The first three days of your baby’s life might be the most stressful you’ve ever experienced. You are not alone in that. You may have been presented with some seemingly stalwart, more-than-adept looking parents in your life, but at some point, they too were at home with a brand new baby desperate for that parenting manual none of us ever get. And believe me as a two-time mother, it’s understandable to feel the same way about the second baby you bring home too.
3 Stress-Saving Tips for Your First Days Home after Birth
Keeping these three tips in mind will help you get through those initial days just after your baby’s birth.
Don’t Paint Yourself into Any Corners
As your pregnancy progresses you’ll have a lot of people offer to help you in a variety of ways. One of those ways is offers to help in the days just after the baby’s birth. Likely because they know exactly how difficult it can be for new parents. Don’t shrug off those offers. Don’t reject them out of order! Yes, please, we’d love to have one of your casseroles! A few minutes to ourselves for a brisk, baby-free walk around the neighborhood in those early days? An uninhibited shower time? Yes, please, we promise we’ll call. We’re just saying, there’s little glory in going it alone. Everyone knows you CAN do it, but you don’t have to. It really does take a village and you should always appreciate the offers your village makes to you during this busy, stressful time. Don’t paint yourself into a lonely corner by rejecting offers of help out of hand!
Take Shifts
Take shifts when you need to. Although you’ll likely experience a rush of energy just post-birth that might keep you going for a few days, there will be a crash, and oh! what a glorious crash it will be when your body finally catches up to all of the stress you’ve put it through lately. Make sure to have your spouse, grandparents, sisters, aunts, uncles, brothers, and anyone on hand who is willing to help nearby. As a new parent, you’re about to learn exactly how refreshing a 20 minute nap really can be. Is the new addition the second or third addition to your family? Then it’s time to work on getting everyone on a sleep schedule as soon as possible. All of your worker bee’s are going to need that regularly scheduled downtime to make it through the next day!
Stay Sane
You might normally be absolutely infuriated by a dirty kitchen, but for now, you’ll need to get over it. It’s okay. It’s truly alright to not take the few moments you have to yourself to do housework. Give others in your household small jobs to make yours easier when and where possible. If it’s available, have your groceries brought to you. It’s worth the minor costs in keeping you close to home where you can easily manage the current chaos.
Keep your head however you can, whether it’s a required 30 minutes in the morning with your favorite glass of tea or a walk around the block at dusk that keeps you steady. Alternately, if you ever feel like you are suffering an unusual depression just after baby’s birth, read up on the symptoms of Post-Partum depression and talk to a medical professional immediately.
Leave a Reply