Your new Baby and new Routine

Stress

There's no feeling more incredible than when you've just had a baby. So why don't you feel wonderful all the time?

Well, even the best events in life have stress attached to them. Having a baby is exciting for everyone. You've been flooded with company practically from the moment of delivery. If you're a first-time mother, hospitals don't give you very much help or advice; they send you home with this new little creature with an array of demands that you have to try to interpret. And new babies don't sleep much. At least not long enough to allow you to get some much needed rest. Add to that the hormonal changes in your own body, and you have a formula that's guaranteed to be stressful.

Sometimes you think you'll never get a full night's sleep again. Until the baby settles into a routine, you probably won't! To get through those first few weeks and months, here are a few tips to help you get at least a little more sleep.

First of all, don't try to be a super mom. When the baby goes down for a nap, take a small nap yourself. The laundry can wait and so can the dishes. You don't need to have a perfect house. There will be time for all that; give yourself a break whenever you get the opportunity.

If you have a good friend or relative to help out, by all means take advantage of that for an afternoon. Grandma would probably jump at the chance to have the baby all to herself for a few hours!

When you put the baby to bed for the night, take some time to decompress and relax so you have a better chance of falling asleep. Take a bath scented with lavender; put on some soft music and baby yourself a little. Sometimes it's hard even without a new baby to fall asleep right away. There's a lot to get used to!


What is a Typical Day and Night?

Bringing home a new baby brings with it an exhausting array of new responsibilities and challenges. Is there such a thing as a typical day and night for new parents? Probably not! Remember, the baby has just gone through an enormous change too, so part of the process when you first bring him home is his transition from the womb to the outside world. Keep the baby close to you, keep him wrapped and warm. If you're breastfeeding, this will take some time for both of you to adjust to as well.

If you're new baby is formula fed, he'll need to feed every 3 to 5 hours. If you're breastfeeding, he'll need to feed more frequently. Sometimes you will feel that all you do all day and night is breastfeed. You will probably feel much more empathy with cows! And there will be a lot of diapers to change, especially until you get familiar with his schedule. His diaper will probably need to be changed shortly after feeding, about once an hour in the very beginning. Be sure to check frequently.

Until the umbilical cord has fallen off, you'll want to keep to sponge baths every few days, but you will want to wash the baby's bottom every day. You can wipe the baby's hands, face, neck and bottom every day with a soft washcloth with warm water. When the baby's ready for full baths, in a few weeks, every day is a good idea to prevent diaper rashes. But keep in mind that too much bathing can dry out his sensitive skin. So see what works for your baby.

Those little finger and toenails will grow quickly, and they'll need to be trimmed regularly so the baby doesn't scratch himself. The baby's nails can be long, even at birth and attached high on the nail bed. You'll need to gently press the finger pad away from the nail and clip it with a baby nail clipper. You might want to do this when the baby's sleeping to ensure that he doesn't jerk those little fingers and toes away!

Get used to being busy 24/7 during the first month, at least. You will be feeding and changing diapers around the clock so get as much help as you can so you can have some peace too.


Coping with Your New Schedule

There will be days when you bring the new baby home that you think you'll never get to sleep again. In the meantime, try to get some rest and sleep whenever you can. The baby won't be sleeping through the night for several weeks, perhaps months. While the baby is adjusting to the schedule of night and day, you won't be able to sleep through the night until the baby does.

Until baby is sleeping through the night, try to sleep when baby sleeps. Many new mothers try to do everything at once, and start cleaning or doing the laundry once the baby has a nap. You'll only make yourself more tired if you try to be super mom.

If you can get some help in those first weeks with the cleaning and laundry, by all means, do so. If you can have a friend or relative come over to watch the baby for an afternoon while you catch up on some much-needed sleep, try to take advantage of that whenever you can.

When you've been so busy all day with new baby chores and everything else you have to do to maintain a household, and possibly take care of older siblings as well, it can be hard to wind down just because everyone else is asleep.

Make some routines to help yourself unwind at night. Take a warm bath - not too hot, hot water can be stimulating - and play some relaxing music. Even if you're not breastfeeding, avoid caffeine throughout the day and especially at night. Drink water or decaffeinated coffee or herbal tea. If foods that have a lot of preservatives or sodium can make you jumpy, try to avoid those as much as possible. Try to eat very natural foods, such as salads, green vegetables, fruits, and warm healthy soups.

As soon as you're able, try to get out and walk for a little bit each day. The fresh air and moderate exercise will help you and your baby feel relaxed and can help you get to sleep at night.


Awareness of SIDS

It's the most frightening, bewildering and heartbreaking thing that can happen with a newborn baby. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). It's defined as when a baby dies in the first year of life from no apparent cause. The causes still aren't fully known, but in SIDS deaths, the baby's recovery mechanisms if deprived of oxygen aren't developed and the baby is not able to rouse himself if his breathing becomes obstructed, such as when he's sleeping face down.

There's no way to predict whether a baby is at risk for SIDS, although the occurrence of SIDS deaths has decreased in the last 10 years. Creating a safe sleep environment for the baby is one way to help prevent SIDS.

For the first year of life, babies should be put to sleep on their backs. If you do put your baby to sleep on their sides, they should be positioned with one arm forward to keep them from rolling over on their stomachs. Soft foam wedges can be purchased for just this purpose.

Avoid loose, fluffy bedding and make sure your baby's face isn't obstructed. Be careful not to overheat your baby by over-wrapping him or dressing him in too many layers.

Also try to set the cot blankets from the bottom of the cot, no highter then baby's neck.  This way it will be much harder for baby to slide under the blankets.

Don't smoke and don't allow anyone else to smoke around the baby. Make sure he has a firm mattress in a safety-approved crib.

There are monitoring systems that can alert you if the baby stops breathing. There are some indications when you might want to consider this:

Make sure to keep all of your baby appointments to make sure his lungs are fully developed and to maintain all immunizations. More on SIDS prevention strategies can be found in SIDS prevention strategies.