there are some things that i have done with my first and modified even more with my second that have seemed to really work for me. i find that by doing the things i’m going to chat about, it made life much easier living with a newborn and helped to create some good habits from the get go. having a newborn, especially if it’s your first time, isn’t always what you expect it to be. everyone always said to me that they can’t prepare you for how a baby/child will change your life….well, isn’t that the truth! you seriously don’t know until you are in the situation. that being said kids do change your life for the better! they are little miracles and i never could have imagined how truly obsessed i would have been with my kids!
okay, back to where i was going with this post….things you can do from the second your little one joins you in the world.
1) wake your baby every 3 hours to feed during the day. from birth, even in the hospital. set an alarm if you may be sleeping when it’s feed time. a nurse gave us this advise our first go round and it worked really well. it helps keep the baby awake more during the day, which helps keep their days and nights sorted.
with our second, i decided to wake him closer to every 2-2 1/2 hours in the beginning and it worked even better. it not only helps increase your milk supply but babies take in X amount of calories within a 24 hour period, so the more they take in during daytime hours, the less they need to take in at night!
2) don’t hold you baby ALL the time!!!
i know it’s important to hold, snuggle, cuddle and love your tiny one. i love that both my boys are total snugglers, but there is a way to do this without going completely overboard and creating bad habits. the habits you create, will be the habits you have to break. i would suggest holding your baby during awake times as much as you’d like and occasionally while they sleep. but, as a rule of thumb i would try to lay your baby down once you see they are drowsy or if they fall asleep.
these 2 things were very helpful for me and will help a lot when it becomes time to sleep train your baby and will also make the night feeds less frequent. i have lots more information to expand on these topics and things for you to do as the weeks go on with your newborn! stay tuned…..
i hope you find my tips helpful if you are about to have a baby, have a newborn, or if you plan to have another!