09/18/2023
Tips for Coming Home with Baby
Here are some tips I’ve picked up along the way to make the newborn days easier:
• Put gift certificates for Grub Hub, Uber Eats and Instacart on your baby registry. I guarantee there will be days when you don’t feel like shopping or cooking.
• Prepare some meals to freeze before baby is born so you can just pop them in the oven. Consider doing a “once a month cooking” plan. This might seem like a chore, but if you invite a friend to help you with it, you can have a whole month that you can stay out of the kitchen. I like The Shabby Creek Cottage website. It’s more than just recipes; it also has tips to make mass meal prep easy.
• Prep a nursing station in your bedroom and living room. Make sure you have a comfy chair, pillows (it doesn’t need to be a Boppy-type pillow, any pillows will do), a cozy blanket, a side table for your water bottle and phone. Having your phone or iPod set up with your favorite music in your nursing space helps, too. Don’t forget to have my number programmed into your phone so you can call with quick questions!
• Set up a pumping station if you will be pumping. If your baby is a champion latcher and your supply is good, you can wait a few weeks to do this. Set it up like your nursing station but add your pump and a basket with pump wipes and pump parts.
• Another great baby shower gift to suggest to your generous friends and family is a gift certificate for housecleaning. Get off your feet and let someone else clean!
• Try to limit visitors in the first few weeks after baby is born. In addition to keeping baby dear from germs, you will be giving yourself a break. No need to do anything but lounge in PJs and breastfeed.
• When people do come to visit (Seriously, you are not going to be able to keep a grandma away) put them to work. The tax for baby holding is one load of laundry, one floor vacuumed, or one kitchen clean.
• Let people know what to expect before baby is born. If you don’t want visitors in the first few days, let people know. It’s better to let them know in advance than it is to say no to them on the day they ask if they can come over.
Hopefully these tips will make the newborn days easier. And, as always, please give me a call if you have any questions about feeding your little lamb!
