Due baby in 7 days!

[CountDownnn]

Hi all

Posting here instead of pregnancy as this tends to be a more busy area.

I’m due in a week, please hit me with your best tips, advice and anything else you can think of to mentally prepare me for what’s to come.

Any last minute things I should do to make life a lot easier after birth? As I have time on my side right now I’m happy to use it to be over prepared for what’s to come.

Thanks x

Nothing can really mentally prepare you and you’ll find your own way through it! It will be very hard and exhausting, but fulfilling and magical as well.
I always tell people, don’t be pressured by the kind of parent you thought you might be, or the type of parents friends are etc, just do things that work for you and your family even if it’s not what you thought you might do!
Also, I wish I had spent more time in my bed cuddling, having skin to skin and generally eating cookies and drinking tea. I forced myself out to meet people, clean the house etc. Just relax and enjoy, the rest will come in time. Good luck!

Let people help.

This is going to sound counter intuitive on a post like this but go with your own instincts and don't take advice you don't want. It's your baby and you need to do things tour own way.

Apart from that-

The birth is not the hard bit

It's so worth persisting with breastfeeding if it's important to you. Don't quit on a bad day

It's ok if you don't get that immediate rush of love for your baby- it will grow

How exciting!! My advice is to try and rest as much as possible this week. Breastfeeding is hard to start with but worth persevering if you can (not least as it saves a lot of hassle sterilising bottles etc). The sleep deprivation is likely to be epic but it does pass- try to remember that if you get desperate!
Best of luck to you! Xx

Make sure that the babies clothes are organised, IE have a pile of vests and another plie of sleepsuits, and a separate laundry pile for them. Otherwise it gets tricky knowing how many clothes are left and trying to find a random baby sock amongst your laundry isn't fun.

Make sure that you have easy to grab snacks for you. I was always ravenous during the night feeds.

I think it’s brilliant that you’re thinking of the postnatal period - many mums just focus on the birth and have a shock! It’s different for everyone, but my tips are:

• be aware and ready for the hormone crash/baby blues. You may avoid it but feeling tears and overwhelmed is normal and will pass for most women
• batch cook! Or get in some easy ready meals and lots of snacks and high calorie drinks
• you might get night sweats. If so sleep on a bath towel and put a pile of new pjs and towels next to your bed for quick changes at night
• try to step outside each day for even five mins alone to look at the sky
• I turned my phone off all alerts and vibrate so I could rest and avoid messages unless I was in the right frame of mind to answer
• when you’ve had a baby your needs and wants come up a lot higher than other people getting offended. If you don’t feel up to visitors say “so sorry we’re not quite open for visitors yet but we’ll let you know when we are”, and don’t worry about offending anyone. Sometimes you need to sit in the bath and sort out a blocked duct or soak your stiches without getting dressed for a 10am visit from an aunt!
• if visitors come tell them clearly how long they can stay. “I’ll only be up for an hour and will then pop back to bed”.
• if you have funds research local doulas who could come to help if you’re really struggling in the early days
• eat whatever you like! Don’t feel pressure to lose weight.

- Enjoy this life changing experience and remember when it’s hard that “this too will pass”. In parenting everything is a phase!