What is your day like as a new mum?

[Pereie]

Hello!

I am 4 months pregnant with my first and starting to really wonder what it's going to be like (in a practical sense) one baby is here.

I have never been around babies and don't have any friends with young kids so don't really know who to ask so here goes.

What is your daily life like with a newborn? Could you give me an hour by hour run down of what you do in a day? I'm confused with things like taking showers or sitting on the toilet- does baby come too? Can you not leave it alone in a room in its bouncer or bed?

I work from home at the moment and trying to figure out if I could squeeze in some work while looking after baby, few hours here of there. Or if i will have to take time off for the first while.

Thanks in advance

Oh dear pointless, that sounds really stressful! Is it his teeth?

A good thing to know- and which I wish I had done!- is that when they're really tiny they really can't be awake very long at all. I think the "experts" say between 45 mins- 1.5 when they're newborn. So, depending on what kind of baby you have, you will either have a bit of down time when they're asleep in their Moses basket or whatever, or you will spend A LOT of time trying to get them to sleep- anywhere. After about week 3 mine didn't ever want to nap anywhere other than the sling, and I had to be moving. So I walked a lot, every other hour or so. I suspect you won't get much work done, what with the sheer relentlessness of it and the sleep deprivation... but you might get lucky and get a babe who kips easily and deeply... Good luck!

I have a 6 week old and have managed to have a shower every day! She is generally contented in the morning (though we often don't get up til about 11!!) for me to do this - either in her crib in our room (we have an en suite) or in her bouncer in the bathroom. I leave her for a quick wee if she is doing ok - loving having a normal bladder capacity back and it is needed!! I can see this getting more difficult when she is older and more mobile...

Later in the day she doesn't really like being put down on her own, even when asleep, so lots of Netflix for me (and I have discovered Mumsnet so lots of time scrolling...!). In order to get anything done in the house i usually have to put her in the sling. I don't mind though, it's nice to have the cuddles and they won't last forever!

I try to get out regularly, for coffee with Mum friends or to a music class or something. But just don't have any expectations about how long you can stay out for or what time you will actually arrive! Often you are ready to go and then baby decides they need a 20 min feed or something!

Just take it as it comes. And enjoy!

This is my daily routine for my 5 month old:

7.30/8am wake up and change his nappy or he starts to leak.
Go downstairs, put baby in bouncer or mat.
Make myself brekfast and eat that (im quite lucky in that my baby isn’t overly hungry when he wakes up, so I can grab 30-45 mins to eat, maybe put a wash on, quickly tidy up etc before he starts whinging for his bottle)
8.30ish Bottle
8.45 - I Shower, I have an angelcare bath seat so I place him in that on the bathroom floor whilst I shower.
9am - I get dressed and also dress him for the day. I lay him in his crib while I get dressed. At this point I don’t do my hair or make up just literally get dressed.
9.15 - Nap for 45 mins so I get properly ready, wash up hoover etc or sometimes just chill out.
10am - go for a walk or activity

Then it’s generally a repetitive pattern of him being awake for 1.5-2 hours then napping for 45 minutes. He feeds every 4 hours.

It will get to around 6/7 then I do bath time, bottle and bed.

I have only just in the last week or so got into a routine, when he was a newborn I just let him
Lead th way. If he was hungry I fed him, if he fell asleep he fell asleep I didn’t impose any kind of structure and even the routine were in now is just based on the timings he gradually fell into. You will get to know your baby and do what feels right for you and them.

I have my own business too (laptop stuff) and luckily ive been able to fit in bits and pieces of essential work (about 2hrs a day spread into 20 min sections, some on my phone) pretty much the whole time since DS was born 13 weeks ago.

I've really enjoyed the 4th trimester - it's been winter so we have snuggled up, lots of feeds, cuddles, box sets and nice food. I've managed a shower, a hot meal, hot drinks and have kept ontop of laundry and dishwasher each day from about 4 weeks (I had a csection) . DP has been really great at looking after DS in the evenings which i think makes a massive difference. In the last 3 weeks we have been getting out and about each morning which makes him sleep in the afternoon so i have more time to do housework or other stuff.

I put something in each room that I can put him down in - pram in kitchen , moses in lounge, bouncy chair in bathroom, next2me in bedroom and used a sling to carry him a lot in the first few weeks so he was always with me unless he was sleeping. The sound of the shower and the car always make him fall asleep.

My babe is now 5 weeks old. I am just starting to enjoy things a bit more. I found the first few weeks tough going and not really blissful. It was the feeling of being tethered that I really struggled with. Breastfeeding, I had an unplanned c section so recovery from that plus dark winter days. Just throwing that in if you do end up not loving the very early stages: don’t worry, it passes quickly even though it can seem long. Use every bit of support available and just be honest about where you’re at.

I had more time early on but I would have struggled to schedule in work. I’ve been able to snatch some hours doing tasks but that’s very much when I have the opportunity. Looking after baby is both repetitive but totally absorbing. It occupies most of my head space tbh.

I’ve found one outing/ set of visitors per day is enough for us. Initially our routine was a 2/3 hours cycle. Sleep two hours, feed, wind possible nappy change, start again.

At 5 weeks am starting to see a pattern, although I’m still fairly unstructured. 4-7am is witching hour, may or may not be able to settle him. He wakes, feeds then sleeps on me for 30 min as he has reflux and needs to be kept upright post feed. I may or may not be able to put him down. 8-9ish he’s prob awake and fussing. He’s started to enjoy looking about loads. I get breakfast with him in bouncy chair. Around about 10-11am I try for morning nap with varying degrees of success.

If he naps I can grab lunch. If not, he’ll be grizzling and need lots of walking bouncing and shushing. At around 1pm I’ll try and do an outing. He’ll sleep in the sling for 3 hours or so. Back home, feed and try and put gaviscon in him. Pass the baby whilst trying to prepare food. He may or may not nap. If nap, we watch some tv. More looking and ‘playing’ which at this age is looking at lights, talking, singing, cuddling. 10pm start process of bed. Usually sleeps 12-4 then it all begins again.

It’s actually more fun now he’s a bit more interactive, even though he’s harder to settle!

Placemarking! I'm 5 days in

My newborn did not sleep unless she was in the pram. In the first 5 weeks I lost 10kg from pram walks and rocking/bouncing her

The first few weeks are hard but then they settle down. My DD is 11 weeks tomorrow and we have a routine: she wakes up at 6.30ish, eats then goes on her playmat whilst I brush my teeth, bath and get dressed. By this time she's getting stroppy so every other day she goes in the bath and then I get her dressed and put her down for a nap, some days like today I just put her to sleep. She'll sleep for about an hour then I'll take her out for a walk and we usually end up going to the children's centre. Around lunchtime she'll sleep for a good 4 hours, after that we will play for an hour then go out for an evening walk so she can sleep for another hour. By this time it's about 6. She won't sleep now till 9 so for the next 3 hours it's just damage control: usually rocking her, putting her on the boob or whatever else I can do to make her less mad. Around 8 we start the bedroom routine of PJs and big feed, she'll go down with a fight but then she'll sleep till 2am

You will learn with your baby so don't worry about it. At the start just go with the flow

My ds is two weeks old. He woke at five am, had a nappy change and a feed, he's ebf so a feed takes about 45 minutes. He then went back to sleep til about 8.30, where we did the same again. He'll wake up again every two and a half hours or so, and have a clean nappy and a feed. We spend a lot of time just sitting, feeding. Overnight from about 9pm he sleeps in about 3-4 hour chunks. He has s Moses basket in our living room and one in the bedroom. Basically I do everything in those 2 hour windows where he's asleep.

Loving this thread, so nice to read all the newborn tales

I wish I got two hour naps so I could get things done 😭 20 minutes is barely long enough to make a cup of tea..

Thanks for all the replies, very much appreciated.

I have decided to stop taking on work a few weeks before my due date and just see how it goes afterwards, If I feel like i can take on commissions I will, If I dont I wont!

I am very much looking forward to it (secretly still petrified!)

x

He he put everything on hold including work, we had twins 8 weeks early and they needed feeding every four hours the good news is they do sleep and you can catch up, but they wake up at night so you will feel tired, I'm 63 and a geezer yet managed the nippers despite the early birth and low start weights and my wife did some work from time to time, so get organised changing mats and wipes nappies etc all to hand get some ready meals for when the wheel falls off and it will from time to time, ours are now two and need more attention because they can demand time and don't sleep as much but play with everything and anything so get health and safety sorted now. But its a lark and they are happy rascals and its not too hard, and that's a lie!

My 1st mat leave was the best year of my life too. My baby fed well and never cried. I was quite sleep deprived, but didn't care as I never had to go to work. A year of new friends, fresh air and baby cuddles. I'd have a firstborn over and over again if I could!

It's ages since my boys were newborns (now 4 and 2) and I was in a similar position to you where I knew nothing about babies. Honestly don't worry, you learn on your feet! All babies are different, and all mums are different, all labours are different. Most babies aren't happy to be put down, so although they sleep a fair bit over 24 hours if you add it up, being able to do a lot in that time is difficult. I used to put my son on a playmat in our bathroom (quite a big bathroom so it was hygenic!) or in a moses basket and showering was a dream that way. You're so pumped full of hormones I felt like I was on a sort of autopilot. I was exhausted but had energy at the same time, and the hormonal influence lasted a while for me, not in a bad way but it's funny looking back on it.

Most of my day was spent feeding my son, or trying to get him to sleep (lots of walks in the pushchair.) But I enjoyed a new challenge, and my new baby. I cleaned nothing, did no work and let things slide. You'll find your own way and time passes so you can build more things into your routine. It's SO important to find other mums about, the company is brilliant and made so much difference to me. The best thing about a newborn is they're so mobile, once in the car or the pushchair they just go where you want so you can wander round the shops, round the zoo..even to baby cinema screenings (I wish I'd done that)

My second was a much better sleeper, but I had a toddler by then so the naps didn't help much. I went back to work when he was 5 months but hopefully you'll find you can get things done quicker, especially if you've got a helpful partner.

Good luck!

For the first two weeks, both of mine were very sleepy, so after feeding could be put down in the Moses basket and would sleep for 2-3 hours. I needed to wake them up for feeds at that age, and the feeds tended to be short (but I think this is unusual).

After about two weeks they became a bit more alert/aware and had short awake periods after their naps. At this point they would no longer nap in the Moses basket and wanted to be held all the time. When awake, they would also want to be held and generally needed constant rocking/feeding/holding as they were always unsettled. I have used a sling a lot the second time around as I have the older one to look after too. For showers, I had to get DH to hold the baby, so shower before he started work generally.

At some point (somewhere between 4-6 weeks?), I was able to start using the bouncer, just for 5-10 minutes at a time at first before they started crying to be held. Sometimes we would be able to get naps in the bouncy chair too. Their eyesight starts to become a bit better at this age and at some point I started to have showers with the baby in the bouncer (still doing this now at 4 months).

Around 10-12 weeks, they had gradually gotten better and better at sitting in the bouncy chair/playmat and weren't as unsettled. They started to develop a little routine of being awake 1.5 hours then having a feed followed by a 30 minute nap. I started putting them down for naps in their cot.

Unfortunately, although DD is now much easier in the day (at 4 months old), the night times are far worse, with hourly wake ups for about half the night :-(

I'm not sure how easy it is to do work with a baby really. I do get some housework and cooking done, but it is all done in short bursts when she is sleeping or otherwise entertained by her toys...

Five month old here. Still up twice a night but daytimes look like this:

07:30/8am - wake up, change, cuddle, cart around while I make myself a coffee and porridge
8:15 - feed myself, BF her or put in highchair and give her some fruit
8:30 - story, then in her gym - highly recommended! - to bash at toys
09:15 - nap. I work and throw on jeans and a BF top.
10:00 - she wakes up, change nappy, may feed if she whinges, then gym/tummy time/bouncy chair/singing. I try to do a bit more work if she's happy on her own.
10:40 - we go out, usually to a local park to meet with other mums and babies.
12:30 - in pram to sleep while I walk home/to supermarket.

The rest of the day tends to involve naps / walks in the pram at 1:45h intervals, until 5:30 (bath), 6pm (bottle) and then bed. I wonder whether her bedtime is too early, but by then she is very whingey and tired, and tends to go to bed without a fight at 6:15pm. I do another hour or so of work.

The most difficult thing for me so far was age 3.5-4.5 months, where she'd only sleep in the sling on me/DH, while moving, outside. In December. 5x a day. I'm not a "routine" type but if I had my time again I'd try putting her down for more naps earlier - in our case, one day she was happy to snooze on me/the sofa/wherever, and the next was screaming from overtiredness.

I went back to work when she was a week, but I recognise that it depends on the kind of baby one gets.

(And to answer your other question - she'll happy sit in her bouncy chair and watch me shower, for now, and sometimes even watch me dry my hair on a good day.)

Mine was such a good little new born, his 6 months old next week and is still really good, has 2 naps in the day and then settles down for bed at 8pm and will sleep through till 8 am xx

Hi im 22 first time mum with a 2 month old bottle fed 210ml

3am feed
4am sleep
7am feed
9am sleep
1pm feed
3pm short sleep
5/6pm feed
7pm bath
8pm bed

Lots of breaks when feeding so not to get wind trapped.
Change nappy before feed and half an hour after feed as she fills it.
Gets hiccups most of the time after feeds so just sit up till they stop. crying helps get rid of them or another drink of milk or cooled boiled water
If not pooed in 24 hours and bottled fed its fine to leave them a week as it can make them constipated
While they asleep have a shower do housework etc. Or put in chair while do jobs.

In your bag when you go out i have in it
10 nappies
Wipes
3 bibs
3 sleepsuits
3 vests
Changing mat
Thermometer
Calpol
Dummies
1/2 bottles depends how long im out for

Health visitor will just try an scare you everything you do will end up with your baby firing don't listen only a mum knows her baby Im sure you will be a great mum :)

Just my expierence hope it helps :)

my baby is now nearly 10 mo. when he was little it was a bloody nightmare tbh. he would only be carried or in the sling, he hated the bouncer. so he couldn't do his own head so to carry him you had to use both arms and negotiate some way of putting him down to eg make a cup of tea or shower. he would only sleep on me. screamed every second in car seat. my partner is away for 6 weeks at a time too. so just to leave the house was a massive project. it still is tbh but for different reasons . he's still very clingy though! mine seems to be particularly difficult i see so many mothers looking serene with babies sleeping in the middle of shopping centre. HA my baby is FAR too nosy to sleep when out and about in the pram.

I struggled when mine were tiny tbh. None of them liked being put down ever so I had to do everything one handed. Was just a relentless cycle of feed, wind, change, feed, wind, try to get them to sleep, try to put them down, try to get them back to sleep because putting them down has woken them...

I think I did it all wrong because rather than enjoying the cuddles and watching box sets I just got frustrated at not being able to do anything. It probably would have been easier to just accept I wasn’t going to and to sit and chill rather than spending the whole time trying to put them down and getting frustrated. Slings are great but sometimes you just want to not have someone attached to you! And it’s not always a quiet contented snuggly baby in there, sometimes it’s a flaying screaming version. (And I was always worried about burning them when cooking, or squashing them when carrying a load of washing etc)

All worth it though and those days don’t last long. I’ve even heard that some babies just drift off to sleep without screaming and fighting it for an hour, are happy to sit in a bouncer or lie in a basket, and some even sleep through the night. With any luck you’ll get that version rather than the ones I had

My DD is 4 months now and we're fairly settled into a routine of :

eat > play > sleep

This has pretty much been the case from day one, but the awake/play time is getting longer as she gets older.

Now the whole cycle usually happens over 3-4 hours. So she is BF when she wakes, then will be awake for anything up to 2 hours and then she'll sleep for anything from 20mins to 2-3 hours.

I also have a 2-year-old and my husband is working away at the moment so she is regularly left to her own devices! However, I never leave her on any raised surface - it's usually on her playmat on the floor or in her bouncy chair, or in the Moses basket.

She is v different to my first who used to feed for hours and want constant attention. I would say just follow your baby's lead.

Good luck and congratulations on your pregnancy.

My son was quite hard work - he wanted constant attention from me when he was awake. To be honest the first month was hell! He slept a lot in the day but not at night (which is normal) and I was combination feeding which was such a nightmare that I moved fully onto bottles at 4 weeks. He was also diagnosed with severe reflux so every time I laid him down milk poured out of his mouth. Medication and reflux formula sorted that. I was pretty much constantly exhausted on no sleep. The house was a tip. I was in a lot of pain from stitches that were done too tightly and didn't heal for 6 months.

My saviour after the first few weeks was my NCT group who were all in the same boat. We went to each other's houses and ate a lot of cake, went to Stay and Play at the children's centre and some local baby groups. My son is now 3 and we are all still friends and meet up at least once a month.