What did you do with a small baby that made all the difference?

[SarahAndQuack]

I would love your wisdom. I was thinking especially about things that saved your sanity/helped you feel as if you had some kind of adult social life (ha!), etc. But anything really.

I have a 7 year old who's my (female) ex partner's biological daughter; I was at home with her until she was 5 months old and then I went back to work part-time and she was with me 3.5 days in the week, so I have done the baby stage before. But I am now TTC and if I do get pregnant I'm not planning to go back properly for the first year, and I'll be a single parent, so it'll be quite different. Last time I had loads of adult contact (at work!) and felt like I missed out on time with other mums/just doing baby stuff. I'd love to know what you think helped you.

TIA!

Would have co-slept more to give everyone more sleep.

Also there's an article on how to successfully put a baby down... something about rocking them for 8 mins til they're in a deep sleep and can't detect you putting them down I think...

Breastfeeding- it made everything else so easy. Sleep, stopping her from crying. She was so happy and content all the time. It’s natural, and the job they do works so well.

And letting her nap on me - I miss those quiet moments. Don’t ever let anyone tell you you’re making a rod for your own back letting them sleep on you. It’s ridiculous. Mine never had any trouble sleeping elsewhere. And I never sleep trained. Feeding to sleep is also perfectly normal and natural - it’s what breast milk does for them!

In other words, just follow your instincts and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.