Life as a New Mom
Becoming a Mom will be one of the most life changing and challenging experiences you will ever face! Whether you embrace it with open arms, or approach it with a great deal of anxiety, you will experience both good days and bad ones in your first year of motherhood.
My Experience as a New Mom
Nothing could have prepared me for my first year as a new Mom. I was very excited to welcome my daughter, but I never anticipated feeling such a wide range of emotions so quickly – joy, excitement, pride, nervousness, fear, anxiety – sometimes all in the same hour lol.
It can be a whirlwind, that sometimes feels like its going at a snails pace (during those late nights when baby is wide awake, but you just want to get an hour of sleep). Other times, time seems to fly by, and will have you wondering where your little baby went.
How Life Changes as a New Mom
Every mom will have a different experience in their first year, but rest assured, one thing we can likely all agree on is that your life will never be the same.
You spend so much time preparing for this little person, but don’t take much time to process that once you become a mom, you will never not be a mom again once they are born. That becomes a profound realization quite soon into the first year.
If you are a new mom, are expecting or planning to have children soon, then this post is for you!
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Growth as a New Mom
In this post I share some of the most valuable tips and lessons that have helped me navigate my first months with my daughter.
As I write this, my daughter is nearly 9 months old. Although I can’t believe she has grown so quickly right before my eyes, the one year mark feels like it is right around the corner.
It has been the BEST year ever! I have learned a lot, grown as a person and have feel nothing but immense love and appreciation for my daughter (even when she refuses to take a nap lol).
At the same time, I am constantly exhausted, have to be very mindful about scheduling time for self-care and set reminders in my phone for just about everything (yes, mom brain is a real thing)! A vast difference from my life before she was born.
Lessons for New Moms
No matter what stage you are at in your motherhood journey (planning, expecting or a new mom), I hope that this post can help to make your journey a bit easier, less stressful and more pleasant.
If you’re new to my blog, be sure to check out some of my other posts where I share my experiences from before I conceived my daughter, during pregnancy and day-to-day as a new mom. You can find more posts here.
10 Tips for Your 1st Year as a New Mom!
These tips range from simple actionable steps that can make your mommy life easier, to general reminders that will help to keep you sane and energized enough to keep up with your little one.
I hope you find them helpful, and would love to hear from you in the comments about any other tips you would love to share with other moms!
New Mom Tip #1
Always Have Your Baby Bag Packed (and ready to go!)
This is a simple tip that someone shared with me while I was still pregnant. I hadn’t thought much about it before my daughter was born, but this has become one of the most valuable tips that I share with other Moms.
Sometimes you need to leave the house in a hurry or you’re limited for time even when you’ve planned your outing for days. Having a packed baby bag is just one less step you have to worry about.
It also makes it easy to add anything that you need for that day or trip, and leave the house quickly.
I make a habit of unpacking the baby bag when I get home, and the restocking it with clean items right away so that it is always ready and waiting for our next adventure! It helps me save time and energy on days when I just need to leave home quickly.
Check Out our Baby Bag Here:
New Mom Tip #2
Carry Baby Wipes (Everywhere, at all times)
Just as important as it is to leave home with your baby bag, never leave home without wipes. Life with a baby can get messy! and I don’t just mean dirty diapers. Think food spills, spit ups, vomiting, and a range of other messes you will find yourself cleaning up.
On top of wipes for diapers and general messes, I have found that other wipes have come in handy during our first year. Some of my favourites are toy and pacifier disinfectant wipes for when you can’t get to a sink to wash the item for baby.
Those were particularly handy on our first plane ride (read all about it here) with our daughter, when she kept dropping her toys on the floor of the plane.
Disinfectant wipes are also great for surfaces, great for when you’re eating out or on road trips (I share about our first road trip with our daughter here).
New Mom Tip #3
Learn Your Baby’s Hunger and Sleep Cues
There will be a lot of chatter online, in books and from others about when and how your baby should sleep and eat, but ultimately, you will learn and know your baby best. Every baby is unique and may have different wake times, sleep lengths and eating preferences.
What you can do is to learn your baby’s unique sleep and hunger cues. These are signals and signs that indicate that your baby is ready to eat or sleep, and were more helpful than trying to implement any sort of rigid schedule at first. Remember, wake and feeding times are general guidelines, but they aren’t set in stone for every baby.
They will save you a lot of stress and guessing in the first weeks and months about when is the right time to feed or put your baby down for a nap. They will also likely reduce tears from baby from being hungry or overtired.
New Mom Tip #4
Don’t Compare your Baby to Others
If you have read other posts on this blog, you probably know that I say this often – every baby is different!
As a mental health practitioner and someone who has worked in an educational setting for over 9 years, one thing I am sure of is that there are no two children exactly alike. They grow differently, gain weight differently, develop skills differently and learn differently. That is what makes them all so unique and amazing.
For this reason, it is important that you don’t compare your baby to others. This tip will save you a lot of unnecessary stress and worry.
Babies will develop in their own time and at their own pace. Milestones are general guidelines, but are not set in stone. If you do have concerns about your baby’s development, speak with their pediatrician or another reputable source.
Closely related to this tip is try not to think the worse when you do have a concern or question concerning your baby’s development or health. It’s really easy to get caught up searching online and becoming extremely alarmed when we read the worst, without any credible support. Trust the professionals!
New Mom Tip #5
Document, document, document!
The first year goes by sooo fast! Find a way to document their progress. You can even use multiple methods: writing in a baby book, keeping a log on your phone and through photos, to keep track of important memories and development.
Speaking of pictures, be sure to get in some as well, and not to only take solo pics of your baby. You’ll thank me later! It’s very easy to play camera shy because you think you don’t look your greatest (think house clothes and mom bun) but you’ll regret not having those memories with your little one later.
This is great not just as keepsakes and reminders for you and them when they get older, but also to help you keep track of their development in the event that you do want to consult their pediatrician or another source for assistance/ guidance.
New Mom Tip #6
Find a Good Pediatrician (and/or other Reputable Source(s) of Information)
The internet and friends can be great sources of information, but when it comes to topics like your baby’s health, there is no substitute for a reputable and 100% credible source.
Spend time researching and meeting with pediatricians in your area before your baby is born, and pick the one that feels the best to you. Don’t be afraid to ask for referrals and get feedback from other parents.
The same goes for other practitioners that you may bring your baby to over the course of their first year of life.
New Mom Tip #7
Do What Works for You and Your Family
You will likely get a LOT of advice in your first year of motherhood. At times solicited and sometimes not. Some from people you know and some from strangers. Some good and some questionable. The point is, you are the parent and it is up to your to discern what advice you take, and what advice you simply smile and nod at and leave right there.
Don’t let all of the opinions and suggestions stress you out. You don’t have to accept every piece of advice you hear.
Get into the habit of doing your own research, consulting reputable sources and ultimately doing what works for your unique family. I found this particularly applicable to areas like feeding baby, sleep and health.
New Mom Tip #8
Balance Existing Friendships and Make Friends with Other Moms
You may have had a wide range of friends before your baby was born, some of whom you may keep once they arrive and others that you may drift away from. Growth and change are inevitable parts of life, and this is particularly true about friendship. It usually isn’t deliberate, but as priorities and interests change, so do friendships.
Try not to take it personally if some of your friends up and disappear on you or you don’t feel to do some of the same things you did before. Babies can sometimes change the dynamics of friendship. You may no longer be available with no notice or participate in outings you once did, and this may impact some of your social relationships.
However, many friendships will likely survive and even flourish once your baby comes along. That will be a great source of support for you.
One thing I did notice is that I became friends with a few other Moms, likely because we could relate to and learn from each other, and others because our baby’s bonded and we were sort of thrown together by default. Either way, I consider that a bonus that has helped me develop a support network that I can learn from and grow with.
If you find that you don’t feel to interact socially with anyone once your baby is born, this is something that you should speak to your doctor or a mental health practitioner about to see how they may be able to support you.
These make great gifts for friends who are expecting:
New Mom Tip #9
Seek Support (Whether Physical, Mental or Emotional)
Motherhood, especially the first year, can be a very isolating and lonely time for some moms. You may experience extreme feelings you never expected (like depression or anxiety) or feel like you just need some time to yourself to decompress and regain your strength. Don’t feel guilty about how you feel and never be afraid to ask for help.
Whether that means asking a trusted family member or friend to watch the baby so you can get some rest, or take some time for yourself. Self-care (when you can fit it in) is ALWAYS a great idea, for both you and baby. Afterall, a healthy baby needs a healthy mom.
Speak to your Doctor or seek the help of a mental health practitioner if you’re feeling overwhelmed or feel that you need additional support.
Finally, lean on friends or other other sources for grounding – sometimes being around a baby for days straight may make you feel out of touch. No matter how isolating it may feel, you don’t have to feel like you are doing it alone.
New Mom Tip #10
Take Care of YOU! (Sometimes by Force)
It is easy to put yourself on the backburner and prioritize everyone else but yourself, but for your baby’s sake, don’t! Once again, a healthy baby needs a healthy mama. Always keep that line at the forefront of your mind to motivate you to practice self-care.
Set reminders if you have to or keep a journal to encourage you to eat well, stay active and do other things for your mind and body. Massages, beauty routines and taking time to read or listen to a book are all great ways to make a little time for you that doesn’t revolve around the baby.
Also, don’t be so hard on yourself. You’ve just spent nine months growing a life inside of you, and then several more nurturing and taking care of this little person. If you don’t feel 100% you again yet, that’s totally okay. In fact, it’s okay if you never do! After all, you are a completely different person now, you’re a Mom! So worry less about how you look or getting back to being the exact person you were before. Instead, focus on your health and well-being, both for yours and baby’s sake.
For some great self-care ideas, check out this post.
BONUS TIP:
Enjoy your baby as much as possible. They are only small for a short time, and they grow way too quickly!
That wraps up my list of 10 tips for new moms, to help make your first year of motherhood better, less stressful and more pleasant!
Final Thoughts
The first year of motherhood can be overwhelming, but it can also be one of the most joyous and adventurous experiences of your life.
I hope that these tips can offer a little bit of support on your journey as a new Mama, helping to make your experience a little more manageable.
I Would Love to Hear from You
Feel free to reach out to me. I would love to hear from you, to learn a bit more about your experience as an expecting or new mom.
You can leave a comment below to share about tips that were helpful during your first year of motherhood.
