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..

My ‘baby’ has just got in from a gig in town.

Treasure this time OP. Don’t worry about what you ‘should’ be doing. You shouldn’t be doing anything other than immersing yourself in every second.

(There will be times when it feels utterly shit. These will be balanced by kissing peaceful, sleepy, sweaty heads).

Cuddle, kisses, smelling them, bathing, staring at this tiny human you’ve made and congratulate yourself as on how brilliant you are, sleep, watch boxsets, cook nice food, go for walks, read a book, nap, tidy up (even hoover my two slept through it!), and repeat the above. Seriously though if you have a cupboard that needs sorting for example, do it now dh is off work, because once he goes back, you’ll still be looking for the time when your baby is 18.

Don’t worry about tummy time, playing etc yet. Just let her get used to being in the outside world, it’s only day 10.

Congratulations on your new addition!

Very new born babies tend to sleep a lot. I remember spending a lot of time watching and waiting for mine to wake and wishing they would wake so that I could actually do something. They are so beautiful and lovely and I spent a lot of time just looking at mine in wonder. In terms of what we did - DH only had a week off work so we spent most of that going out for walks with the pram and visiting people. After that it was down to me and my very favourite thing was bath time. There is something so very lovely about the smell of a new born baby after a bath, feeding and then falling asleep in your arms.

Take lots of videos of her doing nothing. I didn’t take enough. I miss their littleness.

Enjoy those early days of so much sleep, I thought the whole baby thing was a breeze then a few weeks in DS napped less and started crying more, he was so content in those early weeks people often commented. We're at 8 weeks now and he's getting back into a nap/sleep pattern. Yesterday we got up had a bath, he had a go on his tummy time roller thing - he loves it makes noises/grunts like a little strong man and hurls himself over the top (at ten days she's too young we started at about four weeks because someone bought him one for Christmas and he likes it). In the afternoon we went into town and met DH who had the afternoon off after an eye test, for coffee, went to pick up the click and collect grocery shop, came home cooked dinner, played peekaboo for a bit then bed time. Interspersed with lots of cuddles, naps, and breastfeeding every three hours while watching Netflix. Sometimes we go out for walks, meet friends or have visitors but some days we just nap, eat and cuddle those are my favourite days

That sounds lovely. Enjoy. I’d have more babies if my first 6wks had been like that...mine both had colic so I went around with unwashed hair, bags down to my ankles with a sort of ‘woman posessed’ attitude to toast.

And jars of nutella.

(Not quite got over the Nutella dependency...)

DD (3rd baby) has just turned 6 months and I loved the newborn stage! I had a 6 year gap between 2nd and 3td, so boys we’re at school (and after-school care as a hangover from work) so I had all day with her. It’s been bliss! I’ve watched lots of Netflix, had lots of naps and had lunches with friends and just generally chilled out with her.
She’s now on the move so it’s all changing, so enjoy it.

Google the fourth trimester

All your baby needs for the first 3 months is mummy’s arms/heartbeat/milk

Enjoy the sleepyness.... they often wake up a bit after a few weeks and both my babies have been refluxy colicky types who started screeeeeeeeaaaaaammming for hours everyday from weeks 3-12 peaking at weeks 7-8 (which is peak crying age)

Anyway what I’m trying to say is that if you’re lucky enough to have a chilled sleepy newborn who will dose quietly in their pram while you have a chilled lunch (alien concept to me!) then just enjoy it

Chill, there is plenty of time ahead for play/stimulation etc

Newborns get overstimulated very very easily and then they become unsettled.
At 10 days it’s just nappy, feed, burp, sleep on rotation

Depends if it's your first baby.

OH took one day off with each of my babies.

With the first I did little more than breastfeed, eat and watch TV.

With my secons it was business as usual, having a lively toddler to attent to as well/

Looking back you will see that this is the easy bit.

Cuddle up with a film and sniff her head as much as you can.. I miss that newborn head smell!
I loved those early days.. twin toddlers now so life is very manic. Go for lunches and coffees while you can!

Cuddle , feed , watch TV , recover , drink , try and eat healthy

Look before you know it they are at secondary school !