If you're pregnant with your first baby, chances are you've recently spent some time buying oh-so-cute little outfits, bright coloured plush toys, and big-ticket items like a cot and pram. You've probably also spent hours setting up a beautiful nursery that will rival your newborn baby on the adorable scale.(photo on canvas Acrylic canvas printing)
Finding your tribe as a new mum
When your bundle doesn't bring immediate joy
I hate to be the one to break this to you, but you won't actually be using much of this stuff during your first few weeks of motherhood. Besides a car seat and bassinet, which are essential for the logistics of transport and sleeping, you and your baby will only be needing the most basic of items during those first few weeks.
Here's a list of 10 things you'll need to survive.
baby sleep
Photo: Getty Images
1. Sleep
You won't get much of this, but when you do it will be amazing (and never long enough). Don't be afraid to ask someone to come over and watch your baby for a few hours so you can catch up on some much needed sleep. There's a reason they use sleep deprivation as a torture method – it is truly an essential item to keep you running through those long days and nights.
2. Feeding essentials
Whether you want to breastfeed or bottle-feed your baby, there are a few items to stock up on to help you through those first few weeks.
If you'd like to breastfeed, be sure to buy, lanolin cream for cracked and sore nipples (the Lansinoh brand comes highly recommended), nursing pads for leaking boobs, and a breastfeeding pillow. As weird as it sounds, you might also like cabbage leaves to help ease the pain of your fuller breasts – yes, you really do just pop them in your bra. It's also a good idea to know where to turn to for lactation support: the Australian Breastfeeding Association is a wonderful resource.
If bottle-feeding, speak to your midwife or obstetrician about what brand of formula you wish to start your baby on. Also have a number of bottles handy (it helps if you get all the same brand so you're not messing around with mismatching tops at 3am!), and a method to sterilise them.
3. A baby carrier
"In the first four weeks, babies want to be held a lot. They may sleep a lot, but put them down for 10 minutes and they will certainly tell you about it," says Alison, who blogs about babywearing at Keep Them Close. She says that while it would be nice to spend hours each day sitting on the sofa with a sleeping baby on your lap, the reality of life means things need to be done – and wearing your baby in a sling or a baby carrier will help you to get them done.
Wearing your baby also helps you bond with them, and being close to mum or dad helps babies adjust to life outside the womb, which means a happier baby and a happier mum and dad.
4. Terry toweling onesies … lots of them
You might have an entire wardrobe of adorable little outfits with three zeros on the tags, but here's the problem: newborn babies spew – a lot. All over you, all over them, pretty much all over everything. Which is why you will want lots of $4 terry toweling onesies – that way, it won't bother you so much when you have to change your newborn baby for the fifth time in a single day.
5. Cloth nappies
Cloth nappies are as amazing as disposable nappies, but for a totally different reason: cloth nappies make great spew towels. A spew towel is a towel you put over your shoulder while you burp your baby; it catches the baby vomit and stops it from going all over your outfit. Saviour!
6. A white noise app
White noise is used on military special forces selection courses to try and break soldiers mentally, and after listening to it on a daily basis for almost three months, I can understand why. But experts say that white noise is a similar sound to the noises inside the womb, so it has a calming affect on a newborn and is an effective tool to get babies to sleep (and sleep is something you will want them to do so badly).
Jemma says she unsuccessfully tried lots of different ways to try and get her baby to sleep before discovering a white noise app. "It worked a treat as it provided just the right amount of sound to keep him sleeping, especially while he was trying to figure out day and night," she says.
Trust me when I say this, you'll grow to love white noise. However, it is important to not play the sounds too loud.
7. Wraps/swaddles
Newborn babies love to feel snug, as that's what it was like for them inside the womb, so wraps or swaddles are essential to help get them to sleep during those first few months of life.
Stacey, who had a baby earlier this year, swears by the Love to Dream swaddle and recommends them to every new mum. Although she was shown at least 20 times how to swaddle her baby with wraps, she just couldn't get the hang of it. Then when her baby was a few weeks old a friend introduced her to the Love to Dream swaddle. "I thought, okay, this looks easy, just put her in and zip her up – sure, I can do that," says Stacey, who has had much better nights' sleep ever since.
Of course, you might be able to get the hang of a baby wrap – just do some research to find what will work for you and your baby.
8. Cooked meals
The thing about newborn babies is they have no sense of time – their only clock is their rumbling stomach. This means you may find yourself sleeping at dinnertime and awake in the middle of the night. The last thing you are going to want to do is cook, so a few cooked meals in the fridge will really help you during those first few weeks with your newborn. Remember that you really do need to eat well - it will help give you the energy and brain power to get you through the days, and the nutrients you need to recover after your long pregnancy and birth.
If friends ask if they can do anything to help, ask for a few home-cooked meals. Here are 10 great recipes that freeze well.
9. An online grocery shopping account
Forget about rushing to the shops to pick up a few groceries during your first few weeks of motherhood – either send someone else with a list of what you want, or better yet, do your shopping online from the comfort of your lounge.
10. Support
Lastly, support is important to survival during those first few weeks at home with your newborn. Not only will you experience tiredness beyond comprehension, but also every little task will be so new and daunting. Having someone show you the ropes will help tremendously. Support from friends and family will be invaluable – and if you don't have anyone like that nearby, or within Skype range, make sure you've got some professionals at hand (midwives, breastfeeding consultants and your child maternal health nurse). You can also visit the Essential Baby forum, where parents discuss every aspect of life with a child, 24 hours a day - the birth to 6 months section is full of great info for new mums and dads.
If you end up having a c-section during labour, your family's support will be even more important while you recover – as Emma, who had a caesarean when she had her first daughter last year, discovered. She said basic tasks like bending over to put her baby in the bassinet or pram were tough, and that she couldn't have made it through the first few weeks without the support of her family and fiancé.
So forget about the bright, shiny and pretty baby things to get you through the first few weeks of motherhood – while you're in survival mode, all you'll need is just the essentials.
But rest assured, babies change so quickly that you'll be using everything in your nursery before you know it.
Nicole Thomson-Pride is a freelance writer. You can follow her on Twitter here.
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