10 Tips to Ease the First Three Months with Your New Baby

Those first few weeks and months after welcoming a new baby into the family can be very stressful and, many times, they are harder than they have to be.
Whether it’s the first child or the fifth, a little bit of planning and forethought can make this transition much smoother.

Here are ten tips for making those first months easier on Mom and Dad:

1. Get ready for your baby before you bring him or her home. Set up the nursery, have a box of diapers and wipes at home and wash some things that you’ll need immediately such as bottles and clothes.
2. Meal prepping is a life saver. If you have some extra freezer space, making a few weeks worth of meals that can simply be pulled out and thrown into the oven or crock-pot can make life so much easier.
3. Do some reading before welcoming your bundle of joy, especially if you are first time parents. Babies do some odd things, in odd colors, textures and tones. Familiarizing yourself with what is normal will help you avoid calling the doctor every five minutes.
4. Talk to your partner about sharing responsibilities that you might normally take care of on your own. This is especially important for the first few weeks postpartum when mothers need to recover.
5. If you already have other small children, see if you can arrange occasional child care for them. Grandma or Auntie may be willing to have them over once or twice a week to give you a break and allow you to focus solely on yourself and the new baby.
6. Babies aren’t exactly conducive to a full night’s sleep. So, sleep while your little one is napping. It may not seem like it, but those dishes in the sink can wait. For everyone’s sake you need to be able to function and for that, you need to rest.
7. If you aren’t up for company, telling people no when they ask to come over and see the new baby is okay. Rescheduling with people is okay too. As parents, don’t ever feel like you have to host.
8. Have hand sanitizer at the ready. The last thing you want is for a newborn to get sick. Even if you don’t have a ton of visitors, it’s a good thing to keep on hand.
9. Allow your older children to help out. It’s up to you, as a parent, to decide what tasks your children are mature enough for, but usually, by eight or nine, a youngster can handle feeding or rocking a new baby.
10. Let people help you. This can be the hardest, but it is also the most important. If your sister offers to go to the store for you, let her. If your friends want to bring you dinner, thank them and ask what time they’ll be over. Grandma wants to come over and help out around the house? Tell her to go for it. New moms and dads should welcome all the help they can get.

These are only a few ways to make those early months a little less stressful, but hopefully, they helped get your wheels turning.
Try writing out a list of other things you think may help and keep it on hand for when the time comes.