To ask how you spend your day with a newborn?

[m4rdybum]

DD is 10 days old today and I'm lucky enough to have DH home for a month, so we're in a routine enough to be able to handle the demands of a new born together.

But - I feel like we're not doing enough with her.

Essentially, all DD does is sleep, wake for a feed (roughly every 4 hours) and have brief periods of being awake (lasting between 30 mins and an hour).

We snuggle with her a lot and also split time where she's in her Moses basket. We've also been on a few walks and I've been to appointments and to the shops, so she's had time outside in her pram.

When she's awake, we talk to her, but haven't particularly started to play.

Should we be doing more with her? Waking her up more? I'm not sure when and how to initiate tummy time.

She's definitely a PFB, so I'm probably being a bit pathetic tbh..

Yeah don’t do this to yourself!

Honestly just enjoy it. Just to put it into perspective - she doesn’t even know her hands are part of her body and she won’t have knees until she’s two.

Congratulations. She needs lots of love. You need lots of rest.

Cuddle cuddle cuddle. And I breastfed/expressed loads and loads. That's all I did with mine for the first month. Just enjoy :)

Just cuddle her. Kiss her belly. Stroke her head. I now have a 16 month old who verbally demands bananas, I wouldn’t mind swapping . You’ll see over time that she’ll have more and more awake time between feeding, napping etc, and then a gym and tummy time come into their own.

Dont wake her up! Just enjoy the naps whilst they last. Enjoy the immobile stage before the teething, screaming, moving, weaning phase. Catch up on Netflix, eat biscuits and enjoy it.

Congratulations on your new baby :)
Just cuddle, feed, let her sleep. She doesn't know about playing yet.
Get rest yourself, watch TV and eat biscuits. There's plenty of time to play when baby is 2. And then you'll be exhausted!!

Cuddle her. Sleep. Watch box sets. Go for a gentle walk. Damn it, we went to the pub more than once. Then more sleep, more box sets, a bath.

DS2 was a champion napper. Feed, sleep for a few hours, wake up and chug down some milk, look at us all briefly, then doze off again. Utter bliss after nap-hating DS1.

Don't wake her up. Look at her lovely sleeping face. Watch Netflix. Nap. Nap. Nap.

And personally, I'm pleased my OH had to go back to work after 2 weeks, he would have wanted to do things all the time if he'd been off for longer whereas I wanted to nap and hope my broken fanny would heal. I much preferred him being off months down the line when the baby had decided sleep was for the weak and I needed all the help I could get!

All she wants is to sleep and eat. Way too young to think about tummy time and playing. When mine were 10 days old, I spent most of the day in bed, feeding and watching tv. DH was in charge of the house and bringing me food and drinks at regular intervals.

She’s only 10 days old, I’m pretty sure it’s all about the cuddles and sleep at this point. Is there the chance for your DH to take some of his time off a bit later when maybe she’s sleeping less well/you’re more knackered?

Haven’t you at least started baby Mandarin lessons or tumble tots?

They wake up and do s bit more around the six week mark, IIRC. There’s really not much to do with a newborn except cuddle, feed and change nappies. Eye contact when they are awake, but they are meant to sleep 20/24hrs so and most of their awake time is spent feeding so you don’t actually have much time to do other things.

You can talk and sing to them, and make sure you lean in so they can see your face. Classes etc are for when they are 4-6mo onwards really.

Go for lots of lunches or dinners while they are still small and sleepy.

Go out for lunch

Go to cafes

Go anywhere you can’t take a toddler. Because once they can move and need actual entertainment it is game over for quiet lunches.

Watch grown up TV while you can - before long you will probably have seen every episode of Peppa bloody Pig at least 2000 times!

Just enjoy the time finding your feet and getting to know each other. Little babies can get over stimulated so don't worry too much!

Feed and gaze.

Aim to clean your teeth and shower if you can.

Comfy loungewear is a must at this stage.

Feed and gaze again. Repeat.

Too busy with Baby Tightrope classes @SaucyJack

Just enjoy this precious time, it's over so quickly. Feeding, sleeping, resting & cuddles. A few nice cups of tea & treats. A trip out in the pram for fresh air if you like. There's no rush to do anything. Smiling will soon start & playing wont be long either! Just enjoy her, she sounds lovely.

Enjoy it, rest and count yourself very very lucky because many newborns don’t sleep such long stretches or know their day and night. You will know when she needs more stimulation just from her reactions and she will also begin to demand it!

Maybe try to find a local new mums and babies group? I run one in a cafe once a week and it's very informal. We offer breastfeeding support but welcome all new mums (and not so new mums).

Nice to do without toddler tearing around destroying the place. Have made some new friends through it.

Pub, cafe, nice lunches. Go anywhere you won't be able to relax in once she's mobile.

Feed,
Take leisurely baths (with baby if you want),
Meet friends for coffee,
Sleep,
Netflix,
Spend hours looking at her perfectly formed little ear which is probably the size of a 10 pence piece.
Spend hours looking at her tiny little fingernails

None of the above are wasted activities. The first 4-6 weeks is about you and your healing and your adjustment. Your baby doesn't have awareness of anything other than eating, sleeping and attempting to break wind

Congratulations - I loved the newborn days with both my babies, they were easy as pie and they slept. During my first mat leave, I spent loads of time meeting friends for coffee and going out for long lunches. During my second mat leave I hunkered down and spent far more time on the couch watching Greys Anatomy, taking long showers with a sleeping baby and learning how to dance the Thriller dance whilst he napped.

When it comes to tummy time I wouldn't worry too much of she is being held a lot. We were told baby lying chest to your chest counts as tummy time, also being in a sling etc basically we were given the impression tummy time is more important for babies who spend a lot of time flat on their backs...! Our baby has a strong neck and now at 3 months enjoys more time on her tummy on playmat

I spent a lot of my DD's early life feeling guilty that I wasn't doing more with her, and now she's 2 I can see that it's done her no harm whatsoever. They really don't respond much at all when they're that young. As PPs have said, enjoy watching all the TV that you want, doing whatever you want on your phone without someone trying to grab it from you, and go all the places that you won't want to take an older baby or toddler who won't sit still for more than 5 minutes.

I spent DS’s early life trying to do far too much with him. And then I’d get stressed because what we really needed was rest. Babies will thrive if they have a good foundation of love. All she needs.