three of my own babies I always cling to the idea that it took 9 months for you to grow that baby and therefore you should allow the same amount of time for your body to recover.

Of course, most healing will resolve fairly quickly but the idea is to give yourself grace.

If you had a natural birth, it might be sore down there for a bit. The difference between if you tore or not will make a big difference to your recovery but there are ways to make it easier (read about them here).

A C-section poses its own challenges and will obviously also take time to recover from.

Something that many new moms aren’t aware of is that you will get cramps, sort of like menstrual cramps whenever you breastfeed. This is a normal and healthy thing even if it doesn’t feel like it.

Then there’s the matter of the discharge that looks like your period but heavier, that you’ll have to deal with for a few weeks.

It will begin heavy but will ease up fairly quickly and can vary in flow from day to day.

Remember those pregnancy mood swings? They’re not going anywhere, at least for a few weeks. It will take time for your hormones to level out again.

You may find that using the bathroom is painful or challenging at first, but again…there are ways to manage that and make it easier.

Here’s what you can do to speed up the healing:

• Use a sitz bath. That’s a warm or cold bath that covers your hips and bottom.
• Use an ice pack or chilled pad on your perineal area.
• Ask your doctor to prescribe a painkiller and a laxative.
• Spray warm water as you pee.

And while all of this sounds scary, just be aware that your experience will be unique and just because it’s mentioned doesn’t mean that it’ll happen to you or that it will be terrible or difficult.

TYPICAL NEWBORN BEHAVIOUR

Do you know what to expect with a newborn week by week? Sleep, sleep, more sleep, and lots of feeds in-between.

You can find out what to expect in the first week with a newborn and tips for making it through by reading this post.

Babies are super cuddly but very poor at communicating. So they’ll cry when they’re hungry, tired, need a change, need to pass gas, or when they need you to hold them.

It’ll be hard at first to tell the cries apart. But as you and your little one get to know each other, you’ll be able to pick up on these cues.

Related: The Top 5 Reasons Your Baby Is Crying (and what to do about it)

#2 PREPARE AHEAD OF TIME

Plan your meals and activities ahead of time and anticipate both your and the baby’s supplies; so you can order beforehand.

POSTPARTUM SUPPLIES

You’ll need these lifesavers in your arsenal to cope with new motherhood:

Spray peri bottle
Wiping will be a tough mission after what you’ve been through. Therefore, it helps to have a spray bottle to clean “down there” after you’ve used the bathroom.

Painkillers
You will need lots of these—one for the cramps and a pain-spray to use if you’ve got tearing or are particularly tender.

Cooling pads and wipes
Your torn unmentionables will thank you for this. They are soft enough to wipe, and you can use them to cover your ice pack. I recommend ones with witch hazelnut to give you more relief.

Pads
You don’t want to have to deal with messy accidents on top of everything else. So get some good pads to catch the discharge.
If you get the kind with ice, you’ll have an ice pack and pad all in one.

Adult Diapers
Avoid dealing with laundry – wear, take off and throw out-it will be that easy.

Donut pillow
You’ll need this to sit upright when you feed your baby. Your war-ravaged nether area won’t be able to handle sitting down otherwise.

#3 Focus on Getting Feeding Established (Breastfeeding or Bottle Feeding)

Breasts or bottle is your choice, mom. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Therefore, decide which works for you.

If you have to switch to a bottle at some point, it helps to introduce it early on (about two weeks), so your baby won’t refuse it later.

Feeding can be one of the most challenging parts of those first few weeks so please extend grace to yourself.

Whether you choose to bottle feed or breastfeed, you’re doing a wonderful job and neither is “the easy way out”.

You can read about my experience here.

#4 WORK ON GENTLE SLEEP ROUTINES WITH YOUR BABY

Establish a routine early on to encourage your little one to sleep better- that’s how to survive newborn sleep deprivation. Well, that…and a lot of help.

There are no one-size-fits-all sleep routines. You can try a loving bath, followed by a feed, and then some quiet playtime. Or maybe a story or a lullaby after bath time. And then lay your baby to sleep when they get drowsy, but before they are fully asleep.

It is 100% okay to hold your newborn close and let them sleep on you in those early days. The newborn stage is so fleeting that I always encourage new moms to enjoy the cuddles while you can.

However, it is also super helpful to create a gentle rhythm throughout the day to help your baby’s metabolism regulate and to assist with the circadian rhythm.

Establishing sleep routines early on has proved immensely helpful in our home. You can read about what I’ve done with my babies in these posts.

#5 PRACTICE SELF-CARE DAILY

That cute face makes you lose yourself; you don’t matter anymore, right? Well, not really. If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of the baby either.

Taking care of yourself doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. You can’t take long walks for a while, but taking a few minutes for yourself will do wonders.

As little as 15 minutes to take a shower or put on some makeup will help. Strap bubba in a rocker and give yourself a time out ( where you can see them, of course).

Read about my tips for postpartum self-care in this post.

#6 ACCEPT ALL THE HELP

Accept help and ask for help from those around you.
This new human that you just brought home will take a lot of your time.

I wish that all new moms could have a proper time of just resting but unfortunately, you’ll likely still have a lot of responsibilities.

If you try to do it all by yourself, you will probably drive yourself crazy ( or sick).

Don’t hesitate to ask when you need help. Let your family and friends chime in. And yes, you really have to ask. Don’t assume they know what you need.

Let your spouse take over some tasks- even if you can do it better.

Pay for help if you can. It will give you more time for staring at your little one (still can’t believe a whole human came out of you, can you?)

#7 GIVE YOURSELF LOTS OF GRACE

Cut yourself some slack. Sure, you don’t know why the baby’s crying; no one does at first. As you and your baby adjust to this new life together, it will get easier.

Dirty diapers and cry fests aside, nothing beats being a mom. Don’t worry, mama, you’ve got this!

CONCLUSION

With each of my children, I’ve enjoyed the newborn stage more as I’ve relaxed into mothering.

There’s something about just knowing that it is a season and there’s an end to it that makes it easier to slow down and enjoy the moments that you might otherwise just wish away.

In saying that, some moms just never truly enjoy the newborn phase and that is totally okay. There are stages of parenting that we all struggle with.

You’re not a bad mom if you don’t enjoy every moment, despite what the tear-jerking Facebook quotes might make you feel.
Give yourself grace. You’re a good mom.