What To Expect In The First Weeks Of Having A Newborn...

This photograph was taken almost five years ago (I have no idea how time has gone that fast..!) and it is of me and my first child, Daisy.

I'd read all the books and those weekly emails throughout my pregnancy, I knew when to expect kicks, what fruit my baby was the size of that week, and I knew newborns didn't sleep much.

But when we got home from the hospital, we were in for a shock!

We were used to going out when we liked, taking as long as we wanted to do the food shopping, all the exciting things you do in your mid twenties. And that went out of the window with the arrival of Daisy.

So, here is my list of what to expect in those first few weeks of parenthood. I'm by no means an expert, but after two children, I've learned plenty!

• Sleep. (Or lack of!) This isn't your usual "I had a bad night" kind of tiredness. Sleep deprivation is something entirely different; as tired as you may be, there will be a tiny nocturnal human needing you every two hours, for over an hour, every night.  But it doesn't last forever (it just feels like it!) so ignore the housework (or better yet get a visitor to do some!) and sleep when baby does.

• Visitors. When you have a baby, everyone wants to visit! Great! Except, no, not really. Those first weeks are special, you are getting to know the new little person in your life, and learning about yourselves as parents. When you invite visitors over, make sure they do something useful such as putting washing on, doing the dishes, filling a thermos with tea so you don't have to get up when baby is settled on you, bringing home cooked food that just needs a blast in the microwave. And if you've had enough, don't be afraid to tell them to leave (nicely).

• Washing. Stock up on washing powder, you're going to need it! If it's not coming out of the back end, it's coming out of the front end. Did you know, baby vests have envelope shoulders, so that when a pooplosion happens (and it will!) you don't have to be a poo dodging ninja trying to get the vest over baby's head, you can just pull it down over their shoulders and off down their legs! Genius! 

• Time. They may only be a newborn, but they will keep you busy! Any time you have is no longer your own. Need to go out and buy a loaf of bread? Pack your entire nursery into your changing bag and prepare to feed baby whilst you're out! A lot of places have baby feeding rooms if you're not confident in feeding in public, don't let anyone make you try to feed in a toilet though, ugh!

• Feeding. Establishing breastfeeding takes time, and is pretty full on in the first weeks. Many mums think they are not producing enough milk (or worse, get told this by health professionals) when in fact, not producing enough milk is very rare. Cluster feeding (non stop feeding or on-off feeding) is totally normal! As your baby gets bigger, the milk supply will need to get bigger too, and cluster feeding is your baby's way of telling your body that it will need to make more milk. Supply and demand! Sit tight, drink plenty of fluids and use that time to rest, or catch up on your favourite shows on Netflix!

• Housework. I'm going to contradict myself here. I said ignore the housework above, which, of course, I still believe needs to be done after a bad night. But there comes a time when the visitors have stopped, and the house looks like a bomb has gone off and you can't bear it any more (it can't just be me, right?!). If you have a particularly clingy baby (which is still totally normal by the way!) then invest in a sling. There are a fair few brands of sling you can get, just make sure you are confident in wrapping baby up (thank goodness for YouTube!) and follow the T.I.C.K.S guidelines (link at the end of the blog) and voila! Baby gets sleepy snuggles whilst you have your hands free to get done what needs to be done.

• You. I've saved the most important one until last. You will either have just pushed a small human out of you or had major abdominal surgery. Either way, you need to rest and let your body recover. You may have heard of baby blues, which normally come a few days after birth; you become irrational and tearful, amongst other things. This is completely normal and is believed to be from the change in hormones post birth (a bit like extreme PMT, with added tiredness!). If the feelings don't go away or worsen over a couple of weeks, then get yourself to your GP or health visitor to talk about how you're feeling - you may have postnatal depression, and may need treatment. If you get prescribed drugs to help you, and you're not sure if they're ok to take whilst breastfeeding (or your GP says they're not), check out the Breastfeeding Network and their drugs helpline - Wendy knows everything! GP's only go by how a medication is licensed and so can't say for sure if you have to stop breastfeeding on certain drugs, which is why I recommend talking to Wendy.

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Good luck with your impending arrival, enjoy the sleepy newborn cuddles - they really are the best. Parenthood is a bit of a shock to the system but so so worth it! They grow up fast, so document everything, take photos every day - we're lucky to be in the digital age where we have cameras on so many devices. Just make sure you print them!​

If you found this helpful, or have anything to add, please leave a comment below!

To book in a newborn photography session, use the CONTACT ME tab above and fill in the form. Hopefully I'll see you soon!

LINKS:
Babywearing guidelines - http://babyslingsafety.co.uk
Baby blues and PND - http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/pregnancy-and-baby/pages/feeling-depressed-after-birth.aspx
Breastfeeding Network Drugs in Breastmilk Helpline - https://www.facebook.com/BfNDrugsinBreastmilkinformation  OR  0844 412 4665
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