The baby stage is damn hard, especially if you’re new to it all. Unlike when you bring home a flat-pack item from a home improvement store, a baby doesn’t come with an instruction manual. As a new mum, you bring home your baby and you’re pretty much thrown in at the deep end straight away. It’s scary.
Those first few months are particularly difficult, as you’re recovering from the birth, battling hormones and trying to adjust to being responsible for a brand new, tiny human who relies on you for EVERYTHING.
Being someone who already found it hard to adjust to adulthood, those early stages as a new mum were a challenge for me. But there were a few things that helped me to survive it (just!).
Coffee
Coffee is definitely needed when you’re a new mum. Most of this stage (especially the newborn period) consists of forgetting where you put the baby wipes, forgetting the date you gave birth to your child (yes, really – I blame the baby brain) and walking (and looking) like a zombie. Caffeine is needed to help you to function like a normal human being.
And still needed now.
Walks
Walking might feel like the last thing you want to do, especially if your bits are full of stitches or you’re recovering from a c-section. After a couple of weeks of being stuck inside and drowning in a sea of nappies, baby wipes, feeding bottles and other general mess though, you will be doing anything you can to get out of the house.
Cbeebies
I have a confession to make – I LOVE Cbeebies! It’s one of my greatest memories of those first months as a new mum. Ok, so some of the programmes were a bit annoying.
There’s absolutely no way that Flop would be that patient with Bing in real life. Especially in that episode where he had a cold and Bing broke his cup of hot lemon.
The little shit.
But my baby loved all the programmes (her favourites were In the Night Garden and Twirlywoos). We had some great times singing along to them.
I’d give anything to have the Cbeebies days back – they went by so fast. Now it’s YouTube Kids, which is ten times more headache-including than any Cbeebies programme. Even Mr Tumble is more tolerable. Yes. Really.
Friends
The baby stage can be a bit lonely. Babies are cute, but they can’t talk. All they do is wee, poo, cry and babble. They’re great to cuddle, but you can’t have a conversation with them. After a few weeks of getting used to a new routine, you start to crave adult company and a decent conversation. And I say that as an introvert!
I was never a fan of baby groups. I was lucky to have a few friends who had also recently given birth, so there wasn’t much need to attend a regular baby group anyway. It was nice to just visit a park or even just chill out at home and have a good long chat, something which is much harder to do once your child reaches the toddler stage and you have to pause mid-conversation to stop them somersaulting off the sofa.
Naps
I don’t think I would have gotten through the newborn stage without naps. I still need them now. Whenever the baby slept, I napped. Then there’s those precious two-hour naps when they get a little bit older. Perfect time to nap yourself or even just read a book in peace. Until they get to two years old and decide they don’t need naps anymore and you’re dealing with them ALL day and wondering if it’s wine o’clock yet when it’s actually only 11 a.m. Sob.
Playpen
The newborn stage is tough, but it quickly passes. Then the real challenge begins. Your baby starts crawling and you suddenly need eyes in the back of your head. One minute she’s at one end of the room, then two seconds later she’s quickly made her way towards your laptop/phone/other item that you’ve left lying around. Whoops!
A playpen full of your baby’s toys will keep them entertained while you tidy up.
Sometimes *whispers* you might even stick your baby in the playpen just to give yourself a bit of a break and not tidy up at all.
Babysitting offers
If a grandparent or friend offers to babysit, take the help. Take ALL the help. It’s definitely needed in the newborn stage to enable you to have a rest!
Pizza
Well, we all deserve a treat, don’t we?! Just make sure you order TWO boxes of cookie dough for pudding, because there’s absolutely no way that one box serves two.
Comfy clothes
I’ll admit that during the early newborn stages, I spent most of the days in my dressing gown. Even now, I still choose comfort over style. Life as a mum is busy and it’s better to be busy in comfortable clothes!
Sometimes, you might even leave the house in leggings with a hole in them. Without realising it. Because you’re exhausted and this is how you live now.
Welcome to parenthood!
