Once you’ve got a few years of parenting under your belt there are often days you wish you could go back in time to give some useful advice to yourself as a new mum. You’d tell yourself what things were worth stressing about and marvel at how much easier life would have been if you only knew back then what you know now.
Sharing 5 useful pieces of advice for first time mums
1. Babies are really hard to break
Cradling your newborn in your arms for the first time is possibly the most incredible feeling in the world, but it’s also the scariest. We’re always told to be so careful of their necks and heads and often worry we’re going to damage or hurt them – and remember how slowly you made your partner drive home from the hospital with your newborn in the car? Sure babies are precious but try not to worry you are going to hurt them; they’re a lot sturdier than you think.
Tip: Don’t feel like you have to bath baby every day, often a top and tail rinse will do!
2. Accept every single offer of help
It’s so tempting to be a superhero when you first have a baby and of course you want to do it all on your own. Just remember that no one is doubting the fact that you can do it all when they offer to take baby for awhile, they just want to help. Many first time mums are worried about handing their bundles of joy over but if you have someone you trust then do it, use the time to sleep. Alternatively if someone wants to come over and fold your washing or clean your house, please let them, they wouldn’t offer if they didn’t want to.
3. Let your baby sleep on you any chance you get
So many books and websites suggest it’s wise to put baby to bed in order for them to learn how to sleep without, ignore this. Enjoy the precious bonding time that comes with having a baby fall asleep on you; use it as a time to have compulsory rest. Soon your baby will be a toddler and you’ll be hard pressed to get them to sleep during the daytime at all!
4. Try to avoid making separate meals
Now this is a tricky and contentious issue, but from experience we know parents who have made separate meals for their children from a young age and it has come back to bite them on the behind. While giving your toddlers a variety of foods and tastes doesn’t guarantee they’ll eat everything when they’re older – trust me they won’t – it will cause you less stress and could help encourage them to try the food put in front of them. You’ll also spend less time in the kitchen and that has to be good thing!
5. Don’t sweat the small stuff
From checking the temperature in your baby’s room every few hours to feeling guilty because you child is in day care from a young age, there’s hundreds of ways we mums work ourselves up and worry about the small stuff. Try and look at the big picture when you’re worried because your newborn hasn’t slept all day, if they are awake and happy then just roll with it. There are no rules with babies and the sooner you get that the happier you will be. Go with the flow as much as you can.