In no particular order, here are ten things I've needed so far as a new mom that have made things easier.
10. Newborn AND Size 1 diapers
From what my parents have told me, I used to poop so much at night that it would get all over my clothes, myself, and anything surrounding me. Sophie tends to get poop up the back of her outfits at night, so she needs two separate size diapers. Newborn for daytime, and Size 1 for nighttime. It helps keep my sanity when she isn't dirtying an outfit every few hours.
9. Large swaddling blankets
The blankets my mother and sister made are amazing, to say in the least. They are probably 1 square yard a piece, and I have at least five or six of them, and each one of the blankets has four matching burp cloths. All of the other blankets I received are just big enough to swaddle her in, but not quite big enough to swaddle her tightly and keep her wrapped up throughout the night. The ones my mother made keep her nice and snug like a little burrito. :]
8. Extra pacifiers
The only pacifier that Sophie likes is the one that they gave her in the hospital - the Soothie brand. We didn't discover this until we came home and tried to give her the pacifiers that we've had for months - she wouldn't take them. We had to go out and find extra Soothie pacifiers for her. We cannot leave the house without a pacifier, as we've learned. Now that we have three, one stays in the diaper bag, one stays in the bedroom, and one in the living room where we feed her.
7. A sense of humor and a lot of patience
I say a sense of humor, because when you're changing a diaper at 2am and the baby pees on you in the midst of doing so, you can do one of two things: you can cry, or you can laugh. For your own sanity, it's best to laugh. It makes you feel better about the situation. Something I've learned recently is that self-soothing is probably a good method for Sophie. It may take her 20 minutes to fall asleep (four minutes of crying followed by several minutes of silence, and then repeated until she goes to sleep), but in the end, she sleeps longer and so do I. It helps to be really patient.
6. Netflix Instant Queue
Even though you are busy as a new mom, you do have a little bit of free time. The best way to kill time, to help you stay awake, or just to entertain you is to watch some TV. I don't have cable, so Netflix is the next best thing. I can watch shows or movies, and there's a wide variety of things I can watch. It really helps keep me sane when I need something to take my mind off of how little sleep I've gotten or how much I really would like to take a shower.
5. Newborn outfits
I don't know why I thought Sophie wouldn't fit into newborn outfits when she was born. Maybe it was looking at the newborn onesies; they are so very tiny that it's hard to imagine anything but a small doll being able to wear them. Two weeks later, she can still wear preemie clothes. Justin and I actually had to go out and buy more newborn size outfits for her because she was going through them so quickly.
4. Breast Pump
After my milk came in, Sophie had a difficult time being able to latch on. Pumping allows me to still give her the breast milk that she needs, and at the same time, gives me more freedom. Daddy, Grandma/Grandpa, or someone else can feed her.
3. Medela Quick Steam Sterilizing Bags
A friend told me about these bags. They are $5.99 for a box of 5 bags. Each bag is good for 20 uses. All you need is 2 ounces of water and 3 minutes in the microwave. I can fit three bottles and parts in the bag, or both breast shields from the pump and the bottles.
2. Someone to help out the first week home
Both Justin and my mom spent the majority of the first week home with me. I really needed that more than I would admit. Not only is dealing with a new baby demanding, but I was recovering from surgery too. It's hard to take care of a newborn and yourself at the same time, plus do all of the things you normally do, like clean and cook. Having my mom and Justin, I didn't have to do everything. They did the cooking and cleaning, and watched the baby for me when I needed to sleep or take a shower. My sister came over the second week and helped out - she mostly kept me company, and that is more help than I could have asked for.
1. Love and Support
Being a new mom is hard, but with love and support from Justin, my family, and friends, it gets easier.
No comments:
Post a Comment