How to Survive the Newborn Days: A Guide to Bringing Home Your Baby

You are finally coming home with your baby! This is a wondrous and memorable occasion, as you embark on a new chapter of life: motherhood. However, coming home with a new baby can also be a stressful, busy time, as Baby and you adjust. It certainly took me some time to figure everything out when I brought my newborn home last year.

Here are some tips I found essential in surviving the newborn days.

What To Do Beforehand

Clean the house: cleaning the house before your due date is a great way to survive the newborn days. Once you come home with Baby, you will be tired and too busy with Baby to worry about dusting and vacuuming. Do it all ahead of time, and you will be thankful when you return to an already clean home.

Cook food and freeze it: This is a fabulous way to survive the newborn days! Cook up big servings of things like pasta or casseroles, divide it up and freeze it. You will have a good supply of cooked meals on hand to rely on for the first few days.

Prepare Baby's necessities: This might go without saying; but make sure you have set up Baby's crib, bouncer seat and changing area. Having powder, bottles, and open packs of diapers waiting will help you survive the newborn days.

What To Do Once You Are Home

Accept any and all help: It is natural for a new mom to feel guilty about accepting babysitting help. Put that guilt aside; accepting help from family and friends will help you rest, which will in turn help you take care of Baby. To survive the newborn days, rely on your close ones and don't be afraid to designate tasks you really need done - like the laundry or grocery shopping. They are all dying to help, anyways, so it's a win-win situation.

Don't be afraid to send them home: Send the guests home when you are tired. They will understand that you and Baby need rest. If you don't tell them to leave, some of them will surely outstay their welcome and that only leaves you tired out. Survive the newborn days by politely telling them it is time to leave because it is "Baby's naptime" or "time for Baby to feed."

Turn off the ringer: Turning off the phone ringer at times of rest will definitely help you survive the newborn days. This goes for cell phones and other devices, as well.

Prepare the night feedings: If you breastfeed, you might want to put baby within reach to make night feedings easy. If you bottle feed, measure formula powder before bedtime, and fill bottles with the correct amount of water and set aside. Warm water is a preference; room temperature will do fine. Then when baby wakes hungry, you can quickly add pre-measured formula to water, shake, and voila!

Eat: Sounds simple, but this is important. You will probably find yourself skipping meals here and there while caring for Baby. To survive the newborn days, you will need to remember that feeding yourself is just as important as feeding Baby. Prepare quick snacks or small meals and store them in the fridge. Things like hummus, vegetables, sandwich meats, salads and cut fruit are great for grab-and-go nourishment. Eating several small meals is also easier than three large ones.

Sleep when baby sleeps: Your grandmother probably told you this. She should know; so take her advice! I didn't always do this, but I know now it is essential to survive the newborn days. Forget the endless to-do list. Take naps day and night with baby and you will feel much better.

Don't tip-toe: When baby is asleep, forget tip-toeing around. Carry on business as usual to help you survive the newborn days. Not only will Baby sleep through the vacuum, television, and chatter (for many, it's actually a sleep aid!); it will help Baby get used to the routines of day and night.

Shower: Once you are home with Baby, you will find showering daily falls by the wayside. But you can still shower to feel rejuvenated. To survive the newborn days, strap baby securely in car seat or bouncer, and place them just inside the bathroom door. Keep the door open a bit to let steam out, then jump in and lather up. This way, you can peek around the curtain anytime you get anxious - don't worry; Baby will still be there and probably sound asleep!

Trust in the baby monitor: I tried carrying my daughter everywhere from room to room, so worried was I she might need me. But if Baby needs something, Baby will let you know, by coos or crying. Trusting in the baby monitor will enable you to survive the newborn days.

Get out and about: It might seem easier to hole up in the house with Baby, especially if you didn't shower or just feel worn out, as I did. But if it is nice outside, getting out in the fresh air will do wonders for you and Baby. Survive the newborn days by taking Baby for a stroll, to the mall, or just to the grocery store. You will feel a million times better by the time you get home!