First night with newborn tips?

[della2404]

Hi, just wondering are there any top tips/advice/suggestions that you wonderful people have for surviving the first night with baby? Any help much appreciated for two brand new parents.

[Moody123]

If your breast feeding, instead of an app on your phone to track which boob was last (so the first one next time) just use a hair bobble on the wrist ... so much easier when your sleep deprived to remember
Don't expect any sleep, but look into safe co sleeping/bed sharing , because if you do make that decision, at least you are prepared and safe

[Glenpatrick]

Sleep! My husband sent me to bed the first few nights but we were too worried to both go asleep and leave the baby unsupervised (no reason just first time parents) so I would say the first 2 weeks we both sat up watching him sleep while the other one slept. Total and utter madness 😂 eventually we moved him into our room and both slept at the same time. Also be prepared for the tears, all the hormonal changes are tough I would say I cried for the first 3 weeks 80% of the time during the day - I didn’t have the easiest of labour or recovery and any thing would set me off. Currently pregnant with no 2!

[SeaToSki]

Get a note pad and write things down, you will forget everything after 30 seconds.
Come up with a system for remembering which boob you started/finished on with the last feed (you will forget).
Remember you are healing from childbirth.
The shower is a good place to cry.
If you feed every 2-3 hrs during the day, the baby was full term, not jaundiced and more than 3.2kg, you dont need to wake them to feed at night (10pm to 5am).
After birth pains while bf are a complete bitch. Ask what pain killers you can safely take.
Put a towel on top of the sheet on your side of the bed and have a couple of spares handy. They catch leaky milk and blood so you dont have to change the sheets in the middle of the night
Never fall asleep sitting up and feeding the baby
IT DOESNT TAKE TWO OF YOU TO CHANGE A NAPPY. If one of you is doing baby stuff, the other can be doing house stuff or sleeping.
When you just dont know what to do and the baby is crying, take a deep breath first. Then go from there.

[Carbis]

Use nipple cream if you’re breastfeeding. With my first, I thought you were only supposed to use it after you got sore. That was a big mistake! Pop it on after every feed. As others have said, wake the baby to feed if they aren’t waking every 2-3 hours. I couldn’t have done dream feeds with my first, he wouldn’t have had anything.

Do lots of skin to skin.

Congratulations and enjoy the beautiful baby bubble.

[Spottybotty20]

So no one has mentioned day 3 yet, usually day 3 (could be few later if you had a C-section or bleed) your milk comes in. You will wake up with enormous, solid rock like breasts. You will also be flooded with emotions and cry all day long.

It can help to latch the baby onto engorged breasts if you gently rub away from the nipples (reverse pressure)

Also lots of mums don’t realise how much you bleed after so be prepared for the bleeding to go on for a few weeks.

Newborns can be really difficult but they are so lovely and eventually you forget the tough bits!

[uhohspaghettiohh]

Second night is hell. If you Bf - it'll get better I promise.

[ImJustMum]

Another vote for dream feeding

Also, you and DH are both tired, if you snap at eachother or anything, just move on from it. Something me and DH learnt with our second, its not meant and being exhausted makes your fuse that little bit shorter

[MrsBouquet5678]

Don't wake the baby to feed! Dream feed. Sleep when baby sleeps. Only change if soiled or very wet. Use vaseline, no creams. Use warm water and cotton wool when changing nappy or wiping mill spills around face and neck..use muzzy's and bibs or a small soft flannel to avoid milk drips on babies. Before you feed baby have a drink, snack,book, nightlight,remote,phone close by and go to the loo first as it can take ages, all babies different. Good luck and congratulations. Hope you get some sleep and if you have a baby who gives you sleep deprivation please take help from anyone who offers, I didn't and got very ill from sleep deprivation. Don't take or listen to much advice,it can make it stressful, you'll be ok and we all make mistakes,it's how we learn and just remember all babies are different,all things don't work for all x

[MrsSkylerWhite]

Sleep when they sleep.
Ours both slept for 10 hours but I was so pumped up I sat up writing announcement cards and generally feeling invincible.

Big mistake, huge

[Flutterby8]

For the first 2 weeks you will be shattered. Newborns feed every 2-3 hours and if they dont wake, you need to wake them. You will be sleep deprived because when they do sleep you will worry about every noise they make and if theyre breathing normally. DD is 8 weeks old now and I still lay awake at night worrying about the grunting, snuffling, wheezing and intermittent cries she makes while she is absolutely sparko in bed!

Make a quick log on your phone of when you feed and how long for just so you can keep track of where youre at. If bottle feeding, note how much you give too.
This really helped me after DD lost alot of her birth weight.

Dont worry about getting dressed. Slob about in your PJ's while you get used to your new baby.

Dont invite the world over to meet baby either. Have some time as a team of 3 to get used to everything. This really helped me as for the first week i struggled and cried every day.
I was in no position to entertain people.

Your midwife will see you the day after you come home from hospital.
I didnt know this and wasnt prepared for her to rock up at 9am when i was still sitting with my boobs out in bed trying to work out what the hell i was doing!

[CamomileTeabag]

Mine was a bloody nightmare. She was born in the small hours and we came home later that day so I was exhausted having been labouring all the night before, but desperate to get out of hospital. She cried and she cried and she cried. We got no sleep at all, and wondered what on earth we had done to our previously lovely life. I wanted to give her away there and then!
So in terms of advice, I would say have very low expectations and if it goes better, then great.

[gogohm]

Try to trust your instincts, feed on demand, ensure you have water upstairs as i got thirsty, packet of biscuits or crackers is a good idea too, have a cardigan to put around you if you are sitting up feeding in bed, a throw is a good idea too, a washable one. Have changing stuff upstairs and down, have spare clothes downstairs too. Don't worry about bathing but have a couple of bowls and cotton wool for cleaning as needed (no soap needed) this works for nappies too, wipes are very harsh for a newborn

[Footnote]

For the first two weeks don’t let a bf baby sleep more than 3–4 hours.
Get a headphone splitter so you can watch the same TV.
They can make weird noises in the night. It’s normal.
Have a complete change of clothes ready on the changing table but far enough away that they can’t wee on them (don’t assume that girls can’t do this).

[Beamur]

Make sure you eat and drink enough. This is very much TMI but I wish someone had told me this - the first time you go to the toilet after having a baby can be a bit of a challenge! Have a wet flannel to hand in case you need to apply gentle pressure and be aware of constipation. Eat some prunes...

[Oldnews]

Oh yes, for an actually useful tip - get a salt lamp - the pink light is enough to see by but won't keep you all awake.
Also bring changing things into the bedroom - it took me 9 weeks before someone told me I could change him in bed and didn't have to cart him to a changing table in another room!
If formula feeding, either premade liquid in the bedroom with you or perfect prep in the room. No idea why I was up half asleep in the kitchen for more months that I care to admit making bottles!
Zip sleepsuits easier than poppers to change.
Helps to also join a few Facebook groups so you have someone to chat to in the early hours! Beyond sleep training, attachment parenting uk,
and gentle parenting uk were my ones, but there's something for everyone.
My baby was sick on night 3 at home, felt like there was gallons of it, it was bright yellow and terrifying - was up the rest of the night googling - turns out it was totally normal and never happened again!

[RegeJeanPageMeOnMyCellphone]

It’s very surreal bringing them home the first day. We didn’t get discharged until 10pm. So I’d say:
Have something easy ready to heat up for dinner that night.
Don’t worry if you can’t sleep at first, I was full of adrenaline and functioned happily on only a few hours as I was wired and in a complete love bubble! (now I’m always shattered!)
Keep your tablet, book or remote next to your bed.
Make sure everything is unboxed, washed, set up etc in advance so you can come home and just start using things.
If you have a big family, set the visiting boundaries early so everyone knows the plan.

[NoToLandfill]

Be prepared that night 2 at home is the WORST. Terrifying, lonely and very very tired.
Just get through it.

[ShortDaze]

Make it warm and dim and not too noisy, make sure the space is safe (look up safe co sleeping guidance) and curl up and feed and doze if possible. Nappy change when dirty. Ignore clocks.

[PiesNotGuys]

Have a good book (or the remote control) to hand -it gets boring!

[fullofpips]

You should wake your baby every 3 hours or so to feed until they reach their birth weight. Esp if breastfeeding, night feeds are one of the most important times to up your supply.

Not necessarily the first night but certainly in the upcoming weeks - if your baby is crying and you're so sleep deprived you could scream, there is nothing wrong with laying your baby down and going to take a few deep breaths in another room

[EatDrinkEatDrink]

I've had 3 children, we came home and I was shattered each time (I birth very slowly) so the first night was pretty much me napping and feeding and not much else. My husband cooks anyway so he made tea (I don't get this have snacks everywhere thing and I've breastfed 3, I ate normal and still do breastfeeding around the clock!). I think a lot of it is just working it out for yourself at first. I've never woken a baby to feed either. Just have the changing mat and nappies nearby and some spare clothes for in the night, no one wants to be faffing about looking for stuff at 3am and get your husband to do the nappies in the night (at least the first few days, he might not be able to feed but he can save you getting up - you might be a bit battered), you'll figure out the rest. Good luck!

[GalacticGoddess]

It's a very emotionally charged time also, so be kind to yourself and make sure you grab sleep when you can. I never took this advice also and now she's older I take every opportunity to nap when she does. 😂

Also don't make lots of plans, just enjoy your tiny baby and their amazing smell. My goodness, that smell. I can't even describe it but it's surely just hormones because i remember being obsessed and intoxicated by DD and just wanted to be holding her all the time. She was very rarely put down by me and DH and grandparent in the first month, only for sleep!

[Lancssss]

Galactic I absolutely agree, after a while I was able to start increasing the gap in the night to 4 hrs then 5 hrs but only for that one feed at first. Plus I made sure I checked with the HV before I did it.

[GalacticGoddess]

Ignore advice about not waking a sleeping baby to eat (within reason obviously)! Especially if the baby is very newborn and has been sleeping more than 3/4 hours.

I had to wake DD every 3 hours the first couple of weeks as she was very jaundiced and sleepy. I never even knew that was a thing until day 3 when she got weighed and had lost a lot of her weight. I was terrified and felt so upset and guilty. Still makes me teary thinking about my little hungry baby who was too sleepy, she's 17 months now and absolutely fine but honestly, newborns need to eat really frequently especially when breastfeeding to build your supply. We had to go for the UV treatment, was actually awful and so upsetting to have to go back to hospital with her.

Not waking babies to feed is an old wives tale I was told by the infant feeding team.

[LesLavandes]

I remember it all well. First baby didn't fall asleep until 7.30 am. We seemed very surprised!!! However we were very tired.

Have lots of snacks and drinks to hand.

Have no expectations of yourself. If you are in your pjs at 4.30 pm, that's just fine.

Expect it to be tricky and prepare. ☘️