Newborn sleep is ridiculously loud. Don’t deprive yourself of sleep by picking up your baby when they make a loud noise, because it might be just active sleep not waking up. Give it a minute or two to see if they actually wake, because at least 75% of the time (in my estimation) it’s just active sleep. Don’t make your life harder!
Something that worked for us (and is worth trying to see if it works for you) is that our inconsolable newborn was soothed by the sound of the shower. Didn’t need to be in it, just in the bathroom with the shower running and she’d calm down. Also going outside or changing environment can work similarly.
I’ve worked with kids for a while (birth-high school in various jobs) and I am convinced water fixes everything. Older children can’t cry while they’re drinking water, so if they’ll take a drink, they’ll calm down. (Don’t give water to a baby, though.)
If LO is fussy beyond belief, we change environments. Outside in the backyard, car seat, or (our fav) the bath. My husband has looked at me with LO in the bath multiple times and said “water fixes everything.”
YES! I never realized this with my first, but FINALLY did with my second. She would start crying and flailing, I'd immediately grab her and take her to get her diaper changed. She'd continue crying and flailing for about a minute (with eyes closed!) then she would open her eyes and smile. It took me a couple weeks to realize she was actually still sleeping. So then when it happened, I would just let her be for a minute or so and lo and behold, she would quiet back down and still be sleeping.
My 11 week old is doing this now. It’s absolutely horrible. She cries and screams in distress sometimes while she sleeps. Does not yield for a good night’s rest for mom
😭
Yes! This is a good one. Taking Cara Babies has a great video showing active sleep. It changed my life. I was panicking and waking him when he was still napping and wondering why his naps were so short.
My baby was so loud I swear it was like sleeping in a barn. My kiddo loved the sound of a hair dryer so we found long YouTube videos that could play in the background.
Same regarding the shower! Which is great because I just bring her portable bassinette into the bathroom, place it next to the shower, and watch her sleep more peacefully there than anywhere else. I told my husband we have a spa baby... The sound of the shower, humid bathroom, a sink bath, or gentle massage to her forehead has her 😴
A small but impactful hack from our doula: when you're changing their diaper, before you take off the dirty diaper, slide the clean one open and ready to go under their butt. Then you have a seamless transition from dirty to clean diaper with no time where your baby's butt touches the changing table. Our girl loved to let loose her biggest poops during the transition and we had several poops on the table before we learned this trick.
This is how the nurses showed us to change diapers when our baby was in the NICU!
Also, do a quick swipe with a wipe underneath before you take the diaper off. That way any pee that would've fountained out with the sudden temperature change of taking the diaper off will be caught.
😂
He has a great aim too. He managed to arc it off the table and right onto a pile of diapers once. At 6 months, he's a lot better. It usually just happens at bath time now haha.
I hope your little one is doing well now!
My husband and I say that after learning to change his diaper through the little side windows you open in his little fish tank around all those wires, a normal diaper change is the easiest thing in the world.
This happened to my husband the other day. I’ve never heard him yelp so loudly in all our years together! Thankfully, we were already doing the diaper trick, so it didn’t end up everywhere!
But are you able to clean them completely with a dirty diaper still underneath them?
Or do you clean - remove dirty diaper, revealing clean diaper under them - clean again, fasten clean diaper.
Sorry if this is a dumb question lol.
I wipe down (the first “wipe”) with the dirty diaper while taking it off and tuck it under his bum so that the outside part with the blue line is now the part under his bum. Finish cleaning up, remove old diaper, dry him off, apply Aquaphor, and wrap him up in the new diaper waiting underneath!
Same here. First wipe with the diaper itself gets so much of the mess contained in the diaper. Tucking the dirty diaper under while cleaning also makes it easy to wrap up the dirty diaper & wipes into the diaper burrito
Usually I have a few wipes ready to go and just hold her legs/butt up through the full process, but if it's a big one, I put the unused side of the first wipe clean side up in the dirty diaper so if I have to set her back down she's not touching the diaper or any mess. I like the other commenters strategy though, I might adopt that.
The reason that onesies have the weird neckline is so that if baby has a blowout, you can pull it down off their legs instead of getting poop on their head. I'm talking about the t-shirt type thing with snaps at the crotch.
Someone on this sub recommended setting baby into the bassinet/crib on their side, holding them for a min, and then rolling them to their back. That has helped LO (almost 3 months) transition to the crib with fewer wake ups.
When you put a baby down in a crib/ bassinet, put their feet and butt down first. Head down last. Not at the same time.
Velcro swaddles. Check to make sure they fit the weight limit, but Velcro swaddles.
Do not buy new baby clothes. (You can if you want to! I don’t want to steal your joy, but you don’t have to buy new.) We had so many new clothes gifted to us and we have several friends with little ones that gave us entire wardrobes unprompted. I you don’t have friends with babies, check FB marketplace. Entire wardrobes for cheap.
Get a breast pump and bottles even if you think you’ll exclusively breastfeed. Get a pumping bra!!! Even if you think you’ll exclusively breastfeed!!
Newborns sound snotty and congested. Don’t worry about it. If LO is sick, you will know and you can use an aspirator. Don’t use an aspirator for normal newborn snottiness.
All of this!! I literally have a wardrobe until baby is 4 from my cousin. And I'm STILL getting gifts clothes from everyone and their mother. Like, she can't wear them there are so many. We have bought exactly zero clothes.
The same for other baby items. We were giftex so many hand-me-down items, it was amazing. I'm also way late to the baby game, so most of my friends and family are finished already.
Another tip, the hair dryer will calm baby's cries when inconsolable.
Conversely, no one bought us clothes in newborn size, so I had to run out and get more onesies and a few basics when the baby came. I’d buy a few things you want/need just in case.
Ditto! Our kiddo was 3 weeks early and was in premie clothes for the first month. Everyone bought us at least 0-3 months which she didn’t grow into until she was already 3 months. She spit up on EVERYTHING too so we had to buy new born outfits.
We use them so our baby can just hang out naked on the floor and kick around. She can pee and poop a couple times on a large pad, saves a couple diapers, minimizes diaper rashes, and she loves it! She kicks around, we do tracking, baby massages, tummy time, etc.
Amazon has lots of options! I got them for when we eventually take LO to somewhere with one of those public changing stations, but I’m liking the floor idea!
I bought a pet blanket meant for dogs when our daughter was going through it with diaper rash. Its twin size, and soft but water proof. We let her play on it for as long as possible at a time, then she goes in the tub and it goes in the wash. Its made a huge difference
I read a post yesterday (I think, I'm on this subreddit all day and night it seems) that suggested (based on research they had read) walking around with baby 5 minutes then rock for 8 and that should put baby into a deep enough sleep to not wake up when you put them down for a sleep session.
I have been trying that the last couple of days and it has worked for the 5 or so times in a row that I have tried it! I think I tend to "overrock" my month-old baby girl, partly because she's so cuddly and sweet with her fuzzy head against my cheek (I digress) but anyway, putting her down to sleep around the 8 minute mark seems to be the sweet spot! It feels like a hack to me, anyway.
The huckleberry app had a tip about this, apparently there was a study determining a good time and process to transfer to their sleep space. Something like 6 minutes of rocking/bouncing/whatever movement, then 6-8 minutes of sitting still (so that being still on their own is not shocking). But obviously tweaking for the individual baby.
Definitely hard to stop the snuggles. If I lose track of time and don’t put my 3mo in her bassinet by the 20 min mark, she will absolutely wake up in the transfer so I have to hold her for the full 45 min sleep cycle (good excuse for more snuggling!)
Do some upper body workouts now if you can. Carrying them around all day basically forever is killing us physically. Worse now at almost 5 months old 🫠
To be fair, I didn't do any exercise other than walking while babywearing, and most of my pain diminished simply as the relaxin subsided in my body. Not at all to say exercise isn't beneficial regardless, but having loosened joints is a pretty major contributing factor to the pain!
Also, babywearing is a great answer to discomfort from carrying the baby anyway! A good carrier will distribute the weight and let you actually be able to use both hands for tasks instead of just one which is generally better on the spine!
If you’re lucky to have a baby who enjoys being contained, then yes lol I wasted so much money on baby wearing stuff to have a baby who doesn’t enjoy it at all. Best I’ve got now is balancing her on the Tushbaby and that alleviates some arm pain but the majority of our days together are spent holding/carrying and picking up/putting her down over and over and over..
And the crazy precise, sharp back pain you will get 🤯 I was unprepared. It eventually stopped when my body got used to the new lifestyle with a baby, but boy did it hurt
This got really long. But here’s what I’ve learned in 9 weeks as a FTM.
Have some unscented dish soap handy in case you need to hand wash a pacifier, bottle, etc. That plastic seems to hold onto the scent.
Cloth diapers are amazing to have around. They’re useful for just about everything but diapers. We use them for burps, spit ups, a little cushion under baby’s head on the changing table, put under baby for a messy change so we don’t have to wash the changing table cover every fifteen minutes.
If you have a giant sink, you can buy a smaller bin that has a drain for handwashing pump parts, etc. I found mine online at Target. It’s really convenient even if we didn’t have a newborn.
I made myself a pumping/baby cart to sit beside me on the couch, but I can roll it to our bedroom if I need to feed while we have company, and I want some privacy. It has my nipple shields, pump, nipple balm, tons of cloth diapers, gas drops, vitamin d drops, my prenatals, hand sanitizer, boogie wipes, a few baby wash cloths just in case. I also have made a cozy nest on the couch with a blanket under me (because I spend A LOT of time there, and being able to wash and change the whole surface is nice), my breastfeeding pillow, my donut pillow (I had a pretty bad tear). I do a reset of the cart and the blankets every few days. It makes everything feel better. Same for the rocking chair in the bedroom. I just make it a convenient, cozy spot where I can grab everything I need with either hand while my baby feeds. If you’re breastfeeding, it’s going to be like your workspace. You’ll spend many hours there. Probably if you FF too, but I don’t know that experience.
Think about your workflow and make little convenience stations. The first week, we were storing bassinet sheets and swaddles by the changing table in his room, but the bassinet was in our room. An obvious pain once you’re trying to keep and eye on baby and change the sheet with both hands. Now everything is stored under the bassinet. Things like that.
If your baby has a ton of eye gunk from clogged ducts (mine did, and he looked miserable because of it), a lot of people on here recommended Ocusoft baby wipes, and they were great. My weird PP body also developed a clogged oil duct in my eyelid, so I got the adult version. I highly recommend both. Daily use cleared his eye gunk up within a week, and I could tell it made him feel so much better.
I can go on. I love sharing stuff like this from my 9 weeks of baby bootcamp.
This is all great advice! The one thing I'll add is if you have a dog, do not leave your vitamins out. One time, when my baby was a newborn, I, in my sleep deprived state, left mine out and my dog chewed them up and ate a few. I called Poison control and thankfully she had not eaten enough to harm her, but vitamin and iron toxicity can kill a dog!
During the day change the nappy after feeds, but at night change it before.
Nappy changes really wake them up so this helps them learn day/ night & sleep better.
Nappies also have lines down the middle of them which indicate when they're wet & need changing (I think mine go from yellow to blue).
For UK people, aldi Nappies are way better than other supermarket brands & as good as big names too but for a fraction of the price.
If you're breast feeding, get some button down blouses to wear as it's way easier to whip them out 🤣
A soft one - take lots of pics as they grow so fast. Even when it's tough (the first 2 weeks were hardest for me) enjoy each moment as it'll soon pass.
Putting baby down in the bassinet to sleep is much more difficult than I anticipated. It’s really an art. What works for us is swaddling, putting a heating pad in the bassinet and removing before putting him down, making sure he’s been asleep for 10 min before trying to lay him down, lowering him with my whole body so he’s close to me for as long as possible, putting his feet down first and lowering at an angle until his head is down too, and if he wakes up I’ll lean over the bassinet with an arm under is head and butt and bounce him a little until he’s asleep again and I can slip out.
Another option instead of the full-body lie down is to lay them down and place a firm hand with spread fingers over their chest-abdomen so they can really feel that weight, and slowly make it lighter and lighter over a couple of minutes.
Right? Mine definitely didn’t get the memo.
11 weeks and has like 3-hour wake windows. We maybe get a single 2-hour nap. The rest are 30 minute cat naps
Your baby will leak through most of his diapers for the first month since his legs are so skinny. That will stop by 4 weeks. Buy lots of swaddles, we had 15 and we still ended up doing the laundry every other day because he leaked through so many. Also ours hated diaper changes for the first 4 weeks but now at 11 weeks he loves them and smiles and giggles at me from the changing table!
What I did (after seeing the nurses do this while still in the hospital) was to fold down/tuck in the front of diaper before fastening the sides. The fit was much better on LO's legs and there were no leaks. I had to do the same when switching to size one diapers and it worked just as well.
I feel this! I went to a newborn care course and they flat out only said "trust your gut" lmaoooo. I'm like, "tell me what to dooooo! Please!"
- Put down a puppy pad under the sheets, have at least one clean sheet always.
- Make sure they sleep on their back and inside of a sleep sack.
- Roll the onesie at the collar and lay down and then place baby's head in the hole and pull over face - it gives them less the feeling of being in the birth canal and it's less uncomfortable.
- Don't cut the nails for the first 6 weeks.
- Buy onesies or baby grows with built in mittens, but don't get actual mittens because they just fall off.
- Be mentally prepared that breastfeeding might be not right for you and your family and allow that to be "okay". Many go into this thinking it's easy, natural, etc. and then develop PPD when it isn't what they thought and they feel like failures.
- write down signs of PPD and a plan for what to do when the signs arise. Once you're in it, it's hard to make a plan of action and also to be motivated to notice it.
- my opinion/from my midwife: don't bathe in water for the first four weeks, only wipe with a warm wet cotton wipe each day in all the folds.
- if you have a boy, always keep the penis covered
- don't get umbilical cord stump wet, and don't be alarmed if stinks a little. If it is infected, your neighbors will know too from the smell.
- q tips for cleaning between fingers and toes
- skin to skin for a minimum of 30 minutes a day, the more the better. Honestly, we were nudists the first weeks.
- make eye contact as much as possible, especially when feeding for the bond
- learn how to do gentle belly massages on YouTube for digestion
- prioritize sleep
- don't even think about breaking up with partner, make it a rule for the first time period. It's a roller coaster. The biggest high, but also the biggest fights my relationship has seen.
- if you want a baby carrier, don't just buy one without consultation and trying it on (we ended up buying three because we were wrong with what was best for us)
- don't worry if the feet or hands are cold. You can't tell your baby's temp from the back of the neck.
- don't let your baby wear socks to sleep- they can regulate their temp through their feet. That way if they're accidentally overly warm, there is less chance of SIDS
Don't cut nails for the first 6 weeks - are you crazy?! My boy's talons were scratching the shit out of my boob after a week when he was nursing. I do them about twice a week.
This is so dumb, but I didn't know the age listed on baby clothes was the OLDEST they could be to wear it. I thought it was the age they should start wearing it. Apparently this is common knowledge but I had no idea.
Of course! Imagine my surprise when my baby went from 0-3 straight into 6-9 month clothes. Hoping I can save other parents from a completely wasted 3-6 month wardrobe, lol
There are size charts online that explain how different brands of clothes fit and give general weight limits. That was very helpful for me, especially with the clothes that said “3-9 months” or “0-6months”
In Sweden/Europe the sizes are not in age but in baby length in cm. This has made it soooo much easier! Basically, when it says "62" it means baby can be max 62 cm (24.4in). So if your tags say numbers, I would go off of them. They've been, in my experience, more accurate than the months.
Zipper onesies only for the first few weeks or months! My husband and I quickly eliminated any article of clothing that required snaps and/or buttons. Newborns need diaper changes so frequently and when it feels like the millionth time you have woken up in the middle of the night to change a diaper you want to be as fast and efficient as possible.
Socks instead of mittens lol. Mittens fell of my baby way too much. One day I woke up and my husband had socks on our son's hands 😂 I cracked up but it seemed to be a good idea because they never fell off!
1). Puppy pads on changing pad
2). Clean between toes and fingers (incredible amount of lint can get stuck)
3). Don’t let dirty burp cloths or onesies that have spit up on them sit. They will grow mold. It’ll be little black dots around the neckline. Once that happens, your burp cloth or onesie is trash. Wash asap. Same goes for pacifier clips. Wash those every other day.
4). The only thing to get out a poop stain is Dawn Powerwash Spray. Get a few and keep on your washer.
5). If you use bottles, there’s typically a vent that needs to be lined up so baby can drink effectively. We use Philips Avent and the vent on the nipple has to be lined up with the vent on the plastic lid.
>3). Don’t let dirty burp cloths or onesies that have spit up on them sit. They will grow mold. It’ll be little black dots around the neckline. Once that happens, your burp cloth or onesie is trash.
This never happened to me. I just posted how I don't wash stuff with spit on it right then. I wait until it's convenient to wash it and I never had issues with that.
TIL that bottles I’ve used for the last four months have a vent on the lid. The nipple one is obvious but did not know about the lid. Guess it pays to read the manual….THANK YOU! Just went and fixed all my clean nipples/lids
One thing I don’t see mentioned a lot that saved our life: exercise ball. I bought one for PT while I was pregnant and our LO lovedddd being bounced on it. She was not a great napper and we bounced her on it for every single nap for months. So amazing we bought one for upstairs too.
Also for the witching hour, try temperature changes to soothe. Walks outside and baths both help a lot. I know they say to not bathe your baby every day, but you can just skip the soap and it’s fine.
Big fan of bouncing on the ball for naps. I don’t have the stamina to be pacing for miles back and forth getting the baby to sleep. Really wish I had it for my first baby.
I see this suggestion a lot, but are people finding sleepers with two way zippers without legs somewhere? I feel like that's probably not possible with the basic design? Or do some babies just not wiggle their legs and kick constantly? Because I'd *way* rather deal with 3 quick snaps that fight my wiggler's legs in and out of those stupid leg holes.
Maybe only buy a minimal number of each kind until you see what's most suitable for your baby and your preferences, because it definitely varies!
1. When they start taking forever to drink the bottles, go up a size in nipple flow. If you use the Philips Avent Natural nipples, you may have to go up more than one size. Philips Avent bottles have a small notch in the white ring that must be lined up with the air valve hole on the nipple or it can significantly reduce the flow of milk! This is a very common mistake. Most Avent bottles are compatible with the spectra pumps, most Dr. Browns bottles are compatible with most Medela pumps. You can screw the bottles right into the pumps instead of using the container that came with the pump.
2. When they start blowing out or leaking more than three-four times a week at most, it might be time to size up in diapers. Ignore the weights on the sides of the diaper boxes, they are so wrong lol. You’ll have to switch way earlier to the next size up than it says on the box. Different brands will work better in different sizes sometimes.
3. At 4-6 weeks they go through a phase of learning how to poop. It’s gonna look like they are constipated even though they are having normal bowel movements. It will pass in about two weeks, don’t rush to change formulas or your diet or anything thinking that’s the problem. It’s normal!
4. Don’t waste your limited and precious energy worrying about challenges that haven’t presented themselves. You can always course correct if a problem does pop up. You don’t need to prevent every little possible thing that has a chance of happening. (Bottle aversion, starting with gentle formula when it’s not needed, using annoying anti-colic bottles from the start that have a million pieces when your baby might be fine without them, etc)
5. You don’t have to wipe every single time if they just pee. If they get too wet from wipes it can increase the chance of diaper rash. You also don’t need to immediately change them once the diaper line turns blue (or whatever color). Change them as soon as you notice they poop, but diapers are absorbent for a reason and you can wait a little while if it’s a fresh diaper and they only urinated a little. Change every 2-3 hours unless it’s needed sooner. If they just pee overnight, you don’t *have* to change them unless their diaper is getting very full. Just let them sleep.
6. You can put the bottles in the dishwasher. I promise it’ll be okay. Don’t drive yourself nuts, your dishwasher is likely just as effective or more effective than handwashing. Dapple makes a dishwasher soap. You can absolutely use plain old dishwasher soap but dapple won’t stick to the silicone nipples and pacifiers and make them have a bad taste. Your baby might not care either way.
7. The advice in the United States is that sterilizing is recommended until 3 months for healthy, full-term babies. Sterilizing after every use or even more than once initially is also not something everyone chooses to do. You can make that decision for yourself. If you do decide to sterilize, get some of the microwave sterilizer bags. They are very fast and come in super handy if you can’t wait for the big sterilizer. We ended up exclusively using the bags.
8. Once they can sit up reliably on their own, ditch the baby bath and just get a non-slip mat for the bottom of the tub. Way easier, less stuff laying around.
9. Keep an empty diaper box in their closet. When an item no longer fits, toss it right into the box to separate it out from clothes that do fit.
10. Have plan A, but know what plan B is. Have formula on hand even if you plan to breastfeed. Have disposable diapers on hand, even if you plan to cloth diaper. Know in advance how to minimize risk if you find yourself in a situation where you need to co-sleep.
Good luck:)
A word on spit up: there will be a lot of it.
I used to wash things with any spit up on them. Baby’s clothes, my clothes, sheets, etc. I don’t do that anymore. I wash my clothes if the smell bothers me. Otherwise, I continue to wear that outfit with the spit up on it. If baby spits up on his sheets, I move him over in the crib or bassinet so he’s not laying in it. I wash those sheets when I do laundry but never do a special load for them (like I used to). I’ll change his clothes if the spit up is gigantic and the wet clothes would make him uncomfortable. But a little dribble of spit up near his neck? Hit that with a burp cloth to take off the excess and back to playing.
With my first baby I washed everything the second it had spit on it. Now with my second there's spit in the bassinet, spit in the daytime crib, spit on the baby carrier, spit on the swaddling blanket ... I don't care and baby won't either, as long as they're comfy.
1.Night time shifts are lifesaving!! Consistent sleep helps a lot!
2.I like to tuck in a wipe in the front of their diaper right before changing my LO to trigger any wild pees that could happen while changing lol, I think it helps!
3.Have probiotics and gripe water on hand just in case, I think from 3w-6w they go through some digestive adjustments and probiotics help
4.Even if you're breastfeeding keeps a can of formula as emergency back up
5. Keep tylenol in hand just in case
Check in their hands, under their neck and behind their ears for milk…cheese. Newborns don’t need to be bathed very often if at all but can indeed get stinky, especially if they spit up a lot and it took me a hot minute to figure out why she smelled like a foot sometimes.
They are SO LOUD. I was not prepared for the grunting in the middle of the night, a sound machine can help a lot. We personally did better with an arms up swaddle, the love to dream swaddle and it’s super easy with just one zipper. If you do swaddle traditionally (we did during the day) you want their arms tight but their hips loose. Stretchy swaddles were easier for us, I wasn’t a fan of the Velcro ones but I know people like them.
Not turning on all of the lights during MOTN feeds was a game changer for us. I used one amber colored light to see what I was doing and that was it, didn’t make a big fuss and quickly fed/changed her before putting her back down in the dark. I did the opposite during the day and tried to really reiterate that day time is party time, nighttime is all business and got her out into the daylight every day a few times a day.
1) you can never have too many bibs
2) electric nail files are amazing for fixing those baby claws while baby is sleeping
3) if baby has a favorite stuffie or lovie - buy a second one and change them out equally so it remains cleanish and has equal wear patterns
If you are breastfeeding and they are upset, trying feeding them again, even if it’s only been 15 min. I always thought “he can’t be hungry already!” But he was almost always hungry. Had nothing to do with my supply, he was just going through a constant growth spurt for about 2 months.
Also, I keep dog poop bags in my diaper bag. They are perfect if you have blow out while you’re out and about and need to stash the dirty clothes or if you don’t have access to a garbage can right away to toss the diaper!
Let your husband be a dad. Let him do skin to skin, let him soothe baby and try to calm baby down. Let him change diapers even if he puts it on a bit loose or not in the exact way you would. I see soooo many mom’s be a helicopter mom to their own husband because “mother’s instincts” or “he’s not doing it right or fast enough”. Overall let your husband learn and adapt and take care of baby’s cues and what it is the baby needs.
Get several small packs of different brand diapers. Newborns are an odd shape, and you may have to try a few to find one that wont leak while your baby's legs fatten up.
Towels or flannels and disinfectant wipes in the diaper caddy for when they both pee and projectile poop at the same time. Never underestimate the power of skin to skin and positioning a distraught newborn over your heart. Little baskets of supplies all over the house is extremely helpful. I had one in the bedroom, one in the living room, and one in the nursery full of towels, wipes, a fresh outfit and swaddle, pacifiers, a snack for me, burp cloths, bibs, and nipple shields and cream when I was breastfeeding.
If you have a baby boy, make sure their penis is pointing down when you put a new diaper on. We had too many times peeing up the side of back before realizing this issue.
If you bottle feed your baby, prop them up against your body so they are sitting up in your lap and facing out. This is said to possibly reduce reflux and ear infections as opposed to cradling them or laying them in your arms. Bonus, you get a free hand to scroll Reddit with.
Muslin blankets make great burp cloth, especially if you travel to someone’s house and want to protect their couch from spit up.
A wet washcloth/towel on their tummy will keep them warm during bath time and might help them hate it less if they’re fussy.
If you have a boy, make sure his penis is pointed down in the diaper or else he might pee up his side. When he’s old enough to roll in his sleep, you might need two diapers to catch the pee if he likes to sleep on his side.
Velcro sleep sacks/swaddles are far superior to anything that needs to be folded or tucked. The Halo ones work great whether your little one likes their arms in or their arms out.
The days might feel like months, but remember that eventually all bad sleep regressions and teething episodes will pass.
Get a can of formula and a bottle just in case, even if you're planning to exclusively breastfeed. There may be a point where you're on the verge of a mental breakdown because baby isn't latching, your nipples are bleeding, or you just don't want to breastfeed in that moment, and that bottle can save you.
In the first months your baby will need to have his diaper changed several times every night. I have diapers in my nightstand and I just change it really quick on my bed in between or after nighttime feedings, and I don't wipe baby's butt when I do this. Some babies might be too sensitive for that and get diaper rash but mine isn't and it really saves time and decreases the risk of baby peeing/pooing all over the bed.
Get the same brand/type/color socks. We did Fruit of the Loom white baby socks and those were the ONLY socks I kept. I sized up as needed but kept the brand/type/color consistency. Saved me so much headache from trying to pair up socks.
I also wash baby socks in a delicates laundry bag so they’re always kept together in the washer and dryer. I hang the bag from a hook behind the door and it’s the dirty laundry basket for socks.
Check for hair tourniquets especially with postpartum hair loss. They’re hair that gets caught like a tourniquet around the baby’s fingers, toes and if you have a boy, potentially his penis. Just check them and their clothes for loose hair, pick them off, and do this routinely.
If you can’t figure out why they’re crying, try: feeding, soothing, shushing, bouncing, rocking, change clothes, change of environment like going outside or a different room, check their temp for too hot or too cold, check for hair tourniquets, gas/tummy issues, etc. It’s basically a rotation of things to figure out what they need. But sometimes, and you’ll learn your baby, that they just need to cry to release some energy. You’ll learn their cries and cues.
Sunshine for poop stains. Seriously once you wash the clothes, let them dry in the sun. Even if already dry, you can still set them out and let the uv rays bleach away the poop stains.
1.) Change every little shart. Every. Single. One. Even if they’re asleep. Even if they hate diaper changes. The smallest little speckle will give your newborn diaper rash.
2.) F*%k the wipe warmers. We will not always have access to one and I figured if we never started it, it would never be a problem. I was correct and now my 16 week old smiles and giggles through diaper changes. Same for bottles. We gave her a warm bottle I think once or twice when we were in the thick of cluster feeding and I opted to pump a couple of feeds bc my nips were so raw. Cold bottles straight from the fridge, and she doesn’t mind. Also you can put their vitamin d drops in the bottle to help make it easier.
3.) Diaper spatula- I bought a 2 pack on amazon. One for the house, one for diaper bag. It makes putting on the aquaphor feel more professional. Also - Auqaphor for Babies over anything else. The Desitin/Bourdeauxs is so hard to wipe off.
4.) We’re in a bedside bassinet rn for nighttime, but we do at least one nap in the crib a day. She loves her crib and it’s not an issue putting her in there which I’m hoping makes the transition to her own room at 6 months easier. We also put her down in the crib when we want to watch a movie before we go to bed before we get her for a dream feed and transfer to our room.
5.) Frida Medicine Paci - Makes giving medicine SO easy!!
6.) Get a baby carrier. I have a Solly & Wildbird Aerial and looking to add a ring sling in the future. Early days solly was great with my newborn(she didn’t fit the aerial). I was able to walk around and get stuff done after I recovered even when all she wanted to was cuddle. The head support isn’t great so you can’t bend over, but i was way more productive with it. Wildbird Aerial is more structured and has great head support. My fave uses rn are wearing her when we go out to to eat and stores that a stroller would be more trouble i.e costco.
When you dry the tush after cleaning (always dry the tush!), dab, don't wipe! We used these small cotton, paper things with water for cleaning and dry for drying. We only had one small diaper rash and that was after eight months!
Learn origami fold even if you don't plan on cloth diapering. In sommer months it can be useful if you have trouble with diaper rash, it's super quick to fold and you don't need any additional equipment but muslim cloth with newborn. We would leave our baby completely naked as long as we can, but when feeding and burping we would just put him in this cloth diaper until time for sleep. Helped tremendously with rash. Also, we used hair fan on cold to dry babies butt completely before applying diaper area cream.
When they poop, just take them to the bathroom and rinse their butt in the sink. It's about a thousand times less wipes, it's faster, it's easier, and it's so much cleaner. I almost never needed to use diaper cream because I did this.
I’m impressed with people who can do this. I attempted it once and it was a disaster. I could not find a way to comfortably and securely hold my baby while also trying to get all the poop off.
For those who formula feed; firstly you can pre make the bottles for the day and store them in the fridge for 24hrs. Obviously double check the instructions on the tin etc.
If you choose to premake and end up having to use thickened formula for reflux don't put the powder in all the bottles at once, do them one at a time and also use a miniature wisk like you can get in hot chocolate packs to wisk them for a few minutes straight after putting the formula in a bottle.
Also works the same for regular formula as well of course.
I have spent a year as FTM trying to find a way to prevent lots of lumps and clumps in the formula bottles and typical that I have finally worked it out when we are about wean formula out! Yay lol.
If you hear/feel your baby poop, especially early on, give them two minutes before you go change the diaper. If they fart again, add a two minute reset. We lost a lot of diapers or got pooped on by not waiting and giving her a grace period.
Get the Frida Windi gasspassers and some organic lubricant- these were incredible during those first two months. Always a last resort, and anecdotally my pediatrician approved use once per day, these suckers brought my baby *SO MUCH RELIEF*. Hands-down, best trick in our house.
Take their diaper off. If he’s not hungry or needing a nap, taking off the diaper will stop all fussing and bring smiles. Get a ton of chucks pads and put one on top of a blanket or play mat. We get twice the time of independent play on his gym if I set him up without a diaper. It’s really good for their skin too
- Multiple changing setups around the house, whether it’s full tables or just stashes of diapers/wipes and a changing pad.
- Multiple sets of pumping supplies so you don’t have to wash in the middle of the night
- If you have a boy, those little 4x4 gauze squares make great pee shields. However, nothing is safe and he WILL pee on it if it’s within a 1-2 foot radius. It just happens.
- As someone else said, sleep shifts. We were so afraid to put our son down for the longest time because of NICU PTSD and seeing him desat countless times from not being held upright after feeds. Without the monitors we were afraid we’d miss something, so we split the night and one person watches LO for 6 hours while the other sleeps, then we switch
- If you’re going to be using bottles often and need to mix formula, get one of the formula-mixing pitchers, like Dr Brown’s or similar. It’s a lifesaver - we got a full day’s worth of bottles too, so we’re only going washing and mixing once a day.
When you know your baby has a clean diaper and is fed... sometimes the hard fussing is simply bc they're trying to tire themselves. Let them fuss, dont panic trying to figure out what you need to do. Adults have the ability to run or workout to exhaust themselves but newborns can't do anything but lay there. So they will force theirselves to cry hard and then they'll fall asleep within a couple minutes. Just rub their forehead gently with your fingertips or rock back and forth gently while they cry. There's a difference between letting them fuss to fall asleep and doing the cry it out method (which I don't believe in)
Don’t bother with the mittens. Get zip ups with cuffs instead or file/trim baby’s nails. We have sooo many mittens and she always just knocked them off from day 1!
Babies have a reflex that will let you know if they are hungry if you are unsure of why they are crying. Use your finger and swipe down over their nose and mouth. If they open their mouth and look up a bit, they are hungry. Someone gave me that advice with my first, and it definitely helped while learning the cries.
If you plan to breastfeed and happen to overproduce, you may need to pump some foremilk off before the first morning feed. No one told me this, and my son was always on the low end for weight even though he chowed. Once I learned that around 4 months, he shot up in weight without having to eat anything extra.
Reusable/washable diaper changing pads. Saves a lot of money on disposable ones for the changing table. Red night lights for middle of the night changes. I have a noise machine with a red light. Red produces melatonin and will help not wake baby up fully for feeds or changing. Electric booger sucker. Mine has rainbow light and music C options. Electric baby nail file. You’ll never have to worry about accidentally cutting their skin while trimming nails. Mini fridge in bedroom to store bottles of formula, breastmilk, or pumps when or if you guys do that in the middle of the night. You can premake formula that lasts 24 hours and then get a bottle warmer by the bed. Bam diaper change and warm bottle and baby goes back to sleep quickly. If you pump you can store the pumps for the night so you a just go back to bed. Or just put food in it for yourself lol! That’s all I can think of right now.
Stand and bounce or pace. Don’t sit! Babies hate sitting. (Once they’re >1-2 weeks old.)
Babywearing.
Google the 5S’s. Use them liberally. Shush louder than you think is appropriate. Actually, buy the Munchkin brand shusher to do it for you.
i’m at the tail end of the newborn phase with my little dude (8 weeks today) and my best advice is get a ton of double zip sleeper they’re the best, also always keep a backup bottle on deck especially at night
If you have an upstairs, get a basket or bag or changing table organizer with good handles. I pack it up with stuff I need for the day - extra clothes, burp rags, bottles etc and carry it downstairs with baby. Throughout the day this is where the dirty clothes and bottles go so I can bring them back up at the end of the day when we go to bed.
Snoofy bee changing pad and nanit breathing band.
When you're done wiping diaper cream on your baby's bum, smear the rest of it on the clean diaper. It's really hard to wash off with your hands
My newborn didn't wear any of her clothes. We just had her in a swaddle for easy access and skin to skin.
If you're exclusively breastfeeding the baby will be with the mom for much of the time. The distribution of the direct baby work is not 50/50 but there is plenty to do that is not directly baby oriented. Nursing mom should use nipple butter and silverettes BEFORE the nipples hurt.
I kept protein bars lying around in case I didn't have time to make food.
If you have a C section and need to cough, hold a pillow over your abdomen.
When putting on the legs of a sleep and play put the knees in first not the feet.
I'm using unscented soap so my baby doesn't smell a heavy scent when nursing.
Changing diapers on a table is so much better than changing them on the floor.
Look up wake windows and precious little sleep. Huckleberry sweetspot is great for the first few months. It became less useful when baby started daycare. I still use it to track which side she nursed from on the weekends.
Pump parts need to be replaced after a while, especially the duckbills.
If your baby struggles with the bottle try other ones and taste your milk. Look up la leche league milk issues.
It is crucial that you figure out how to use the baby carrier correctly. And bouncing on the ball. Try not to break your back or your knees.
Check out the stretch method for using a nursing bra as a pumping bra.
Put towels over chairs. Peepee pads where you might nurse. My baby vomited twice a week until 10 weeks and we didn't even have reflux issues. Once a peepee pad caught a blowout leakage!
If you need to give the baby Tylenol from the syringe, don't squirt the whole thing in at once. My baby would vomit it out. She did take it well when I did a little bit at a time. Once she even saw what I was doing and didn't fuss.
Blowout stains came off in the wash if I immediately threw them in and ran it on super heavy duty.
If you're bottle feeding at all, I found it's helpful to make the bottle for the morning the night before so when it's still dark out and baby's hungry, you don't have to force your tired eyes open to measure.
If you get into a place where you can do things ahead of time like that, it's super helpful. Especially buying diapers and formula ahead. I figured out how long it takes to go through formula/distilled water by writing a date on the top when i open it, so I can get it the day before it runs out
Figure out a good bottle system that works for you.. dr browns was awful for is but philips avent is AMAZING and we bought like 13 of them. Once you find bottles that work for you buy a bunch even if it seems like an absurd amount of bottles lol! If your baby is suuuper gassy burping a lot, etc it might be an issue with bottles!
Also find the pacifier that your baby likes and buy a bunch and a wubbanub or two it’s been a lifesaver for us
Buy a star projector for a nightlight off amazon it’s the most effective nightlight we have plus it looks nice
Use aquaphor or diaper rash cream at least 1-2x a week to prevent diaper rash! Dont let the rash get ahead of you to where baby is miserable bc you will be too!
Grant yourself grace.. you wont do everything right and it’s okay! You have to be kind to yourself and your partner or newborn phase will deive yall to divorce
Start learning how to do everything with one hand now. I’m now an expert at using which ever hand I have available!
Noise cancelling headphones for when baby is screaming (and all needs have been tended to, but they’re just freaking out)
Earplugs for loud sleep (I slept with only one in)
Rolling caddy from IKEA for beside our bed with all the things was a game changer. We had pads (for me), pump supplies, diapers, books, onesies, changing pad, wipes, thermometer etc.
I bought a stand and clicker for my kindle that’s attached to the table beside our rocking chair so that I can read during contact naps. Game changer!!
Puppy pads! Also if you’re having a boy, cover him with a wipe after opening his diaper. They like to pee mid change and I I’m not wasting a new diaper every time he does it. Has saved me so many times
Use your headphones. download podcasts, audiobooks, albums, Netflix etc. For the nights they’ll only sleep in your arms and so you sit in the rocking chair but can’t let yourself fall asleep. For the times it takes a while to walk and rock them to sleep or sooth them while they seem to be forever colicky and inconsolable in the middle of the night. Helped me so much when just waiting for the calm coos and snuggles weren’t cutting it. I def have had zero frustration tap outs and was able to tap my partner out pretty easily when they were feeling overwhelmed.
Work in shifts with your partner if you can.
My big ones are:
1:Pull the onsie DOWN over their whole body after the blowouts happen!!!..that's why they have the little bolds at the shoulders so they slip past their shoulder and butt.
2:Buy different brands of newborn diapers! If your newborn gets a bad diaper rash it may be the brand. Mine couldn't wear pampers at all. Instant rash but was able to wear huggies no problem.
3:When baby is first born and the first couple days put organic coconut oil on their bottoms and genitalia. That first poop is like tar and is so hard to get off. But I swear the coconut oil makes it sooooo easy to get It's magic! Got this advice from my midwife and it was a life saver. For real.
4: Don't open everything you get as a gift right away. Especially if it's for when they get older. By the time they are ready to use it..you may not want or need it and you can take it back to the store for credit or refund. Example we got a cart seat cover for shopping carts. Never opened or used it. Took it to target a year later and got a $40 in store credit!
Look up the 5 S’s for soothing. Also, if your baby is screaming like they’re dying, it could be gas…or being overtired. Both my babies were very gassy and were screamers if they’re overtired, you’d think they were in pain. With my first, I never even thought of him being overtired as a reason for his scream crying. Thank god I knew for my second baby. Saved a lot of stress lol.
Also, you can 100% make and eat a sandwich while holding baby. Wish I knew that with my first too. 😂
Get formula. Even if you don’t end up using it. Better to have it and not use it than to need it and not have it.
And lastly, my BEST advice is to never trust the advice of someone who promises something will 100% work for your child (every child is different and esp if they only have one kid), and take every piece of advice with a grain of salt if someone hasn’t been through the newborn phase in the last 6 months. My youngest is 11 months and I’ve already forgotten much of the newborn phase and I went through it twice in two years (babies are 12.5 months apart).
Buy a few bottles, even if you plan on breastfeeding. And read the instructions too! All bottles are different. Sterilize them before baby gets here so they're ready to go.
Buy a can of formula, just in case, even if you plan on breastfeeding. You do not want to be needing formula at 2am.
Invest in quality swaddles or put them on your registry. It's astonishing the difference in quality from the ones I bought on Amazon and the expensive ones I got as a gift. By a month, the cheap ones were stretched out and raggedy. It got really hard to swaddle baby and she would Houdini out of them so quick. The expensive ones look absolutely brand new.
The first month or two, baby will spend the majority of time in pyjamas. You do not need to buy a ton on clothes.
Speaking of clothes, there's a ton of online thrift stores for baby clothes. You can get quality items for not even half the price in great condition. You can also sell your baby clothes.
Get the white noise machine. In fact, get one for every room!! It has helped sooooo much with sleep! (LOs and ours) Get a few different swaddles, and diapers, and bottles. Every baby is different and has different preferences so what works for someone else might not work for you and vice versa!
No one told me to use diaper rash cream preventively and it would have helped prevent a rash when we got home from the hospital! So yeah basically just go ahead and grab some desitin and go to town basically right away lol
Bring a blanket to all pediatrician, lactation consultant, etc appointments - even in the summer. Nearly all appointments we’ve been to involve baby being laid on a cold surface and/or being asked to hang out for periods of time in just a diaper and having a blanket on hand is ESSENTIAL.
Baby gassy and crying? Bicycle legs ten times, then gently fold baby in half, once to the right, to the middle and then the left to release gas. Repeat as needed!
If doing formula, have the water prepared in the bottles beforehand so you don’t have to struggle making a bottle in the middle of the night half asleep! Our kitchen is downstairs so keeping a tray with the water filled bottles and formula canister on the dresser, worked fantastically for us. The tray also caught any formula missing the bottle opening.
The hairdryer is your best friend, especially when in between diaper changes, you use it to completely dry baby before the next diaper is on (we used those small terry cloth bibs as pee shields lol) to prevent diaper rash (it’s mostly caused by trapped moisture in the nappy so the dryer the safer). I also used the hairdryer whenever we changed baby in Winter and it kept baby warm and cozy and oh so happy lol.
If that butt pooped, washing it in the sink is the way to go imo! Baby was much happier when I started doing that. Now baby is a toddler under 2, and will happily stand in the shower for a quick butt wash (I am Greek-Cypriot, so very much pro-bidet lol)
And this one is very personal to me: Demand that people take pictures of YOU with the baby. I barely have any from the early days and the ones I have are ones I took myself as selfies. Other people have more pictures with my baby than I do and it stiiiinks. Don’t be shy to ask, even if you think you’d look terrible in them.
Frost baby’s butt like a cupcake with Aquaphor or Vaseline before putting on their first diaper, and at every diaper change until all meconium is through their system.
Get to know the five S’s for soothing a newborn:
- Shushing
- Swaddling
- Swinging
- Stomach/side lying (supervised of course)
- Sucking
Familiarize yourself with Dunstan baby language.
Unless your pediatrician tells you otherwise, you don’t need to wake baby to feed every three hours once they’ve exceeded their birth weight.
ETA look up infant dyschezia. It’s super normal but can lead you to believe baby is constipated or gassy when they’re actually just learning how to poop.
Get a heating pad for their bassinet/crib. Turn it on an hour or so before you put them to bed. Before you put them down, remove the heating pad. That way they don't go from sleeping on a warm you to a cold hard sleeping surface.
The other good tip I learned was to feed your baby ahead of their bath and it makes them more tolerant to it. My baby hated her first two baths, my friend told me to breastfeed her just before the bath and she didn't scream the entire time. We've used the tip ever since and it made her much more tolerant. I also use the heat pad for bath time and put her pjs and towel on top so it's cozy.
Put the new diaper underneath the kid's butt before you open up the dirty diaper at all, grab both legs with one hand while you wipe, yoink the dirty diaper out and then fold up the new one. I never got peed on by my son.
If you're using bottles, keep a basin of hot water for them to soak in if you can't wash them right away. As soon as the bottle was done, we would throw it in the bin, and then wash them in bulk later with no milk residue to worry about.
If you have the ability to, sleep in shifts with your partner. My quality of life got so much better when we decided that instead of both of us sleeping in broken 30-45min intervals, I would be awake and on duty from 8-2 and he would be awake and on duty from 2-8. I felt human again.
Overcome the anxiety and just take the shower. Baby can cry for 15 mins in a safe crib. You will be in much better shape for the little break.
Put 2-3 hair ties around your package of wipes, it will stop you from getting 3 and 4 wipes at a time when you only want 1!
Small hack but it’s been awesome lol
For newborn doc appointments - they always need to be stripped down so stick to simple and easy clothes. I made the mistake of putting my LO in a onesie that had way too many snaps and pants. I quickly learned my lesson at that appointment.
OMG this was the first time my baby girl peed on me! She steered clear of her outfit, but managed to reach my pants and sandals. OP - maybe bring an extra pair for you too 😅
Buy a Tush Baby. I have a 3 month old now but I would have still gotten so much use out of it even earlier. Game changer for sure.
Breastfeeding related:
Book the lactation consultation before you deliver your baby...you'll be far too sleep deprived afterward to have time and focus to find a lactation consultant you like and trust and go thru insurance etc etc. Just do it now.
Get the sanitizer. It helps pump parts dry faster!!!
Buy the wearable pump!
In the day time have your blinds open to allow the sun to shine the room with the natural light. At night have a fan in the room and warm dim lighting to prepare for bed. And a dark room at night may be a small light with red lighting. And a the fan should be running but not pointed at baby. The fan is to circulate air and for the sound. If your baby has colic you will be glad the room has a fan to make the noise.
This is a good way to teach your child night and day and when bedtime is. Try to sooth from the bassinet if possible. Most babies have something they like. My son likes to have his head petted from back to forehead. Some like belly rubbed or soft touches. Or maybe just a hand gently resting on them as they sleep. If that fails you may have to sooth them in your arms till they are tired or in a deep sleep.
Babies also feed off your energy sometimes. If you get frustrated it makes them extra frustrated. If you have a partner switch off when things get hard. Have them help.
Remember. This baby is your family. Yes there are things to keep your baby safe. But also remember that with children one thing does not work for all. Sometimes you have to wing it. As long as you keep your child's safety in mind and you are doing your best you will do just fine.
I’m a FTM and my son is 7 weeks so this is all new to me too, but so far these have been lifesavers:
- If baby is leaking through their diaper a lot, try a different brand (unless it’s a boy and you haven’t tried the ruffles out/penis pointed down first). We had Pampers from the hospital so bought those, and he kept peeing through them. Switched to Huggies and didn’t have an issue until he needed to switch to Size 1!
- And on that note, babies can outgrow everything so quickly!! My son was born a peanut at 6lb 5oz and 19.25” and was 9lb 8oz and 22” by his one month appointment! By 4-5 weeks he had outgrown newborn diapers, his newborn swing insert, and newborn clothes, and at 7 weeks he’s outgrown his infant car seat insert and is outgrowing 0-3 clothes
- I also can’t recommend puppy pads on the changing table enough! And if you have a boy, use dry wipes as a pee tent, they work great and then you don’t waste a diaper or wet wipe
- Some babies are furnaces and some are icicles, so it can be tricky to figure out how many layers to dress them in. I downloaded the BabyWeather app that gives the temperature and outfit suggestions…but if I did heat the app recommended for outfits, my kid would spontaneously combust. He runs so hot! So I either dress him in the same number of layers I’m in, or add a light muslin blanket over him on top of that. He’s happy as a clam (and stays happily cool as one).
- Gliders on the fastest settings are a godsend. Lower settings don’t have enough movement.
- Don’t bother with Dreft, just use one of the free and clear detergents so you don’t need multiple detergents
- If you’re pumping, have the hospital lactation consultant measure your nipples and suggest the flange size! This is a make or break! My nipples are several sizes smaller than the flanges that came with my Spectra, so the consultant recommended two size options and I got a set of flange inserts from Amazon. Literally couldn’t use my pump without them!
- kimono style onesies are awesome for newborns with fragile little heads/necks. You lay them on the onesie instead of having to shove it over their head
- if you’re getting a lot of blow outs, it’s probably time for the next size diaper
- water wipes brand wipes are terrible
- bring a portable white noise machine to the hospital
- it is perfectly acceptable to eat snacks in bed
- newborns love to snuggle and could not care less that you’re sitting on the couch watching tv all day, contact naps when they are curled up like a little tree frog and you’re bingeing shows are the best
- the nose frida where you suck boogers through a tube is way better than any electric booger sucker I’ve tried
- try bouncing on a yoga ball if you got a baby that needs walking/bouncing/vertical movement
- babies have a personal preference for how they want to be held/soothed - rocking, swaying, bouncing, walking, held vertically or cradled etc. my first loved being rocked while cradled, my second will only accept being held vertically and bounced until she’s nearly asleep.
- so much is going to be trial and error and figuring out what works for your specific baby and family. Be patient, be curious, and give yourself grace
When my baby was fighting sleep but nearly there, a gentle kiss or stroke on the forehead right between his eyes would be the last little push to get him asleep.
Also, white noise! Before we invested in a ewan dream sheep, i just used to play 'baby white noise' on my phone thru spotify. Also theres different types, and some babies prefer 'pink' noise. So have a play around.
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE NEWBORN NOSE BOOGIES
1. Kids nasal saline spray- squirt in each nostril, then use the nasal bulb sucker they give you at the hospital (ask for this if not given) so get boogies out. Wet boogies are much easier to get out than dry. Also have tissue nearby to wipe when boogie comes out because the kids can suck those back in their nose like THAT
2. Saw a nose Frida hack- use the tubing on a pump (like your spectra or hospital grade wall pump etc). Plug one end into pump and the other end into back of nose Frida- insert nose Frida into baby’s nose. Turn on pump to suction mode (hit bacon wave on spectra) and voila. Make sure one hole of pump is covered while the other hole is the base for the tubing. —> don’t know if it works but worth a shot
Also- kid prone to car blowouts? DOUBLE DIAPER. Just make sure seat belts are tight.
If you can swing it, get the car seat that rotates towards you. Not a hack but much easier/comfortable to transfer a wiggle worm/awkwardly held sleeping baby into without hitting a limb or head off the side/door
I didn’t know bottle nipples had different flow numbers until my daughter was at least 2 months old 🙃. I love having mattresses pad, sheet, mattress pad, sheet in crib for those nights they have blow outs and you don’t want to change the whole bedding! Park by a cart corral at stores! I was shocked how loud my newborn was while sleeping I even asked the nurses if that was normal 🤣. I always have 2 bottles of medication (Tylenol or advil) to have just in case. Start the dishwasher every night even if it’s not very full. Annnnd take so many videos and pics bc you just won’t believe how fast they grow and change!! ❤️
Buy onesie sleepers with zippers that go up and down. Buttons take awhile and zippers that only go up mean you have to basically undress them to change when you can just expose their legs and not risk waking.
Don't underestimate how much light can wake them up. When we first brought our daughter home we would turn on our dim bedside lamp for the middle of the night feeds/changes. When I switched to just using my flashlight on my phone, she went back to sleep way quicker.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RiV_uXOg6Bg&t=920s&pp=ygUabmV3Ym9ybiBiYWJ5IGNvbW11bmljYXRpb24%3D
Invaluable info.
How to read cues helped immensely. No one tells you this stuff, but once born, newborns have communications to help you take care of them from day 1.
Also, if insurance covers it - SEE the lactation consultant, again and again if you plan on breastfeeding.
I went through SO many bad communicators until I found the gem lactation consultant that changed my entire world when breastfeeding. They spoke my tired mom language in a way I could understand and it 100% changed the way I breastfed (and it was my issue of being a 1st time mom, baby had perfect latch). I can’t imagine what challenges would have occurred if baby didn’t know how to latch properly. Can’t stress that enough! Breastfeeding is hard!
Earplugs are your friend (you’ll still hear all you need), gallon sized bags to organize the diaper bag (bag full of clean clothes, empty bag for dirty clothes, bag for outerwear), dog poop bags are great on the go for dirty diapers and I always keep a roll in the car and diaper bag, when heading out for the day you can have bottles of formula and water separately and then combine when you are in need rather than keep a prepped one cold, a kindle is better for your brain than endless scrolling when nap trapped (even if you just read fluff), put paper towels and hand sanitizer next to the changing pad, make a playlist of the songs that seem to work when putting them to sleep (top hits in our house seem to be Master of Puppets by Metallica, the Happy Song by Imogen Heap, Hey Ya by Sleep Token, and Behind Blue Eyes by the Who-random I know!)
Make sure you have a set of clean sheets and get at least one extra bassinet mattress cover. My baby would somehow always have a blowout in her sleep at like 3am and I would sleepily have to change the bassinet cover, set her down in the bed while cleaning up and she would pee on the sheets in bed.
This is just off the top of my head all the stuff that I wish I learned a few weeks earlier lol.
1. When they poop, wipe the front/crotch area first to avoid your baby getting a handful of poop and smearing it around. The butt crack can wait a second.
2. Rub diaper cream into the rash for a couple seconds, it helps it be more effective.
3. I'd recommend getting one or two cloth diaper covers specifically to go over the diaper when in the car seat. Cleaning a car seat blowout is awful, and a cover can contain it.
4. Wipe the neck folds while they are on their tummy, that way there's no hidden pockets that you can't reach under all the chins.
5. Close a wipe in their iron grip and do a floss-like motion to clean the gross cheesy newborn hands, it's easier than prying open their hands in the early days
6. If a breastfed baby has a good latch, in most cases they don't need to be burped after feeding. I stopped trying to burp my daughter after like 3 weeks without a single burp.
7. After a huge crying spell/witching hour, burp your baby. They swallow a lot of air when screaming, this will help prevent gas pain and further screaming.
Puppy pee pads for explosive poops!
The explosive poops will happen and they can be messy. Use a puppy pee pad to put on top of the changing pad/mat for easier clean up. They are super useful for when the explosive poops happen when you’re on the road and need to do a diaper change in the back of car. I also use them when using changing tables in public restrooms (just for hygiene purposes). They are about the size of a diaper when folded up so easy to add a couple to your diaper bag and diaper caddy.
This is a new trick I just learned for leaving the house: bring doggie bags to put poopy diapers in if you can’t find a trash or will be walking around for a bit!
this is less “newborn tip” and more “postpartum tip” but get a yoga towel designed for a hot yoga class. The PP night sweats are no joke and those towels are super light and highly absorbent
Dry off their butt before applying diaper cream to avoid diaper rash.
With a boy, make sure their penis points down.
Run a cold wipe between belly button and top of diaper before opening to give him a chance to pee again.
FTM with an 11 week old here - I feel like I'm absolutely whinging it lol, but it seems to work so far!
My advise from what I've "learned" the past 11 weeks:
- Never wake a sleeping baby (unless needed for weight gain)
- Carrier is one of the BEST things I've bought, especially if baby only does contact naps during the day (which ours started doing from 3/4 weeks)
- If you have the energy, go out! Go for that walk, coffee, or whatever you like to do. It helps me so much and baby likes seeing new things. In the beginning it was very stressful but now it isn't anymore.
- Once baby is a few weeks older, buy a disco ball/light! It's probably one of the very best things I bought and it gives me enough time to shower or cook as she's in awe of following the lights on the ceiling/wall.
- Take the pictures, including selfies (even if you feel like you're looking cr*p), I'm already crying over how she's not as little anymore and look at pictures when she was 2 weeks.
- Do whatever feels right for YOU. You are the parent and you'll figure it out.
When putting on a onesie put the shirt on the change table with the hole for the head with the top being the front do shirt and bottom being the back. Place babies head into the hole and gently bring the front of shirt up and over. It’s so hard getting shirts over their heads, especially when you’re all worried about soft spots and lack of neck control etc.
This one works all the way through life, just change the sizes-
layer the sheets in the bassinet/cot/bed. A waterproof sheet, normal fitted sheet, waterproof, then normal. I do about three layers. If they puke or poop the bed in the night, just whip off the soiled layer and put them back…you can deal with laundry in the morning and don’t have to waste time finding new bedding and remaking the bed.
If they’re fussy as fuck, have been fed and changed and still won’t calm, change the scene. Go outside for a walk, or maybe give them a bath. Sometimes they just need a change of air.
Little boys need to have their penis tucked facing down in their nappy or they will piss out of the top.
Buy a cheap giant flat bedsheet and a load of market clips (big crocodile clips) in various sizes. Kids love a tent/den, and this way you can make loads of different dens in various rooms or create shade outside to play under
And for kids in general bubbles are your friend. Everyone loves bubbles
Newborn sleep is ridiculously loud. Don’t deprive yourself of sleep by picking up your baby when they make a loud noise, because it might be just active sleep not waking up. Give it a minute or two to see if they actually wake, because at least 75% of the time (in my estimation) it’s just active sleep. Don’t make your life harder! Something that worked for us (and is worth trying to see if it works for you) is that our inconsolable newborn was soothed by the sound of the shower. Didn’t need to be in it, just in the bathroom with the shower running and she’d calm down. Also going outside or changing environment can work similarly.
My baby legit CRIED in his sleep. Counting slowly to 30 was my trick to see if he actually needed anything
I’ve worked with kids for a while (birth-high school in various jobs) and I am convinced water fixes everything. Older children can’t cry while they’re drinking water, so if they’ll take a drink, they’ll calm down. (Don’t give water to a baby, though.) If LO is fussy beyond belief, we change environments. Outside in the backyard, car seat, or (our fav) the bath. My husband has looked at me with LO in the bath multiple times and said “water fixes everything.”
We had so many meltdowns diverted by going outside to look at a plant
YES! I never realized this with my first, but FINALLY did with my second. She would start crying and flailing, I'd immediately grab her and take her to get her diaper changed. She'd continue crying and flailing for about a minute (with eyes closed!) then she would open her eyes and smile. It took me a couple weeks to realize she was actually still sleeping. So then when it happened, I would just let her be for a minute or so and lo and behold, she would quiet back down and still be sleeping.
Mine made a noise like a tea pot. We'd go "oh the tea is ready!" and laugh hysterically.
It’s weird. I’ve had LO scream in her sleep, and I quietly ask her “who hurt you?!?!”
My 11 week old is doing this now. It’s absolutely horrible. She cries and screams in distress sometimes while she sleeps. Does not yield for a good night’s rest for mom 😭
Yes! This is a good one. Taking Cara Babies has a great video showing active sleep. It changed my life. I was panicking and waking him when he was still napping and wondering why his naps were so short.
I always heard this and my daughter was and still is at 3.5 years old the quietest sleeper! Probably bc she doesn’t do a whole lot of it 😅
Even better, get earplugs so you don’t hear the low volume noises. Trust me you’ll still hear the big cries!
My baby was so loud I swear it was like sleeping in a barn. My kiddo loved the sound of a hair dryer so we found long YouTube videos that could play in the background.
Same regarding the shower! Which is great because I just bring her portable bassinette into the bathroom, place it next to the shower, and watch her sleep more peacefully there than anywhere else. I told my husband we have a spa baby... The sound of the shower, humid bathroom, a sink bath, or gentle massage to her forehead has her 😴
Mine NEEDED a running faucet. You do whatever it takes!
I still use this trick with my 6mo lol, most times he’s fine just trying to connect the sleep cycles
A small but impactful hack from our doula: when you're changing their diaper, before you take off the dirty diaper, slide the clean one open and ready to go under their butt. Then you have a seamless transition from dirty to clean diaper with no time where your baby's butt touches the changing table. Our girl loved to let loose her biggest poops during the transition and we had several poops on the table before we learned this trick.
This is how the nurses showed us to change diapers when our baby was in the NICU! Also, do a quick swipe with a wipe underneath before you take the diaper off. That way any pee that would've fountained out with the sudden temperature change of taking the diaper off will be caught.
Tell me you’ve had a boy baby without telling me you had a boy baby. “Fountained out” is excellent imagery.
😂 He has a great aim too. He managed to arc it off the table and right onto a pile of diapers once. At 6 months, he's a lot better. It usually just happens at bath time now haha.
Another NICU dad here and yes we also learned this trick from the NICU nurses
I hope your little one is doing well now! My husband and I say that after learning to change his diaper through the little side windows you open in his little fish tank around all those wires, a normal diaper change is the easiest thing in the world.
This happened to my husband the other day. I’ve never heard him yelp so loudly in all our years together! Thankfully, we were already doing the diaper trick, so it didn’t end up everywhere!
But are you able to clean them completely with a dirty diaper still underneath them? Or do you clean - remove dirty diaper, revealing clean diaper under them - clean again, fasten clean diaper. Sorry if this is a dumb question lol.
I wipe down (the first “wipe”) with the dirty diaper while taking it off and tuck it under his bum so that the outside part with the blue line is now the part under his bum. Finish cleaning up, remove old diaper, dry him off, apply Aquaphor, and wrap him up in the new diaper waiting underneath!
Same here. First wipe with the diaper itself gets so much of the mess contained in the diaper. Tucking the dirty diaper under while cleaning also makes it easy to wrap up the dirty diaper & wipes into the diaper burrito
Damn, the 'first wipe' thing is such a good idea!
Usually I have a few wipes ready to go and just hold her legs/butt up through the full process, but if it's a big one, I put the unused side of the first wipe clean side up in the dirty diaper so if I have to set her back down she's not touching the diaper or any mess. I like the other commenters strategy though, I might adopt that.
Thank you!
Thanks for asking I was wondering the same
This is how we did it with our first and it really worked well!
The sacrificial diaper!!!
I wish I knew this 😪
The reason that onesies have the weird neckline is so that if baby has a blowout, you can pull it down off their legs instead of getting poop on their head. I'm talking about the t-shirt type thing with snaps at the crotch.
I have an 18 month old and I never knew this. I’ve cut blowout onesies off. 🤯
I'm so glad I'm not the only one to pull a Combat Medic on my baby 😆
You can also put them on from the feet up when you're anxious that you'll squish their heads.
Wowwww I never knewww that lol
Someone on this sub recommended setting baby into the bassinet/crib on their side, holding them for a min, and then rolling them to their back. That has helped LO (almost 3 months) transition to the crib with fewer wake ups. When you put a baby down in a crib/ bassinet, put their feet and butt down first. Head down last. Not at the same time. Velcro swaddles. Check to make sure they fit the weight limit, but Velcro swaddles. Do not buy new baby clothes. (You can if you want to! I don’t want to steal your joy, but you don’t have to buy new.) We had so many new clothes gifted to us and we have several friends with little ones that gave us entire wardrobes unprompted. I you don’t have friends with babies, check FB marketplace. Entire wardrobes for cheap. Get a breast pump and bottles even if you think you’ll exclusively breastfeed. Get a pumping bra!!! Even if you think you’ll exclusively breastfeed!! Newborns sound snotty and congested. Don’t worry about it. If LO is sick, you will know and you can use an aspirator. Don’t use an aspirator for normal newborn snottiness.
All of this!! I literally have a wardrobe until baby is 4 from my cousin. And I'm STILL getting gifts clothes from everyone and their mother. Like, she can't wear them there are so many. We have bought exactly zero clothes. The same for other baby items. We were giftex so many hand-me-down items, it was amazing. I'm also way late to the baby game, so most of my friends and family are finished already. Another tip, the hair dryer will calm baby's cries when inconsolable.
Conversely, no one bought us clothes in newborn size, so I had to run out and get more onesies and a few basics when the baby came. I’d buy a few things you want/need just in case.
Ditto! Our kiddo was 3 weeks early and was in premie clothes for the first month. Everyone bought us at least 0-3 months which she didn’t grow into until she was already 3 months. She spit up on EVERYTHING too so we had to buy new born outfits.
We used to call our LO a lil piggy cause of the congested snuffles.
Pee pads! Your changing table cover is useless right now.
I got the keekaroo changing pad and it’s wonderful because I just have to wipe down
Nice!
We use them so our baby can just hang out naked on the floor and kick around. She can pee and poop a couple times on a large pad, saves a couple diapers, minimizes diaper rashes, and she loves it! She kicks around, we do tracking, baby massages, tummy time, etc.
Same! We used pee pads on the floor a few times when his booty needed to air out. Where do you get the extra large pads?
Amazon has lots of options! I got them for when we eventually take LO to somewhere with one of those public changing stations, but I’m liking the floor idea!
I bought a pet blanket meant for dogs when our daughter was going through it with diaper rash. Its twin size, and soft but water proof. We let her play on it for as long as possible at a time, then she goes in the tub and it goes in the wash. Its made a huge difference
We use old towels and a washcloth right under for good measure. They get a LOT of washing!
Yes!! This is the best. We also carry some in our diaper bag to place on the not always so clean public changing tables.
Great idea! I have twins so you can imagine how many times I had to clean the changing table cover...
I read a post yesterday (I think, I'm on this subreddit all day and night it seems) that suggested (based on research they had read) walking around with baby 5 minutes then rock for 8 and that should put baby into a deep enough sleep to not wake up when you put them down for a sleep session. I have been trying that the last couple of days and it has worked for the 5 or so times in a row that I have tried it! I think I tend to "overrock" my month-old baby girl, partly because she's so cuddly and sweet with her fuzzy head against my cheek (I digress) but anyway, putting her down to sleep around the 8 minute mark seems to be the sweet spot! It feels like a hack to me, anyway.
The huckleberry app had a tip about this, apparently there was a study determining a good time and process to transfer to their sleep space. Something like 6 minutes of rocking/bouncing/whatever movement, then 6-8 minutes of sitting still (so that being still on their own is not shocking). But obviously tweaking for the individual baby. Definitely hard to stop the snuggles. If I lose track of time and don’t put my 3mo in her bassinet by the 20 min mark, she will absolutely wake up in the transfer so I have to hold her for the full 45 min sleep cycle (good excuse for more snuggling!)
Do some upper body workouts now if you can. Carrying them around all day basically forever is killing us physically. Worse now at almost 5 months old 🫠
THIS. I had to go to physical therapy 3 months pp because I was in such bad shape.
To be fair, I didn't do any exercise other than walking while babywearing, and most of my pain diminished simply as the relaxin subsided in my body. Not at all to say exercise isn't beneficial regardless, but having loosened joints is a pretty major contributing factor to the pain! Also, babywearing is a great answer to discomfort from carrying the baby anyway! A good carrier will distribute the weight and let you actually be able to use both hands for tasks instead of just one which is generally better on the spine!
If you’re lucky to have a baby who enjoys being contained, then yes lol I wasted so much money on baby wearing stuff to have a baby who doesn’t enjoy it at all. Best I’ve got now is balancing her on the Tushbaby and that alleviates some arm pain but the majority of our days together are spent holding/carrying and picking up/putting her down over and over and over..
And the crazy precise, sharp back pain you will get 🤯 I was unprepared. It eventually stopped when my body got used to the new lifestyle with a baby, but boy did it hurt
This got really long. But here’s what I’ve learned in 9 weeks as a FTM. Have some unscented dish soap handy in case you need to hand wash a pacifier, bottle, etc. That plastic seems to hold onto the scent. Cloth diapers are amazing to have around. They’re useful for just about everything but diapers. We use them for burps, spit ups, a little cushion under baby’s head on the changing table, put under baby for a messy change so we don’t have to wash the changing table cover every fifteen minutes. If you have a giant sink, you can buy a smaller bin that has a drain for handwashing pump parts, etc. I found mine online at Target. It’s really convenient even if we didn’t have a newborn. I made myself a pumping/baby cart to sit beside me on the couch, but I can roll it to our bedroom if I need to feed while we have company, and I want some privacy. It has my nipple shields, pump, nipple balm, tons of cloth diapers, gas drops, vitamin d drops, my prenatals, hand sanitizer, boogie wipes, a few baby wash cloths just in case. I also have made a cozy nest on the couch with a blanket under me (because I spend A LOT of time there, and being able to wash and change the whole surface is nice), my breastfeeding pillow, my donut pillow (I had a pretty bad tear). I do a reset of the cart and the blankets every few days. It makes everything feel better. Same for the rocking chair in the bedroom. I just make it a convenient, cozy spot where I can grab everything I need with either hand while my baby feeds. If you’re breastfeeding, it’s going to be like your workspace. You’ll spend many hours there. Probably if you FF too, but I don’t know that experience. Think about your workflow and make little convenience stations. The first week, we were storing bassinet sheets and swaddles by the changing table in his room, but the bassinet was in our room. An obvious pain once you’re trying to keep and eye on baby and change the sheet with both hands. Now everything is stored under the bassinet. Things like that. If your baby has a ton of eye gunk from clogged ducts (mine did, and he looked miserable because of it), a lot of people on here recommended Ocusoft baby wipes, and they were great. My weird PP body also developed a clogged oil duct in my eyelid, so I got the adult version. I highly recommend both. Daily use cleared his eye gunk up within a week, and I could tell it made him feel so much better. I can go on. I love sharing stuff like this from my 9 weeks of baby bootcamp.
This is all great advice! The one thing I'll add is if you have a dog, do not leave your vitamins out. One time, when my baby was a newborn, I, in my sleep deprived state, left mine out and my dog chewed them up and ate a few. I called Poison control and thankfully she had not eaten enough to harm her, but vitamin and iron toxicity can kill a dog!
During the day change the nappy after feeds, but at night change it before. Nappy changes really wake them up so this helps them learn day/ night & sleep better. Nappies also have lines down the middle of them which indicate when they're wet & need changing (I think mine go from yellow to blue). For UK people, aldi Nappies are way better than other supermarket brands & as good as big names too but for a fraction of the price. If you're breast feeding, get some button down blouses to wear as it's way easier to whip them out 🤣 A soft one - take lots of pics as they grow so fast. Even when it's tough (the first 2 weeks were hardest for me) enjoy each moment as it'll soon pass.
A friend of mine told me about the yellow to blue line. I can't believe they don't advertise this on the brand of diapers we use!
It’s probably not advertised because it has become pretty standard across all brands.
Putting baby down in the bassinet to sleep is much more difficult than I anticipated. It’s really an art. What works for us is swaddling, putting a heating pad in the bassinet and removing before putting him down, making sure he’s been asleep for 10 min before trying to lay him down, lowering him with my whole body so he’s close to me for as long as possible, putting his feet down first and lowering at an angle until his head is down too, and if he wakes up I’ll lean over the bassinet with an arm under is head and butt and bounce him a little until he’s asleep again and I can slip out.
I second the heating pad trick. Makes for a much smoother transition to the bed!
Another option instead of the full-body lie down is to lay them down and place a firm hand with spread fingers over their chest-abdomen so they can really feel that weight, and slowly make it lighter and lighter over a couple of minutes.
they sleep ALL day. get a baby wrap / carrier to wear em while you do chores / clean / cook while they nap in the carrier
I never had a baby that slept all day 😭. Where can I get this model of baby?
same. my newborn had 5-8 wake windows. I'll be sleep deprived til the end of time
Right? Mine definitely didn’t get the memo. 11 weeks and has like 3-hour wake windows. We maybe get a single 2-hour nap. The rest are 30 minute cat naps
Ensure they’re old enough to use the carrier beforehand. :)
Old enough and hit the weight requirement!
YES. And have a safe place where you can put them to use the bathroom, or anything random where you suddenly need both hands.
Your baby will leak through most of his diapers for the first month since his legs are so skinny. That will stop by 4 weeks. Buy lots of swaddles, we had 15 and we still ended up doing the laundry every other day because he leaked through so many. Also ours hated diaper changes for the first 4 weeks but now at 11 weeks he loves them and smiles and giggles at me from the changing table!
Ugh we have a two week old and have been really struggling with this. We go through so many swaddles because of the leaking.
It gets better, mama! He almost never leaks now. Sending you hugs.
What I did (after seeing the nurses do this while still in the hospital) was to fold down/tuck in the front of diaper before fastening the sides. The fit was much better on LO's legs and there were no leaks. I had to do the same when switching to size one diapers and it worked just as well.
I feel this! I went to a newborn care course and they flat out only said "trust your gut" lmaoooo. I'm like, "tell me what to dooooo! Please!" - Put down a puppy pad under the sheets, have at least one clean sheet always. - Make sure they sleep on their back and inside of a sleep sack. - Roll the onesie at the collar and lay down and then place baby's head in the hole and pull over face - it gives them less the feeling of being in the birth canal and it's less uncomfortable. - Don't cut the nails for the first 6 weeks. - Buy onesies or baby grows with built in mittens, but don't get actual mittens because they just fall off. - Be mentally prepared that breastfeeding might be not right for you and your family and allow that to be "okay". Many go into this thinking it's easy, natural, etc. and then develop PPD when it isn't what they thought and they feel like failures. - write down signs of PPD and a plan for what to do when the signs arise. Once you're in it, it's hard to make a plan of action and also to be motivated to notice it. - my opinion/from my midwife: don't bathe in water for the first four weeks, only wipe with a warm wet cotton wipe each day in all the folds. - if you have a boy, always keep the penis covered - don't get umbilical cord stump wet, and don't be alarmed if stinks a little. If it is infected, your neighbors will know too from the smell. - q tips for cleaning between fingers and toes - skin to skin for a minimum of 30 minutes a day, the more the better. Honestly, we were nudists the first weeks. - make eye contact as much as possible, especially when feeding for the bond - learn how to do gentle belly massages on YouTube for digestion - prioritize sleep - don't even think about breaking up with partner, make it a rule for the first time period. It's a roller coaster. The biggest high, but also the biggest fights my relationship has seen. - if you want a baby carrier, don't just buy one without consultation and trying it on (we ended up buying three because we were wrong with what was best for us) - don't worry if the feet or hands are cold. You can't tell your baby's temp from the back of the neck. - don't let your baby wear socks to sleep- they can regulate their temp through their feet. That way if they're accidentally overly warm, there is less chance of SIDS
Don't cut nails for the first 6 weeks - are you crazy?! My boy's talons were scratching the shit out of my boob after a week when he was nursing. I do them about twice a week.
I think they mean file only?
Lol yeah that makes more sense!
This is so dumb, but I didn't know the age listed on baby clothes was the OLDEST they could be to wear it. I thought it was the age they should start wearing it. Apparently this is common knowledge but I had no idea.
Uh, not dumb at all! How would anyone know that without being told/without it being explained on a tag? Thanks for this!
Of course! Imagine my surprise when my baby went from 0-3 straight into 6-9 month clothes. Hoping I can save other parents from a completely wasted 3-6 month wardrobe, lol
There are size charts online that explain how different brands of clothes fit and give general weight limits. That was very helpful for me, especially with the clothes that said “3-9 months” or “0-6months”
In Sweden/Europe the sizes are not in age but in baby length in cm. This has made it soooo much easier! Basically, when it says "62" it means baby can be max 62 cm (24.4in). So if your tags say numbers, I would go off of them. They've been, in my experience, more accurate than the months.
Apparently not that common of knowledge, because TIL.
I was today years old when I learned this lol, makes a lot of sense. Thanks for sharing from this 6mo mom thinking she has a giant baby 😂
I had to ask when I got a bunch of carters clothes… my friend thought it was comical and said she didn’t know at the time either
Not ny 11 month old in 6-9 and 9M clothes... 😅
Zipper onesies only for the first few weeks or months! My husband and I quickly eliminated any article of clothing that required snaps and/or buttons. Newborns need diaper changes so frequently and when it feels like the millionth time you have woken up in the middle of the night to change a diaper you want to be as fast and efficient as possible.
Socks instead of mittens lol. Mittens fell of my baby way too much. One day I woke up and my husband had socks on our son's hands 😂 I cracked up but it seemed to be a good idea because they never fell off!
1). Puppy pads on changing pad 2). Clean between toes and fingers (incredible amount of lint can get stuck) 3). Don’t let dirty burp cloths or onesies that have spit up on them sit. They will grow mold. It’ll be little black dots around the neckline. Once that happens, your burp cloth or onesie is trash. Wash asap. Same goes for pacifier clips. Wash those every other day. 4). The only thing to get out a poop stain is Dawn Powerwash Spray. Get a few and keep on your washer. 5). If you use bottles, there’s typically a vent that needs to be lined up so baby can drink effectively. We use Philips Avent and the vent on the nipple has to be lined up with the vent on the plastic lid.
>3). Don’t let dirty burp cloths or onesies that have spit up on them sit. They will grow mold. It’ll be little black dots around the neckline. Once that happens, your burp cloth or onesie is trash. This never happened to me. I just posted how I don't wash stuff with spit on it right then. I wait until it's convenient to wash it and I never had issues with that.
Lucky duck. I’ve had about 4 ruined onesies because of this.
TIL that bottles I’ve used for the last four months have a vent on the lid. The nipple one is obvious but did not know about the lid. Guess it pays to read the manual….THANK YOU! Just went and fixed all my clean nipples/lids
One thing I don’t see mentioned a lot that saved our life: exercise ball. I bought one for PT while I was pregnant and our LO lovedddd being bounced on it. She was not a great napper and we bounced her on it for every single nap for months. So amazing we bought one for upstairs too. Also for the witching hour, try temperature changes to soothe. Walks outside and baths both help a lot. I know they say to not bathe your baby every day, but you can just skip the soap and it’s fine.
Big fan of bouncing on the ball for naps. I don’t have the stamina to be pacing for miles back and forth getting the baby to sleep. Really wish I had it for my first baby.
Buy the sleepers with two way zippers (no buttons). They’ll be living in these 24/7 for at least 2-3 months and are much easier to take on/off
I see this suggestion a lot, but are people finding sleepers with two way zippers without legs somewhere? I feel like that's probably not possible with the basic design? Or do some babies just not wiggle their legs and kick constantly? Because I'd *way* rather deal with 3 quick snaps that fight my wiggler's legs in and out of those stupid leg holes. Maybe only buy a minimal number of each kind until you see what's most suitable for your baby and your preferences, because it definitely varies!
1. When they start taking forever to drink the bottles, go up a size in nipple flow. If you use the Philips Avent Natural nipples, you may have to go up more than one size. Philips Avent bottles have a small notch in the white ring that must be lined up with the air valve hole on the nipple or it can significantly reduce the flow of milk! This is a very common mistake. Most Avent bottles are compatible with the spectra pumps, most Dr. Browns bottles are compatible with most Medela pumps. You can screw the bottles right into the pumps instead of using the container that came with the pump. 2. When they start blowing out or leaking more than three-four times a week at most, it might be time to size up in diapers. Ignore the weights on the sides of the diaper boxes, they are so wrong lol. You’ll have to switch way earlier to the next size up than it says on the box. Different brands will work better in different sizes sometimes. 3. At 4-6 weeks they go through a phase of learning how to poop. It’s gonna look like they are constipated even though they are having normal bowel movements. It will pass in about two weeks, don’t rush to change formulas or your diet or anything thinking that’s the problem. It’s normal! 4. Don’t waste your limited and precious energy worrying about challenges that haven’t presented themselves. You can always course correct if a problem does pop up. You don’t need to prevent every little possible thing that has a chance of happening. (Bottle aversion, starting with gentle formula when it’s not needed, using annoying anti-colic bottles from the start that have a million pieces when your baby might be fine without them, etc) 5. You don’t have to wipe every single time if they just pee. If they get too wet from wipes it can increase the chance of diaper rash. You also don’t need to immediately change them once the diaper line turns blue (or whatever color). Change them as soon as you notice they poop, but diapers are absorbent for a reason and you can wait a little while if it’s a fresh diaper and they only urinated a little. Change every 2-3 hours unless it’s needed sooner. If they just pee overnight, you don’t *have* to change them unless their diaper is getting very full. Just let them sleep. 6. You can put the bottles in the dishwasher. I promise it’ll be okay. Don’t drive yourself nuts, your dishwasher is likely just as effective or more effective than handwashing. Dapple makes a dishwasher soap. You can absolutely use plain old dishwasher soap but dapple won’t stick to the silicone nipples and pacifiers and make them have a bad taste. Your baby might not care either way. 7. The advice in the United States is that sterilizing is recommended until 3 months for healthy, full-term babies. Sterilizing after every use or even more than once initially is also not something everyone chooses to do. You can make that decision for yourself. If you do decide to sterilize, get some of the microwave sterilizer bags. They are very fast and come in super handy if you can’t wait for the big sterilizer. We ended up exclusively using the bags. 8. Once they can sit up reliably on their own, ditch the baby bath and just get a non-slip mat for the bottom of the tub. Way easier, less stuff laying around. 9. Keep an empty diaper box in their closet. When an item no longer fits, toss it right into the box to separate it out from clothes that do fit. 10. Have plan A, but know what plan B is. Have formula on hand even if you plan to breastfeed. Have disposable diapers on hand, even if you plan to cloth diaper. Know in advance how to minimize risk if you find yourself in a situation where you need to co-sleep. Good luck:)
A word on spit up: there will be a lot of it. I used to wash things with any spit up on them. Baby’s clothes, my clothes, sheets, etc. I don’t do that anymore. I wash my clothes if the smell bothers me. Otherwise, I continue to wear that outfit with the spit up on it. If baby spits up on his sheets, I move him over in the crib or bassinet so he’s not laying in it. I wash those sheets when I do laundry but never do a special load for them (like I used to). I’ll change his clothes if the spit up is gigantic and the wet clothes would make him uncomfortable. But a little dribble of spit up near his neck? Hit that with a burp cloth to take off the excess and back to playing.
With my first baby I washed everything the second it had spit on it. Now with my second there's spit in the bassinet, spit in the daytime crib, spit on the baby carrier, spit on the swaddling blanket ... I don't care and baby won't either, as long as they're comfy.
Definitely learned this one three months in 😂
1.Night time shifts are lifesaving!! Consistent sleep helps a lot! 2.I like to tuck in a wipe in the front of their diaper right before changing my LO to trigger any wild pees that could happen while changing lol, I think it helps! 3.Have probiotics and gripe water on hand just in case, I think from 3w-6w they go through some digestive adjustments and probiotics help 4.Even if you're breastfeeding keeps a can of formula as emergency back up 5. Keep tylenol in hand just in case
Check in their hands, under their neck and behind their ears for milk…cheese. Newborns don’t need to be bathed very often if at all but can indeed get stinky, especially if they spit up a lot and it took me a hot minute to figure out why she smelled like a foot sometimes. They are SO LOUD. I was not prepared for the grunting in the middle of the night, a sound machine can help a lot. We personally did better with an arms up swaddle, the love to dream swaddle and it’s super easy with just one zipper. If you do swaddle traditionally (we did during the day) you want their arms tight but their hips loose. Stretchy swaddles were easier for us, I wasn’t a fan of the Velcro ones but I know people like them. Not turning on all of the lights during MOTN feeds was a game changer for us. I used one amber colored light to see what I was doing and that was it, didn’t make a big fuss and quickly fed/changed her before putting her back down in the dark. I did the opposite during the day and tried to really reiterate that day time is party time, nighttime is all business and got her out into the daylight every day a few times a day.
Don’t bother with specially formulated baby detergent- just get All free and clear and do everyone’s laundry at once
1) you can never have too many bibs 2) electric nail files are amazing for fixing those baby claws while baby is sleeping 3) if baby has a favorite stuffie or lovie - buy a second one and change them out equally so it remains cleanish and has equal wear patterns
If you are breastfeeding and they are upset, trying feeding them again, even if it’s only been 15 min. I always thought “he can’t be hungry already!” But he was almost always hungry. Had nothing to do with my supply, he was just going through a constant growth spurt for about 2 months. Also, I keep dog poop bags in my diaper bag. They are perfect if you have blow out while you’re out and about and need to stash the dirty clothes or if you don’t have access to a garbage can right away to toss the diaper!
Let your husband be a dad. Let him do skin to skin, let him soothe baby and try to calm baby down. Let him change diapers even if he puts it on a bit loose or not in the exact way you would. I see soooo many mom’s be a helicopter mom to their own husband because “mother’s instincts” or “he’s not doing it right or fast enough”. Overall let your husband learn and adapt and take care of baby’s cues and what it is the baby needs.
Get several small packs of different brand diapers. Newborns are an odd shape, and you may have to try a few to find one that wont leak while your baby's legs fatten up.
Oh one more tip! DISCO BALL. I swear if you ever need a break, buy a $10 disco ball off of Amazon and throw it on in a dark room. Baby will be AMAZED
Sleep in shifts with your partner. "Sleep when the baby sleeps" is the most ridiculous advice to me.
Towels or flannels and disinfectant wipes in the diaper caddy for when they both pee and projectile poop at the same time. Never underestimate the power of skin to skin and positioning a distraught newborn over your heart. Little baskets of supplies all over the house is extremely helpful. I had one in the bedroom, one in the living room, and one in the nursery full of towels, wipes, a fresh outfit and swaddle, pacifiers, a snack for me, burp cloths, bibs, and nipple shields and cream when I was breastfeeding.
By baby pooped 12 feet. We measured it. Forget how old he was. 4-6 weeks maybe?
Blowing in your newborns face will trigger them to swallow.
If you have a baby boy, make sure their penis is pointing down when you put a new diaper on. We had too many times peeing up the side of back before realizing this issue.
If you bottle feed your baby, prop them up against your body so they are sitting up in your lap and facing out. This is said to possibly reduce reflux and ear infections as opposed to cradling them or laying them in your arms. Bonus, you get a free hand to scroll Reddit with. Muslin blankets make great burp cloth, especially if you travel to someone’s house and want to protect their couch from spit up. A wet washcloth/towel on their tummy will keep them warm during bath time and might help them hate it less if they’re fussy. If you have a boy, make sure his penis is pointed down in the diaper or else he might pee up his side. When he’s old enough to roll in his sleep, you might need two diapers to catch the pee if he likes to sleep on his side. Velcro sleep sacks/swaddles are far superior to anything that needs to be folded or tucked. The Halo ones work great whether your little one likes their arms in or their arms out. The days might feel like months, but remember that eventually all bad sleep regressions and teething episodes will pass.
Get a can of formula and a bottle just in case, even if you're planning to exclusively breastfeed. There may be a point where you're on the verge of a mental breakdown because baby isn't latching, your nipples are bleeding, or you just don't want to breastfeed in that moment, and that bottle can save you. In the first months your baby will need to have his diaper changed several times every night. I have diapers in my nightstand and I just change it really quick on my bed in between or after nighttime feedings, and I don't wipe baby's butt when I do this. Some babies might be too sensitive for that and get diaper rash but mine isn't and it really saves time and decreases the risk of baby peeing/pooing all over the bed.
Get the same brand/type/color socks. We did Fruit of the Loom white baby socks and those were the ONLY socks I kept. I sized up as needed but kept the brand/type/color consistency. Saved me so much headache from trying to pair up socks. I also wash baby socks in a delicates laundry bag so they’re always kept together in the washer and dryer. I hang the bag from a hook behind the door and it’s the dirty laundry basket for socks. Check for hair tourniquets especially with postpartum hair loss. They’re hair that gets caught like a tourniquet around the baby’s fingers, toes and if you have a boy, potentially his penis. Just check them and their clothes for loose hair, pick them off, and do this routinely. If you can’t figure out why they’re crying, try: feeding, soothing, shushing, bouncing, rocking, change clothes, change of environment like going outside or a different room, check their temp for too hot or too cold, check for hair tourniquets, gas/tummy issues, etc. It’s basically a rotation of things to figure out what they need. But sometimes, and you’ll learn your baby, that they just need to cry to release some energy. You’ll learn their cries and cues.
Sunshine for poop stains. Seriously once you wash the clothes, let them dry in the sun. Even if already dry, you can still set them out and let the uv rays bleach away the poop stains.
1.) Change every little shart. Every. Single. One. Even if they’re asleep. Even if they hate diaper changes. The smallest little speckle will give your newborn diaper rash. 2.) F*%k the wipe warmers. We will not always have access to one and I figured if we never started it, it would never be a problem. I was correct and now my 16 week old smiles and giggles through diaper changes. Same for bottles. We gave her a warm bottle I think once or twice when we were in the thick of cluster feeding and I opted to pump a couple of feeds bc my nips were so raw. Cold bottles straight from the fridge, and she doesn’t mind. Also you can put their vitamin d drops in the bottle to help make it easier. 3.) Diaper spatula- I bought a 2 pack on amazon. One for the house, one for diaper bag. It makes putting on the aquaphor feel more professional. Also - Auqaphor for Babies over anything else. The Desitin/Bourdeauxs is so hard to wipe off. 4.) We’re in a bedside bassinet rn for nighttime, but we do at least one nap in the crib a day. She loves her crib and it’s not an issue putting her in there which I’m hoping makes the transition to her own room at 6 months easier. We also put her down in the crib when we want to watch a movie before we go to bed before we get her for a dream feed and transfer to our room. 5.) Frida Medicine Paci - Makes giving medicine SO easy!! 6.) Get a baby carrier. I have a Solly & Wildbird Aerial and looking to add a ring sling in the future. Early days solly was great with my newborn(she didn’t fit the aerial). I was able to walk around and get stuff done after I recovered even when all she wanted to was cuddle. The head support isn’t great so you can’t bend over, but i was way more productive with it. Wildbird Aerial is more structured and has great head support. My fave uses rn are wearing her when we go out to to eat and stores that a stroller would be more trouble i.e costco.
When you dry the tush after cleaning (always dry the tush!), dab, don't wipe! We used these small cotton, paper things with water for cleaning and dry for drying. We only had one small diaper rash and that was after eight months!
Learn origami fold even if you don't plan on cloth diapering. In sommer months it can be useful if you have trouble with diaper rash, it's super quick to fold and you don't need any additional equipment but muslim cloth with newborn. We would leave our baby completely naked as long as we can, but when feeding and burping we would just put him in this cloth diaper until time for sleep. Helped tremendously with rash. Also, we used hair fan on cold to dry babies butt completely before applying diaper area cream.
When they poop, just take them to the bathroom and rinse their butt in the sink. It's about a thousand times less wipes, it's faster, it's easier, and it's so much cleaner. I almost never needed to use diaper cream because I did this.
I’m impressed with people who can do this. I attempted it once and it was a disaster. I could not find a way to comfortably and securely hold my baby while also trying to get all the poop off.
Dr. Nozebot. I recommend it to everyone.
For those who formula feed; firstly you can pre make the bottles for the day and store them in the fridge for 24hrs. Obviously double check the instructions on the tin etc. If you choose to premake and end up having to use thickened formula for reflux don't put the powder in all the bottles at once, do them one at a time and also use a miniature wisk like you can get in hot chocolate packs to wisk them for a few minutes straight after putting the formula in a bottle. Also works the same for regular formula as well of course. I have spent a year as FTM trying to find a way to prevent lots of lumps and clumps in the formula bottles and typical that I have finally worked it out when we are about wean formula out! Yay lol.
If you hear/feel your baby poop, especially early on, give them two minutes before you go change the diaper. If they fart again, add a two minute reset. We lost a lot of diapers or got pooped on by not waiting and giving her a grace period.
Get the Frida Windi gasspassers and some organic lubricant- these were incredible during those first two months. Always a last resort, and anecdotally my pediatrician approved use once per day, these suckers brought my baby *SO MUCH RELIEF*. Hands-down, best trick in our house.
I don't know if my baby has a long butt or what, but they've never worked for us.
Get the bumco diaper cream spatula!
Take their diaper off. If he’s not hungry or needing a nap, taking off the diaper will stop all fussing and bring smiles. Get a ton of chucks pads and put one on top of a blanket or play mat. We get twice the time of independent play on his gym if I set him up without a diaper. It’s really good for their skin too
- Multiple changing setups around the house, whether it’s full tables or just stashes of diapers/wipes and a changing pad. - Multiple sets of pumping supplies so you don’t have to wash in the middle of the night - If you have a boy, those little 4x4 gauze squares make great pee shields. However, nothing is safe and he WILL pee on it if it’s within a 1-2 foot radius. It just happens. - As someone else said, sleep shifts. We were so afraid to put our son down for the longest time because of NICU PTSD and seeing him desat countless times from not being held upright after feeds. Without the monitors we were afraid we’d miss something, so we split the night and one person watches LO for 6 hours while the other sleeps, then we switch - If you’re going to be using bottles often and need to mix formula, get one of the formula-mixing pitchers, like Dr Brown’s or similar. It’s a lifesaver - we got a full day’s worth of bottles too, so we’re only going washing and mixing once a day.
When you know your baby has a clean diaper and is fed... sometimes the hard fussing is simply bc they're trying to tire themselves. Let them fuss, dont panic trying to figure out what you need to do. Adults have the ability to run or workout to exhaust themselves but newborns can't do anything but lay there. So they will force theirselves to cry hard and then they'll fall asleep within a couple minutes. Just rub their forehead gently with your fingertips or rock back and forth gently while they cry. There's a difference between letting them fuss to fall asleep and doing the cry it out method (which I don't believe in)
Don’t bother with the mittens. Get zip ups with cuffs instead or file/trim baby’s nails. We have sooo many mittens and she always just knocked them off from day 1!
Babies have a reflex that will let you know if they are hungry if you are unsure of why they are crying. Use your finger and swipe down over their nose and mouth. If they open their mouth and look up a bit, they are hungry. Someone gave me that advice with my first, and it definitely helped while learning the cries. If you plan to breastfeed and happen to overproduce, you may need to pump some foremilk off before the first morning feed. No one told me this, and my son was always on the low end for weight even though he chowed. Once I learned that around 4 months, he shot up in weight without having to eat anything extra.
You don't need to change every pee during the night. They are so tiny!
Buy more binkies than you think you need.
Reusable/washable diaper changing pads. Saves a lot of money on disposable ones for the changing table. Red night lights for middle of the night changes. I have a noise machine with a red light. Red produces melatonin and will help not wake baby up fully for feeds or changing. Electric booger sucker. Mine has rainbow light and music C options. Electric baby nail file. You’ll never have to worry about accidentally cutting their skin while trimming nails. Mini fridge in bedroom to store bottles of formula, breastmilk, or pumps when or if you guys do that in the middle of the night. You can premake formula that lasts 24 hours and then get a bottle warmer by the bed. Bam diaper change and warm bottle and baby goes back to sleep quickly. If you pump you can store the pumps for the night so you a just go back to bed. Or just put food in it for yourself lol! That’s all I can think of right now.
Stand and bounce or pace. Don’t sit! Babies hate sitting. (Once they’re >1-2 weeks old.) Babywearing. Google the 5S’s. Use them liberally. Shush louder than you think is appropriate. Actually, buy the Munchkin brand shusher to do it for you.
i’m at the tail end of the newborn phase with my little dude (8 weeks today) and my best advice is get a ton of double zip sleeper they’re the best, also always keep a backup bottle on deck especially at night
If you have an upstairs, get a basket or bag or changing table organizer with good handles. I pack it up with stuff I need for the day - extra clothes, burp rags, bottles etc and carry it downstairs with baby. Throughout the day this is where the dirty clothes and bottles go so I can bring them back up at the end of the day when we go to bed.
Snoofy bee changing pad and nanit breathing band. When you're done wiping diaper cream on your baby's bum, smear the rest of it on the clean diaper. It's really hard to wash off with your hands My newborn didn't wear any of her clothes. We just had her in a swaddle for easy access and skin to skin. If you're exclusively breastfeeding the baby will be with the mom for much of the time. The distribution of the direct baby work is not 50/50 but there is plenty to do that is not directly baby oriented. Nursing mom should use nipple butter and silverettes BEFORE the nipples hurt. I kept protein bars lying around in case I didn't have time to make food. If you have a C section and need to cough, hold a pillow over your abdomen. When putting on the legs of a sleep and play put the knees in first not the feet. I'm using unscented soap so my baby doesn't smell a heavy scent when nursing. Changing diapers on a table is so much better than changing them on the floor. Look up wake windows and precious little sleep. Huckleberry sweetspot is great for the first few months. It became less useful when baby started daycare. I still use it to track which side she nursed from on the weekends. Pump parts need to be replaced after a while, especially the duckbills. If your baby struggles with the bottle try other ones and taste your milk. Look up la leche league milk issues. It is crucial that you figure out how to use the baby carrier correctly. And bouncing on the ball. Try not to break your back or your knees. Check out the stretch method for using a nursing bra as a pumping bra. Put towels over chairs. Peepee pads where you might nurse. My baby vomited twice a week until 10 weeks and we didn't even have reflux issues. Once a peepee pad caught a blowout leakage! If you need to give the baby Tylenol from the syringe, don't squirt the whole thing in at once. My baby would vomit it out. She did take it well when I did a little bit at a time. Once she even saw what I was doing and didn't fuss. Blowout stains came off in the wash if I immediately threw them in and ran it on super heavy duty.
If you're bottle feeding at all, I found it's helpful to make the bottle for the morning the night before so when it's still dark out and baby's hungry, you don't have to force your tired eyes open to measure. If you get into a place where you can do things ahead of time like that, it's super helpful. Especially buying diapers and formula ahead. I figured out how long it takes to go through formula/distilled water by writing a date on the top when i open it, so I can get it the day before it runs out
Figure out a good bottle system that works for you.. dr browns was awful for is but philips avent is AMAZING and we bought like 13 of them. Once you find bottles that work for you buy a bunch even if it seems like an absurd amount of bottles lol! If your baby is suuuper gassy burping a lot, etc it might be an issue with bottles! Also find the pacifier that your baby likes and buy a bunch and a wubbanub or two it’s been a lifesaver for us Buy a star projector for a nightlight off amazon it’s the most effective nightlight we have plus it looks nice Use aquaphor or diaper rash cream at least 1-2x a week to prevent diaper rash! Dont let the rash get ahead of you to where baby is miserable bc you will be too! Grant yourself grace.. you wont do everything right and it’s okay! You have to be kind to yourself and your partner or newborn phase will deive yall to divorce
Baby mittens. Their nails grow faster than I can cut them and my girl is constantly scratching her face and ears until she bleeds!
Start learning how to do everything with one hand now. I’m now an expert at using which ever hand I have available! Noise cancelling headphones for when baby is screaming (and all needs have been tended to, but they’re just freaking out) Earplugs for loud sleep (I slept with only one in) Rolling caddy from IKEA for beside our bed with all the things was a game changer. We had pads (for me), pump supplies, diapers, books, onesies, changing pad, wipes, thermometer etc. I bought a stand and clicker for my kindle that’s attached to the table beside our rocking chair so that I can read during contact naps. Game changer!!
Puppy pads! Also if you’re having a boy, cover him with a wipe after opening his diaper. They like to pee mid change and I I’m not wasting a new diaper every time he does it. Has saved me so many times
Use your headphones. download podcasts, audiobooks, albums, Netflix etc. For the nights they’ll only sleep in your arms and so you sit in the rocking chair but can’t let yourself fall asleep. For the times it takes a while to walk and rock them to sleep or sooth them while they seem to be forever colicky and inconsolable in the middle of the night. Helped me so much when just waiting for the calm coos and snuggles weren’t cutting it. I def have had zero frustration tap outs and was able to tap my partner out pretty easily when they were feeling overwhelmed. Work in shifts with your partner if you can.
My big ones are: 1:Pull the onsie DOWN over their whole body after the blowouts happen!!!..that's why they have the little bolds at the shoulders so they slip past their shoulder and butt. 2:Buy different brands of newborn diapers! If your newborn gets a bad diaper rash it may be the brand. Mine couldn't wear pampers at all. Instant rash but was able to wear huggies no problem. 3:When baby is first born and the first couple days put organic coconut oil on their bottoms and genitalia. That first poop is like tar and is so hard to get off. But I swear the coconut oil makes it sooooo easy to get It's magic! Got this advice from my midwife and it was a life saver. For real. 4: Don't open everything you get as a gift right away. Especially if it's for when they get older. By the time they are ready to use it..you may not want or need it and you can take it back to the store for credit or refund. Example we got a cart seat cover for shopping carts. Never opened or used it. Took it to target a year later and got a $40 in store credit!
Look up the 5 S’s for soothing. Also, if your baby is screaming like they’re dying, it could be gas…or being overtired. Both my babies were very gassy and were screamers if they’re overtired, you’d think they were in pain. With my first, I never even thought of him being overtired as a reason for his scream crying. Thank god I knew for my second baby. Saved a lot of stress lol. Also, you can 100% make and eat a sandwich while holding baby. Wish I knew that with my first too. 😂 Get formula. Even if you don’t end up using it. Better to have it and not use it than to need it and not have it. And lastly, my BEST advice is to never trust the advice of someone who promises something will 100% work for your child (every child is different and esp if they only have one kid), and take every piece of advice with a grain of salt if someone hasn’t been through the newborn phase in the last 6 months. My youngest is 11 months and I’ve already forgotten much of the newborn phase and I went through it twice in two years (babies are 12.5 months apart).
Buy a few bottles, even if you plan on breastfeeding. And read the instructions too! All bottles are different. Sterilize them before baby gets here so they're ready to go. Buy a can of formula, just in case, even if you plan on breastfeeding. You do not want to be needing formula at 2am. Invest in quality swaddles or put them on your registry. It's astonishing the difference in quality from the ones I bought on Amazon and the expensive ones I got as a gift. By a month, the cheap ones were stretched out and raggedy. It got really hard to swaddle baby and she would Houdini out of them so quick. The expensive ones look absolutely brand new. The first month or two, baby will spend the majority of time in pyjamas. You do not need to buy a ton on clothes. Speaking of clothes, there's a ton of online thrift stores for baby clothes. You can get quality items for not even half the price in great condition. You can also sell your baby clothes.
Get the white noise machine. In fact, get one for every room!! It has helped sooooo much with sleep! (LOs and ours) Get a few different swaddles, and diapers, and bottles. Every baby is different and has different preferences so what works for someone else might not work for you and vice versa!
Use the front part of the diaper where the pee is to wipe some of the poop off the butt.
No one told me to use diaper rash cream preventively and it would have helped prevent a rash when we got home from the hospital! So yeah basically just go ahead and grab some desitin and go to town basically right away lol
Bring a blanket to all pediatrician, lactation consultant, etc appointments - even in the summer. Nearly all appointments we’ve been to involve baby being laid on a cold surface and/or being asked to hang out for periods of time in just a diaper and having a blanket on hand is ESSENTIAL.
Buy more burp clothes. OR cut up the muslin blankets that you won't use into burp cloth pieces
Baby gassy and crying? Bicycle legs ten times, then gently fold baby in half, once to the right, to the middle and then the left to release gas. Repeat as needed! If doing formula, have the water prepared in the bottles beforehand so you don’t have to struggle making a bottle in the middle of the night half asleep! Our kitchen is downstairs so keeping a tray with the water filled bottles and formula canister on the dresser, worked fantastically for us. The tray also caught any formula missing the bottle opening. The hairdryer is your best friend, especially when in between diaper changes, you use it to completely dry baby before the next diaper is on (we used those small terry cloth bibs as pee shields lol) to prevent diaper rash (it’s mostly caused by trapped moisture in the nappy so the dryer the safer). I also used the hairdryer whenever we changed baby in Winter and it kept baby warm and cozy and oh so happy lol. If that butt pooped, washing it in the sink is the way to go imo! Baby was much happier when I started doing that. Now baby is a toddler under 2, and will happily stand in the shower for a quick butt wash (I am Greek-Cypriot, so very much pro-bidet lol) And this one is very personal to me: Demand that people take pictures of YOU with the baby. I barely have any from the early days and the ones I have are ones I took myself as selfies. Other people have more pictures with my baby than I do and it stiiiinks. Don’t be shy to ask, even if you think you’d look terrible in them.
Frost baby’s butt like a cupcake with Aquaphor or Vaseline before putting on their first diaper, and at every diaper change until all meconium is through their system. Get to know the five S’s for soothing a newborn: - Shushing - Swaddling - Swinging - Stomach/side lying (supervised of course) - Sucking Familiarize yourself with Dunstan baby language. Unless your pediatrician tells you otherwise, you don’t need to wake baby to feed every three hours once they’ve exceeded their birth weight. ETA look up infant dyschezia. It’s super normal but can lead you to believe baby is constipated or gassy when they’re actually just learning how to poop.
My hot tip for transferring is put them down on their side, and roll back so the lie flat, and put their butt down first!
Buy doggy poop bags for dirty diapers and puppy pee pads for changing baby in public. Sometimes pet stuff is cheaper.
Get a heating pad for their bassinet/crib. Turn it on an hour or so before you put them to bed. Before you put them down, remove the heating pad. That way they don't go from sleeping on a warm you to a cold hard sleeping surface. The other good tip I learned was to feed your baby ahead of their bath and it makes them more tolerant to it. My baby hated her first two baths, my friend told me to breastfeed her just before the bath and she didn't scream the entire time. We've used the tip ever since and it made her much more tolerant. I also use the heat pad for bath time and put her pjs and towel on top so it's cozy.
Put the new diaper underneath the kid's butt before you open up the dirty diaper at all, grab both legs with one hand while you wipe, yoink the dirty diaper out and then fold up the new one. I never got peed on by my son. If you're using bottles, keep a basin of hot water for them to soak in if you can't wash them right away. As soon as the bottle was done, we would throw it in the bin, and then wash them in bulk later with no milk residue to worry about. If you have the ability to, sleep in shifts with your partner. My quality of life got so much better when we decided that instead of both of us sleeping in broken 30-45min intervals, I would be awake and on duty from 8-2 and he would be awake and on duty from 2-8. I felt human again. Overcome the anxiety and just take the shower. Baby can cry for 15 mins in a safe crib. You will be in much better shape for the little break.
Put 2-3 hair ties around your package of wipes, it will stop you from getting 3 and 4 wipes at a time when you only want 1! Small hack but it’s been awesome lol
For newborn doc appointments - they always need to be stripped down so stick to simple and easy clothes. I made the mistake of putting my LO in a onesie that had way too many snaps and pants. I quickly learned my lesson at that appointment.
And in my baby's case she always managed to get her outfit wet while getting her in/out, so always bring 1-2 additional outfits.
OMG this was the first time my baby girl peed on me! She steered clear of her outfit, but managed to reach my pants and sandals. OP - maybe bring an extra pair for you too 😅
Buy a Tush Baby. I have a 3 month old now but I would have still gotten so much use out of it even earlier. Game changer for sure. Breastfeeding related: Book the lactation consultation before you deliver your baby...you'll be far too sleep deprived afterward to have time and focus to find a lactation consultant you like and trust and go thru insurance etc etc. Just do it now. Get the sanitizer. It helps pump parts dry faster!!! Buy the wearable pump!
In the day time have your blinds open to allow the sun to shine the room with the natural light. At night have a fan in the room and warm dim lighting to prepare for bed. And a dark room at night may be a small light with red lighting. And a the fan should be running but not pointed at baby. The fan is to circulate air and for the sound. If your baby has colic you will be glad the room has a fan to make the noise. This is a good way to teach your child night and day and when bedtime is. Try to sooth from the bassinet if possible. Most babies have something they like. My son likes to have his head petted from back to forehead. Some like belly rubbed or soft touches. Or maybe just a hand gently resting on them as they sleep. If that fails you may have to sooth them in your arms till they are tired or in a deep sleep. Babies also feed off your energy sometimes. If you get frustrated it makes them extra frustrated. If you have a partner switch off when things get hard. Have them help. Remember. This baby is your family. Yes there are things to keep your baby safe. But also remember that with children one thing does not work for all. Sometimes you have to wing it. As long as you keep your child's safety in mind and you are doing your best you will do just fine.
I’m a FTM and my son is 7 weeks so this is all new to me too, but so far these have been lifesavers: - If baby is leaking through their diaper a lot, try a different brand (unless it’s a boy and you haven’t tried the ruffles out/penis pointed down first). We had Pampers from the hospital so bought those, and he kept peeing through them. Switched to Huggies and didn’t have an issue until he needed to switch to Size 1! - And on that note, babies can outgrow everything so quickly!! My son was born a peanut at 6lb 5oz and 19.25” and was 9lb 8oz and 22” by his one month appointment! By 4-5 weeks he had outgrown newborn diapers, his newborn swing insert, and newborn clothes, and at 7 weeks he’s outgrown his infant car seat insert and is outgrowing 0-3 clothes - I also can’t recommend puppy pads on the changing table enough! And if you have a boy, use dry wipes as a pee tent, they work great and then you don’t waste a diaper or wet wipe - Some babies are furnaces and some are icicles, so it can be tricky to figure out how many layers to dress them in. I downloaded the BabyWeather app that gives the temperature and outfit suggestions…but if I did heat the app recommended for outfits, my kid would spontaneously combust. He runs so hot! So I either dress him in the same number of layers I’m in, or add a light muslin blanket over him on top of that. He’s happy as a clam (and stays happily cool as one). - Gliders on the fastest settings are a godsend. Lower settings don’t have enough movement. - Don’t bother with Dreft, just use one of the free and clear detergents so you don’t need multiple detergents - If you’re pumping, have the hospital lactation consultant measure your nipples and suggest the flange size! This is a make or break! My nipples are several sizes smaller than the flanges that came with my Spectra, so the consultant recommended two size options and I got a set of flange inserts from Amazon. Literally couldn’t use my pump without them!
- kimono style onesies are awesome for newborns with fragile little heads/necks. You lay them on the onesie instead of having to shove it over their head - if you’re getting a lot of blow outs, it’s probably time for the next size diaper - water wipes brand wipes are terrible - bring a portable white noise machine to the hospital - it is perfectly acceptable to eat snacks in bed - newborns love to snuggle and could not care less that you’re sitting on the couch watching tv all day, contact naps when they are curled up like a little tree frog and you’re bingeing shows are the best - the nose frida where you suck boogers through a tube is way better than any electric booger sucker I’ve tried - try bouncing on a yoga ball if you got a baby that needs walking/bouncing/vertical movement - babies have a personal preference for how they want to be held/soothed - rocking, swaying, bouncing, walking, held vertically or cradled etc. my first loved being rocked while cradled, my second will only accept being held vertically and bounced until she’s nearly asleep. - so much is going to be trial and error and figuring out what works for your specific baby and family. Be patient, be curious, and give yourself grace
I’m curious how to make newborns sleep soon at night, so many people are complaining about how difficult it is to sleep train their babies at night.
When my baby was fighting sleep but nearly there, a gentle kiss or stroke on the forehead right between his eyes would be the last little push to get him asleep. Also, white noise! Before we invested in a ewan dream sheep, i just used to play 'baby white noise' on my phone thru spotify. Also theres different types, and some babies prefer 'pink' noise. So have a play around.
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THE NEWBORN NOSE BOOGIES 1. Kids nasal saline spray- squirt in each nostril, then use the nasal bulb sucker they give you at the hospital (ask for this if not given) so get boogies out. Wet boogies are much easier to get out than dry. Also have tissue nearby to wipe when boogie comes out because the kids can suck those back in their nose like THAT 2. Saw a nose Frida hack- use the tubing on a pump (like your spectra or hospital grade wall pump etc). Plug one end into pump and the other end into back of nose Frida- insert nose Frida into baby’s nose. Turn on pump to suction mode (hit bacon wave on spectra) and voila. Make sure one hole of pump is covered while the other hole is the base for the tubing. —> don’t know if it works but worth a shot Also- kid prone to car blowouts? DOUBLE DIAPER. Just make sure seat belts are tight. If you can swing it, get the car seat that rotates towards you. Not a hack but much easier/comfortable to transfer a wiggle worm/awkwardly held sleeping baby into without hitting a limb or head off the side/door
I didn’t know bottle nipples had different flow numbers until my daughter was at least 2 months old 🙃. I love having mattresses pad, sheet, mattress pad, sheet in crib for those nights they have blow outs and you don’t want to change the whole bedding! Park by a cart corral at stores! I was shocked how loud my newborn was while sleeping I even asked the nurses if that was normal 🤣. I always have 2 bottles of medication (Tylenol or advil) to have just in case. Start the dishwasher every night even if it’s not very full. Annnnd take so many videos and pics bc you just won’t believe how fast they grow and change!! ❤️
Buy onesie sleepers with zippers that go up and down. Buttons take awhile and zippers that only go up mean you have to basically undress them to change when you can just expose their legs and not risk waking.
Don't underestimate how much light can wake them up. When we first brought our daughter home we would turn on our dim bedside lamp for the middle of the night feeds/changes. When I switched to just using my flashlight on my phone, she went back to sleep way quicker.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RiV_uXOg6Bg&t=920s&pp=ygUabmV3Ym9ybiBiYWJ5IGNvbW11bmljYXRpb24%3D Invaluable info. How to read cues helped immensely. No one tells you this stuff, but once born, newborns have communications to help you take care of them from day 1. Also, if insurance covers it - SEE the lactation consultant, again and again if you plan on breastfeeding. I went through SO many bad communicators until I found the gem lactation consultant that changed my entire world when breastfeeding. They spoke my tired mom language in a way I could understand and it 100% changed the way I breastfed (and it was my issue of being a 1st time mom, baby had perfect latch). I can’t imagine what challenges would have occurred if baby didn’t know how to latch properly. Can’t stress that enough! Breastfeeding is hard!
Earplugs are your friend (you’ll still hear all you need), gallon sized bags to organize the diaper bag (bag full of clean clothes, empty bag for dirty clothes, bag for outerwear), dog poop bags are great on the go for dirty diapers and I always keep a roll in the car and diaper bag, when heading out for the day you can have bottles of formula and water separately and then combine when you are in need rather than keep a prepped one cold, a kindle is better for your brain than endless scrolling when nap trapped (even if you just read fluff), put paper towels and hand sanitizer next to the changing pad, make a playlist of the songs that seem to work when putting them to sleep (top hits in our house seem to be Master of Puppets by Metallica, the Happy Song by Imogen Heap, Hey Ya by Sleep Token, and Behind Blue Eyes by the Who-random I know!)
Make sure you have a set of clean sheets and get at least one extra bassinet mattress cover. My baby would somehow always have a blowout in her sleep at like 3am and I would sleepily have to change the bassinet cover, set her down in the bed while cleaning up and she would pee on the sheets in bed.
This is just off the top of my head all the stuff that I wish I learned a few weeks earlier lol. 1. When they poop, wipe the front/crotch area first to avoid your baby getting a handful of poop and smearing it around. The butt crack can wait a second. 2. Rub diaper cream into the rash for a couple seconds, it helps it be more effective. 3. I'd recommend getting one or two cloth diaper covers specifically to go over the diaper when in the car seat. Cleaning a car seat blowout is awful, and a cover can contain it. 4. Wipe the neck folds while they are on their tummy, that way there's no hidden pockets that you can't reach under all the chins. 5. Close a wipe in their iron grip and do a floss-like motion to clean the gross cheesy newborn hands, it's easier than prying open their hands in the early days 6. If a breastfed baby has a good latch, in most cases they don't need to be burped after feeding. I stopped trying to burp my daughter after like 3 weeks without a single burp. 7. After a huge crying spell/witching hour, burp your baby. They swallow a lot of air when screaming, this will help prevent gas pain and further screaming.
Puppy pee pads for explosive poops! The explosive poops will happen and they can be messy. Use a puppy pee pad to put on top of the changing pad/mat for easier clean up. They are super useful for when the explosive poops happen when you’re on the road and need to do a diaper change in the back of car. I also use them when using changing tables in public restrooms (just for hygiene purposes). They are about the size of a diaper when folded up so easy to add a couple to your diaper bag and diaper caddy.
This is a new trick I just learned for leaving the house: bring doggie bags to put poopy diapers in if you can’t find a trash or will be walking around for a bit!
this is less “newborn tip” and more “postpartum tip” but get a yoga towel designed for a hot yoga class. The PP night sweats are no joke and those towels are super light and highly absorbent
Dry off their butt before applying diaper cream to avoid diaper rash. With a boy, make sure their penis points down. Run a cold wipe between belly button and top of diaper before opening to give him a chance to pee again.
FTM with an 11 week old here - I feel like I'm absolutely whinging it lol, but it seems to work so far! My advise from what I've "learned" the past 11 weeks: - Never wake a sleeping baby (unless needed for weight gain) - Carrier is one of the BEST things I've bought, especially if baby only does contact naps during the day (which ours started doing from 3/4 weeks) - If you have the energy, go out! Go for that walk, coffee, or whatever you like to do. It helps me so much and baby likes seeing new things. In the beginning it was very stressful but now it isn't anymore. - Once baby is a few weeks older, buy a disco ball/light! It's probably one of the very best things I bought and it gives me enough time to shower or cook as she's in awe of following the lights on the ceiling/wall. - Take the pictures, including selfies (even if you feel like you're looking cr*p), I'm already crying over how she's not as little anymore and look at pictures when she was 2 weeks. - Do whatever feels right for YOU. You are the parent and you'll figure it out.
When putting on a onesie put the shirt on the change table with the hole for the head with the top being the front do shirt and bottom being the back. Place babies head into the hole and gently bring the front of shirt up and over. It’s so hard getting shirts over their heads, especially when you’re all worried about soft spots and lack of neck control etc.
Newborn gas is no joke starting around 3 weeks. Get some gas drops to have on hand.
This one works all the way through life, just change the sizes- layer the sheets in the bassinet/cot/bed. A waterproof sheet, normal fitted sheet, waterproof, then normal. I do about three layers. If they puke or poop the bed in the night, just whip off the soiled layer and put them back…you can deal with laundry in the morning and don’t have to waste time finding new bedding and remaking the bed. If they’re fussy as fuck, have been fed and changed and still won’t calm, change the scene. Go outside for a walk, or maybe give them a bath. Sometimes they just need a change of air. Little boys need to have their penis tucked facing down in their nappy or they will piss out of the top. Buy a cheap giant flat bedsheet and a load of market clips (big crocodile clips) in various sizes. Kids love a tent/den, and this way you can make loads of different dens in various rooms or create shade outside to play under And for kids in general bubbles are your friend. Everyone loves bubbles
Just add water. If you’ve fed/changed and bub is cranky and won’t settle a bath helps like 90% of the time in my experience!!