You’ve probably been getting parenting advice since the moment you announced your pregnancy! But as a long-time Labor & Delivery and Post-Partum nurse at EIRMC, I’ve also got a lot to say about how to survive those first few days! The newborn period can be one of the hardest, following these tips can help make the transition a little smoother.
Accept help.
I’m sure you can hardly wait to meet your baby! But after a long labor, followed by a day or two in the hospital, reality starts to set in. Some parents get nervous, realizing they are now responsible for another human being! It can feel very overwhelming, especially when you’re feeling exhausted, up every couple of hours feeding baby.
Here’s the trick: You have so many people who WANT to help you… let them!
You heard me, LET THEM HELP YOU!!! If you have family come stay, they are not “house guests” that require your attention. They are there to help YOU transition to your new (or even repeat) role as parents.
Take up the offer for help from the lady next door. Have her to wash a load of laundry or take the dog for a walk; anything that takes a task off your to-do list. Honestly, do it!!!
People want to help, but if you won’t let them, how can they? As a very independent person, I understand the struggle; really, I do. Can you do it all yourself? Probably, but why should you if you don’t have to?
Take advantage of the time your baby is sleeping.
Since babies wake every 2-4 hours in the first few weeks, it can feel like you aren’t getting enough sleep. But did you know that, on average, newborns sleep for roughly 16 hours a day? That is a lot of time to catch up on sleep.
You may not need (or even be able) to sleep all the time that your baby does, but there is nothing wrong with joining your baby for some nap time.
We’ve all seen social media videos of moms making fun of this advice, and it can be comical to think about napping every time your baby falls asleep. However, remember that help you’re gonna accept? Naptime is an excellent time to use it! Don’t worry about the laundry or the dishes in the sink, which leads me to the next tip…
DON’T try to be the “perfect mom.”
Being a parent is one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of life. In this day of social media, with everything at your fingertips, there are too many opportunities to look at others and say, “I should be more like her.” No, you shouldn’t! You should be just like you. Trust your instincts. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes, just do the best you can and keep trying.
Contributing Author: Catherine Purser, RN, EIRMC
Catherine Purser is an experienced RN at EIRMC, with twenty years of experience between Labor & Delivery and Post-Partum Units. She has high-level national certifications in 
Inpatient Obstetrics (RNC-OB) and Fetal Heart Monitoring (C-EFM). She is also a childbirth educator, an AWHONN fetal heart monitoring instructor, and an authorized peanut ball ambassador. Not ready to rest just yet, Catherine is also working on her peanut ball trainer certification, with goals for Lamaze and Hypnobirthing training next. She loves teaching women about pregnancy, labor and birth, and believes they should have all the information needed to make an educated decision about what type of care is right for them.
Catherine is also a mom of four boys, and knows that life is messy. After all, she notes, we all are just doing our best.
