To ask your best baby tips?

[BroodyTroody]

A Christmas tips thread has just got me thinking...

What is your one golden nugget of genius advice for a new mum, either something specific I should do, or an invaluable item I should by?

Thank you!

Lansinoh nipple cream clears up nappy rash wonderfully whereas sudocrem just irritates it.

Keep a pair of scissors on your changing table and just cut off very pooey babygrows rather than pulling them off and covering the baby in poo. If you are like me you will be throwing them away anyway rather than spend ages trying to remove the stains!

Batch cook and freeze before baby is born.

Go into your labour with an open mind, don't rule anything out as you've no idea how you'll feel.

Babies have no idea what night and day is so they will be awake at odd hours, it's normal! They also like lots of cuddles as they've spent nine months inside you, so it's the only place they want to be.

Sleep when baby sleeps, I didn't and wish I had!

They go through growth spurts which just means they need more milk, it doesn't last. Well until the next one..

I never bought a thermometer for the room or bath. I feel the bath temperature with my elbow (like in the old days) and felt the back of DS's neck for his temperature, and just added or took away layers.

Put baby in the pram and go for walks, even just round the shops, they'll usually go to sleep and its good for you to get out the house.

My sister had a baby after a long gap, with a very easy home birth as it happened, and said, "I forgot it feels like you've been in a car crash". I thought that was quite well put. You do need to take painkillers regularly and be a bit gentle on yourself afterwards. There will always been some macho new mum boasting about her physical endurance 5 minutes after delivering but the reality is that although we can all do that if we have to, it's more sensible to get the old feet up and rest up properly for 4-6 weeks. The Tudors had it right, as they practically sealed you in a room for 28 days postnatally (we will gloss over the goose fat up the old lady garden procedure that went with all that). Take it steady for a while, and you will get over the process quicker. No competitive recovery needed.

I thought of another one. You can use Sudocrem on vaginal tears as well, works a treat (I thank MN for that one).

Ooh I thought of something else! Get on eBay or Facebook and buy a bundle of baby clothes, we paid twenty quid for literally six months worth of stuff, virtually brand new! Just check the baby was born at the same time of year as yours so you get the right seasons!

Don't buy a cheap baby carrier, they are rubbish. Ergo or beco gemini are fantastic and worth every penny. Use the carrier indoors, it'll mean you can eat a meal with both hands or even do some housework.

Co-sleeping cots are a great idea.

Enjoy your baby. They grow up too fast.

get a sling and if your baby likes being in a sling you can carry them around the house while doing what you need to do

enjoy the moments you can it really does wizz past, sleep and accept help when offered

Baby socks are very small and disappear, and block the washing machine, so buy a delicates bag - you know those net things with a zip that are meant for bras.

don't be a baby martyr or a bore.

your baby is delightfully interesting to you and your family but not so much to work colleagues and friends.

don't read any baby Manuels as they are not there to help you but to help the 'parenting guru' buy a nice house and car. ask mumsnet.

if you find yourself saying that you follow a parenting style and start spouting on about attachment, breast v bottle and controlled crying stop immediately and get a massive grip.

keep smiling as the newborn stage is the easiest time you will ever have with your child. children get more terrifying and you worry about them the older they get.

If you want to breastfeed and you find it painful or the baby seems unhappy about feeding, get help asap! Don't just assume you can't do it or there's something wrong with your supply. Find the best qualified person you can. You might need help positioning the baby, or they might have a tongue tie. Not all tongue ties are easy to spot, but getting it snipped can mean the difference between excruciating nipple pain and comfortable feeding. The website www.kellymom.com is great for any breastfeeding concerns/questions.

Buy a Bednest (co-sleeping cot) and a decent sling. They will save your sanity.

Be aware that it is perfectly normal for a newborn to feed 20 times a day and never want to be put down, but that this phase doesn't last forever. No matter what MIL says about 4 hourly routines, rods for own backs/ her babies slept through from 2 weeks old etc etc.

Buy a genuine New Zealand Bowron sheepskin.
This can line the Moses Basket (with muzzy on top when baby is very little) and then go into the cot later. My DD wouldn't sleep anywhere but in my arms until we remembered at 2am one night we had bought one and put it in the MB. She slept like a DREAM and loves it now. It's so soft, snugly and comforting, like a warm sheepy nest for baby. The fibres absolutely can not come off into baby's mouth and it's warm in winter and cooling in summer.
After the first 5 weeks 4 out of the 5 ladies in my Nct group had one... Amazing.

Doctors never mind seeing a baby if you are worried.

Babies don't need much. Shops and books make you think so, but we've just bought stuff as and when needed.

For instance, our 'changing bag' is a £1.50 canvas tote from Primark containing a change of clothes, a couple of spare nappies, a fold up changing mat and some wet wipes.

We never bought a baby bath. As long as the water doesn't make your skin pink, its much easier having the baby in with you.

In terms of toys, he started off with my childhood teddy and a £15 baby gym from Asda. Now that he's a bit older I've dismantled it and just lay his baby blanket on the floor and put the dangly toys from the gym in front of him for tummy time.

A friend lent us a Jumperoo. They are AMAZING!

When your milk comes in, stick Savoy cabbage leaves down your bra to relieve the engorgement. Borrow an electric pump from your local children's centre to draw off the excess when you wake up on Day 3 looking like Jordan Gone Wrong :)

If you tear ... my sympathies ... keep a bowl of cold water by the loo. Poor this over your bits as you wee. If it is very sore (I had a bad infection) keep a flannel next to the bowl for your use only. Soak it in cold water before you pee, and immediately afterwards press it to yourself like a sanitary towel. It will still hurt when you pee but the flannel will quickly alleviate the pain.

why the actual fuck isn't the vest advice better known?? bit late now as youngest 12 but hey will pass on to future dds and dils..

a drop of breast milk cures sticky eyes!! Just give em a squirt!

It actually does! I was so impressed with this one when DD kept getting a crusty eye - worked a treat and much easier than faffing about with cooled boiled water and cotton wool etc... :)

Your mother may be a source of support, advice and comfort to you - I sincerely hope she is. However things do change and advice is now different. Don't feel you have to potty train at 6 months, wean at 3 months, or indeed offer cooled boiled water off a spoon at any fricking months, just because she did...

My top tip if you plan to bf is lansinoh nipple cream. It saved me. Didn't have to use it much, but absolutely brilliant.

Other than that:

Ipad or kindle which you can read in the dark
Snack zones all round the house with drink, chocolates etc.
At least two changing stations
Piles of muslins at strategic locations
Green and blacks ice cream
Enjoy and relax, do what feels most natural to you not just what anyone says
Different people need different equipment because of different houses and space so get what you need - you wont know everything you need beforehand.
Having said that I wish I had used a cosleeper from birth. I would have then had the Moses basket downstairs
Wish I'd used baby sleeping bags from birth
23snaps app for sharing photos and videos with friends and family - you can set this up and invite people before the birth then it takes just a minute to send a photo as a birth announcement right after the event! Brilliant!
Agree with poster who said babies need lots of cuddles. I had no idea how much until I met my DD (she still does at 9months!) don't feel you can hold or feed them too much.
Agree with Wilsonfrickett. Take some things with a pinch of salt, you will hopefully spot which ones!

I have NC but I am the OP.

Thank you so much for all your advice and ideas!!

Have less stuff. Less mess, clutter, things to worry about.

Don't get sucked in to the more stuff your baby has the better mother you will be. It's bollocks. Anything you get, get second hand. It'll only be used 2 years tops (most things 6 months).

If you are sore after the birth it is the law that you must wee in the shower to make it easier. True fact.

Amaternity nurse.

The body, my toddler is far easier now than as a baby. Everyones experiences are different.

A baby can't sleep too much. Dont keep them up in the day to promote nighttime sleep, they don't work that way to begin with.

If you do not have total confidence in your washing machine, do something about it now.

My best buy was Ewan the sheep, I harp on about it all the time but even whilst reading this thread, I have heard DS grumbling over the monitor, cuddle his sheep and turn it on, and he's settled straight back to sleep.

Eat as much as you want and drink lots, ignore all the "celebrity lost baby weight" crap, especially if you are BF, your baby will drain so much from you (nutrients and energy) you need to keep yourself replenished. This is where I feel my bf suffered, I was permanently dehydrated.

Mug shots and chunky soups. You don't need cutlery/ two hands/ table manners, just drink straight from a mug. If you use a spoon you run the risk of spilling it on your baby!

A few gems:
My GP - always trust a mother's intuition - just because baby is smiling and gurgling at the receptionist doesn't mean she doesn't have a raging temperature, chest infection, ear infection, yeast infection in the nappy area... DD1 wrote the book on stoic acceptance of illness - I saw through it and so did my GP - the reception staff however accused me of wasting their time...
My HV - for the first 12 weeks do what you need to get you through. Any un desirable habits can be corrected after that.

HV again- a problem is only a problem if it is a problem for you.

Babies are funny - see the humour in it (I will never forget the look of bewildered surprise the first time DD2 farted in the bath) it is mostly fart and vomit related though!