Being a new mum, or parent in general, can be really scary! Everyone has a different opinion on the best way to be a maternal figure for your family, but here are a few tips that should help you out on your new journey of motherhood.
1) Dealing With Colic
Colic is extremely common in newborns, so Steven Litas from Padbury Pharmacy shares how to help your colicky baby:
“The first thing I like to do when a mum comes in with a colicky baby is to reassure them that this is a really common thing, and that there is something that we can do to help, and that we’ll work on a plan together. In my opinion, colic and reflux are very closely related. I feel that the origin is the air that’s ingested at the time of feeding, whether it’s directly from the breast or from the bottle, which is where the colicky symptoms start, which are very much reminiscent of the leg-pulling, the bloatedness, and the tightness through the gut, and then can then transcend through to the reflux-like symptoms, which include occasionally regurging and an uncomfortable burning sensation especially at night time.”
To find out more about Steven’s Colic Mix and how it can help, check out his Facebook page!
2) Getting Your Little One To Sleep
Susanna Heiskanen has a great idea for you, if you’re dealing with the common struggle of how to get your baby to sleep peacefully:
“If a parent is looking for some help on how to get your baby to sleep safely and to make sure you can take your sleep space with you around the house or when you go away, I would recommend Tuutu Baby Box. Finnish Baby Box that is made of cardboard and doubles as a bed with baby essentials for parents to be.
Check out their blog post on the product and check them out on Facebook!
Eugenie Pepper also has ideas on how to help your baby sleep through the night:
“Being able to get your baby to sleep is so important for new parents. I had no idea before having children how hard it could be and I also had no idea at all how often a newborn wakes up during the night. I had no idea that it was normal for a baby to sleep for just a few hours at a time before needing to be fed and then resettled.
Top tips for getting your baby to sleep better:
Warm bath
Massage
Swaddle with a Plum POD or Plum baby sleep bag
Lavender scented sheets
Calm time
For more great information from Eugenie, check out her company, Plum Collections as well as on her Instagram page. So tuck your little one into a cot and use these awesome tips to get them to sleep!
Emma Lovell from CoziGo reinforces this tip:
“You’ll get so much advice as a new mum, but the one thing that will save your sanity is getting your baby’s sleep patterns nailed! New mums often miss their baby’s sleep cues and forget how quickly in the day sleeps come around. A rub of the eye, a touch of the nose, a tug of the ear, or no longer maintaining eye contact - these are all signs that your baby will give you when they need to go to sleep. This could be as little as 90 minutes from the last sleep. Take the time to watch for your baby’s unique sign languages and learn to act quickly when you see them - this will prevent the meltdowns and endless rocking back and forth that happens when your bub is overtired.”
For more from Emma, check out CoziGo on Facebook! Bianca Ritchie’s business, Hush-a-Bee Sleep Consulting, is all about how important your little one’s moments of shut-eye are. She contributed the following:
“I am both a mother and a Certified Sleep Consultant, and always looking for ways to help mums simplify sleep when it comes to their children. I have a newborn baby and a toddler, so everything I teach I also practice myself, and have had great sleep success with both boys. My newborn has been sleeping through the night since he was 8 weeks old.”
Check out her company on Facebook as well. Sleep coach Cheryl Fingleson, shares how to encourage healthy sleep in your little ones:
“One of the best ways to encourage healthy sleep habits in both yourself and your children is with a consistent sleep routine. Try to establish a good bedtime routine and wakeup time. Use the same routine to encourage your body to prepare for rest before bed.
In addition, healthy overall habits during the day can help encourage restful sleep at night. Regular play is important, as long as it’s not right before bed. Keeping your home at a comfortable temperature and avoiding unhealthy foods before bed. Keeping your home at a comfortable temperature and avoiding unhealthy foods before bed are also important habits. Finally, if you never nap, naps are important for good night time sleep in babies and toddlers”
Check out The Sleep Coach on Facebook as well!
3) Cut Yourself Some Slack
Kirsty Levin shares how you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself, as being a new parent is emotionally and physically exhausting:
“Cut yourself a whole lot of slack. Slow down and practice letting go. Put all unimportant elements of your life, like household duties and cooking, paid work or social engagements on pause for a while. Or even better - outsource to someone else. Who cares if you eat take away a few nights a week, or wear the same outfit a few days in a row - less laundry for you, Hooray! And if you don’t get a chance to shower for one day - No one will care. All you need is a wash towel or wet wipe for a quick “dry wash” and some great dry shampoo.”
So stop beating yourself up over little things. Check out Kirsty’s website, Parents Village and her Facebook page.
4) Get Your Child In A Routine
Never underestimate how important it is to establish a routine with your little ones. Elisabeth Stitt shares how to do so with us:
“A schedule can emerge organically by tracking your baby and being sensitive to his rhythms. Once you are aware of your baby’s general pattern, you can begin to tighten it up. Let’s say for example that your child eats roughly every 2.5 hours. To ease him into a more pronounced schedule, if he gets hungry after two hours, you do your best to distract him or comfort him - even if it’s just for a few minutes at a time - until you are feeding him closer to the 2.5 marks. Likewise, if he reaches the 2.5 mark without indicating that he is hungry, go ahead and offer him a feed. That may clue him into his initial “I’m going to be hungry soon” clues. Once the feeding is fairly steady, you can use the same approach to stabilize his sleep schedule.”
Find out more at Elisabeth’s website and on Facebook! So pop your kids on a changing table at similar times each day as well, and make sure you are regulating different aspects of their lives.
5) Look After Your Mental Health
Erin Reghenzani from Mummy Mind Detox shares her tip, about taking care of your own mental health as a mum:
“It’s important to make self-care a priority. We know ‘Mum-guilt’ can set in when we take time out for ourselves but as little as 5 minutes alone to enjoy a cuppa and check in with yourself can shift the way you feel and how you show up as a Mum.”
Check out her page on Facebook too! Putting yourself first sometimes is so important, and Sara Harris, a Complementary Women’s Health Practitioner & Counsellor, works with a lot of women and the following are her tips:
- Build a relationship with yourself
- You are a woman first before you are a mother
- Learn how to nurture yourself
- The more full you are with yourself, the more you can support and give to your baby
- Nurturing your baby comes from your connection with yourself and then with them, not a drop of breast milk is needed for this
- Check in with yourself at points throughout the day. How are you feeling?
- Rest when your baby rests
- Ask for support and practice receiving support
- Your body knows what is needed for your baby. Books upon books will not give you the answer that you already know
- Trust your innate wisdom, do not over-ride it no matter what anyone else says
- You were once a new born too, this preciousness has never left you. Treat yourself now, the same way you would your baby.
Check out Living Stillness as well as the site’s Facebook page. One way to improve your state of mental wellbeing is to let go of expectations, which Cherie Pasion, from The Connected Mama elaborates on this:
“Let go of the expectations you carry into motherhood - as prior to being a mum, you could never have understood what it’s like until you’re in the thick of it. Let go of your expectations of how you will be, of how your baby will be, of your partner and family and friends. Instead say this mantra: “It will be what it will be - and that’s OK.”
Check out The Connected Mama on Facebook.
6) Trust Yourself
Tennille Graham from Cloth Nappy Doctor is a mother to 4, and shares her number one tip for new mums out there:
“Trust your instinct. There is so much advice from grandparents, friends and complete strangers. Not to mention doctors, childhood nurses and the world of social media. If advice feels funny or weird, don’t use it. If advice sounds exciting, use it. But remember that it’s the experience from others that can save you from having to repeat their mistakes. Use any advice as guidance in the parenting of your children.”
For more great advice from Tennille, check out the Apikali-Cloth Nappy Doctor on Facebook.
So hopefully these tips help you out a little when it comes to being a new mum, including everything ensuring your little one gets a healthy amount of sleep and really being there for yourself through thick and thin.
