What do you do with your days with a new baby? Share with Fairy Non Bio for chance to win a £300 voucher NOW CLOSED

[JustineBMumsnet]

As part of our partnership with Fairy Non Bio, we’ve produced the Mumsnet Babies podcast. There are ten episodes in the series, and episode 8 covers what you can actually do with your days when you have a new baby. Fairy Non Bio would like you to listen to the podcast here and then post on this thread with your experience.

A new life as a stay-at-home-parent may feel daunting and bewildering, and though you’d likely prepared for the ‘stuff’ you have to do with a baby, you may not have planned for how you intend on filling your days with a new baby, and potentially preventing loneliness now that you’re not at work every day?

Whatever your experience, share your stories of and tips for making the time you spend alone with your baby feel fun and fulfilling, and share any advice you have for when you’re out and about. Do you have any ideas about what you can do at home, when your baby is at different stages? Perhaps you have tips on making being out and about more enjoyable, despite the organisation it now requires with a new baby in tow? Maybe you have creative ideas for being able to do the tasks you need to be able to do around the house, while keeping your baby entertained?

Whatever your experience and tips, share below to be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 Love2Shop voucher.

If you’d like to rate the Mumsnet Babies Podcast, please go to the iTunes store to add a review.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

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With my first I fully embraced the stay in bed,sleep when they sleep.
Used to try to get out a couple of times a week for a walk or baby class.

2nd baby not so much staying in bed but still had the time to get out and about to the park or coffee. Fitting stuff around the school run.

3rd baby trying to keep the house running! Lots of middle of the night cuddles. Haven't managed to do any classes as yet.

Box sets all the way - Grey's Anatomy season 1-13 done in a couple of months!!

I enjoyed being at home and pottering with my first, I tried to go to some groups and meet with friends a fair bit. With number 2 I found this harder as meeting both their needs was trick so baby ended up being taken to various clubs and activities.

Sleep. Feed. Sleep. Feed. Sleep. Feed. Sleep. I loved having a newborn 😍

Lots and lots of sling time. Was the remedy for everything, I found.

I felt that I had to get out of the house every day if possible, even if it was only a walk to the shops to buy bread and milk. I also found it helped to find time for a shower each day in order to feel human and refreshed!! OK, some days that shower might not have been 'til 3pm but it helped!

Baby groups (not NCT but standard groups without loads of toddlers) were great if the other mums are your sort of people IYSWIM - if you gel with someone,or a small group, it's great. With my first DC I had this where 4 of us got on well - we would regularly meet at each others houses or when the children were older go on little trips to farm parks, swimming, soft play etc. It was great spending time with people who were going through first time parenthood at the same time.

10 weeks in & the days are kind of taking care of themselves.

Get fed & dressed. Ideally a shower. Walk DC1 to Nursery. More feeding. A chore or two in addition to the daily laundry & then it's time to do the trip to Nursery again!

Will start baby massage once DC1 is in school, and another class or two in the week

I tried to get outside everyday, even if it was just to the end of the road and back, i needed the change of environment.he spent most of his early months in a sling cuddled up next to me, it was the only way I could get anything done. Other than that, lots of sitting on the sofa breastfeeding catching up on TV

Me and my baby girl go out every day, we did NCT classes so see our new mummy friends at least once a week and then I see other family and friends so I am very lucky. My days are a mix of lunches out, shopping, stopping by to someone's house and National Trust visits.

Doing activity groups is fun and swimming is a lovely activity to do together

DS is 5 months old. I try to go out most days as I get lonely and stir crazy otherwise. I did go out less at the beginning when I was still getting the hang of things, but I wasn't too lonely as DH took a month off work and we had quite a few visitors in the first few months. Now I try and limit myself to just one thing per day, with an occasional day of doing nothing, as it gets exhausting otherwise.

My outings have consisted of:

• Walks with DS in the pushchair... sometimes via a nearby shop or cafe to get myself a treat
• Meeting friends for lunch or coffee, not just friends with babies though - it's good to see other friends and talk about other things.
• Baby groups. So far I've avoided booking and paying for a block of classes in advance because I haven't wanted to get stressed about being late or missing it. I've done a lot of free trials and also sessions organised by my local children's centre that have been free or very cheap. We've done baby yoga, baby sensory, sing and sign and swimming. How much we get out of it depends on whether I've managed to get DS to nap beforehand (if he's too tired it's obviously not great) and how friendly the other parents are - usually I can have a few nice chats, especially if I start to see the same people, but occasionally people haven't been friendly and it's made me feel more lonely, not less.
• Trips into town, but only when I'm feeling up to it and have essential errands! It can be tiring for me but DS generally enjoys the stimulation. My top tip is to find out where the baby-friendly places are that you can head to if you need to feed or change the baby or just have a break. I often go to John Lewis as they have a family room (with an area for feeding) and a nice cafe.
• I went to a few baby-friendly cinema screenings in the beginning, but in the good weather it seems a shame to be indoors.

Oh I forget to mention, my mum spends a day with us once every two weeks and that's lovely.

Stimulation and Routine are arguably two of the most important things you should do with your baby and I have found that when it comes to stimulation a baby gym and playmat are good but all too often the toys are out of reach. I lower them and extend them so that baby can kick and knock with their arms and legs - this encourages co-ordination. With regard to routine we have little songs that we sing - So we have the car seat song when putting baby in a car seat and the bath song when getting ready for a bath - this I think lets them know what is happening by association of different tones and tunes even if they don't understand the words

I'm on DC3 and currently on mat leave.

With DC1, mat leave was about working out what life as a parent was all about and I spent lots of time worrying whether I was doing it right. We went out loads though and met people who are now my good friends as we were new to the area and I needed to get out.

With DC2, DC1 was still a toddler so life was mainly playgroups and mealtimes.

Now it is DC3, life seems to be school runs and random chores such as 'buy white tights for school'.

Each time I have been on mat leave it has helped me to have a project on the go - house renovations, decorating, birthday party organising, booking holidays etc. To keep my mind active.

I spent a lot of time with my antenatal group. We organised things like baby massage just for our group which we had at someone's house. They were really fun and nice to get together with others who had children the same age.

I wish I'd slept more! I still feel like I have a sleep deficit some years later.

Lots of naps and biscuits! Being trapped under a constantly breastfeeding newborn meant I was basically asking DH to bring me food and water constantly. Oh, and caught up on Netflix!

We When DS is not at nursery we go the farm, park, a class or meet up with friends with children. When DS is at nursery I like to make the most of my time with baby DD by either going to a class such as baby massage, having a lovely long walk or time at home. I think it's important to have a good balance between out time & home time to keep us all healthy.
We are fortunate that there is plenty to do locally.

I was petrified of this.beig lonely.bored.trapped. but id say don't fear it before it hear.my days were worst when I thought the previous night "oh what what will I do tomorrow" things then spiral and you create your own misery haha. just take each day as it comes if you don't have plans.thigs will take longer or shorter than you think.
make stories up.
scrapbook was fun for baby.
write a dairy.
get a glug of mags and boxsets.
sleep
meditation in the resting times but where I could leave the bub or sleep.it really taught me how to just be in the moment when my mind threatened to race.
colouring.arty bits.sending letter to family.i sent my first letter to a friend!
tidy.
speak out loud to the little one.et them be your company it will sooth you both.just get used to talking out loud and feeling silly :)
koin groups.swimming.walkers.gathering.it really helps.coffee mornings.
church
do try and get out.
walking for no destination or reason other to just stroll.point out the world to the little one.
know that its ok to sit and feel overshelmed but this feeling will pass
cook.as routine was set up I had longer time to cook some really special meals.risotto who new.

Although I always seemed to have lots to do at home keeping on top of the washing etc I made the effort to go to at least 2 baby groups a week, as I think this benefited both of us.

My little girl is just 3 months old and it was definitely a big adjustment in the beginning. We're just starting to get into a routine now and going to various mum and baby groups have helped tremendously with that. It's sometimes a mission to get out of the house, but I always feel so much better for doing so and I think it's good for her to experience different environments and be around other babies too. We've also developed lots of games to play at home - such as copying noises or practicing sitting. I found the BabyCentre website really helpful for suggesting things for each week of development. It's so lovely to see my daughter responding to things more and more each week :) And in terms of getting things done around the house, I try to do this during nap times, but the vibrating chair and talking elephant toy keep her entertained for a while if she wakes up from a nap unexpectedly!

Your baby will never cease to amaze and astound you. From the day DS was born, everything was a joy. We did everything together. Eat, sleep, go out, and before I knew it, he became mobile. DS became a great little helper round the house. Loved the vacuum cleaner and his favourite chore was to load laundry into the washing machine, and then take it all out again. My advice would be enjoy everything with your new baby and cherish every moment, because they grow up fast.

Honestly, the best thing I did was spend the first two weeks in bed in pyjamas snuggling & getting to grips with breastfeeding.
Once I felt set up with my new baby I really enjoyed getting out every day for walks and to go to different groups to meet new mums. The best groups I found for a newborn baby were the singing ones.

I'm just back from mat leave so missing these days. With DD2 I did a lot of pottering about, breastfeeding, cleaning, cooking, going to the park, going out for lunch, cuddling, playing.

Have just about managed to forget that with DD1 I was a dribbling puddle of sleep deprivation, stomping about in the rain with a pram, trying to get her to sleep.

I think it's important to please yourself wth a new baby, and to not feel there's one right way to do things.