How to Make Life Easier With a Newborn

Having a baby is one surefire way to rock your world. New parenthood is not for the faint of heart! People often talk about how hard it is to have a newborn, but why is it so hard to have a new baby? The truth is, with a new baby everything about your life feels brand new. So on top of learning to take care of a newborn, you’re also learning how to take care of yourself all over again, too. Everything changes – your routines, your relationships, your priorities. But this big life transition doesn’t have to bring you to your knees – let’s talk how to make life easier with a newborn. 

Gather your village

We’re going to be talking about your support system a lot in this post, because there’s no way around it. Raising a baby is hard work, and you absolutely deserve to have help. People have been helping each other raise children since the dawn of time, and just because we have grocery delivery and internet forums doesn’t mean it’s time to stop. You can’t begin to make life easier with a newborn without first accepting that you will need help.

In order to make life easier with a newborn, you have to accept support from others. That doesn’t mean your mother-in-law has to come live with you for three weeks, but it does mean that it’s time to get intentional about the ways your people can help you. Friends, neighbors, co-workers, family, and professionals all play a role in making your life easier as a new parent.

The thing is, you can’t just wing it and hope that people will step up in exactly the ways you need. You might have a few amazing people life that in your life, but it’s truly not the norm. People need to know how they can best support you as a new parent. So get a piece of paper and make alist of your people in one column, and a list of your needs in another (meals, pet care during birth, housecleaning, companionship, arms to hold the baby while you shower, overnight sleep support, etc.). Draw a line from each person to a need they could help you with, and strongly consider professional support for any unmet needs. 

Plan to be well-nourished

You are going to have a baby, and you will most likely be ravenous. And tired. With so many (physical and emotional) feels. This is not the time of life to be standing in front of a stove. There are so many ways to make your life easier with a newborn by planning meals ahead:

• Make and store your own freezer meals
• Organize (or have a friend organize) a meal train
• Purchase a meal delivery service
• Set aside money and menus for takeout delivery
• Save grocery lists and/or order grocery delivery online
• Hire a professional to cook for you

Plan Logistics (bills, subscribe and save household items etc)

Life is difficult with a baby because suddenly you have way less time, sleep, and brain power with a whole lot more responsibility. Think hard on all the ways you mentally manage your life and household – bills, purchasing toilet paper, lawn care, etc. Now think of how to delegate or automate those things as much as possible. Your partner might secretly love mowing the lawn, but if you’re expecting a summer baby it might be wise to temporarily hire a lawn care service. Definitely automate any bills and subscribe and save your regular household purchases, if you don’t do so already. You’ll feel like a rock star when you realize one month into parenthood that the systems you’ve put in place are working, and your household is running smoothly even though its newest little member is intent on bringing chaos to your routine. 

Set up postpartum healing products in advance

If your baby is coming into your life via you or your partner’s pregnancy, please don’t underestimate your own healing needs. No matter how your birth unfolds, you will have some degree of physical discomfort postpartum. Don’t just buy maternity pads and chuck them under the bathroom sink. In your final week of pregnancy, unpack those puppies and set them up within reach of the toilet. Your sore abs will thank you in due time. 

While you’ll end up getting a fair amount of postpartum products at the hospital (maternity pads, peri bottle, mesh undies, Tucks pads etc), it doesn’t hurt to set up a little caddy with your own products ahead of time. Consider making and freezing padsicles or blending sitz bath herbs. Set aside postpartum tea mixes with written instructions on how to prepare them. You’ll feel so loved when you shuffle through the front door 2 days postpartum and know you have everything you need to feel comfortable and nourished. 

Pack a back-up diaper bag for the car 

You will have a new baby, and you will forget things. Go ahead and pack a bag of essentials for the car while you’re pregnant, and see if you don’t need to reach for it on the way to your first pediatrician appointment. What are the essentials, you ask?

• Backup newborn clothes (one-piece pj’s with footies covers all bases, onesies for hot weather)
• 5 or so diapers and pack of wipes
• Burp cloths
• Maternity pads
• Breast pads
• Bottle of water + easy snacks (granola bar, trail mix)
• Muslin swaddle blanket (highly versatile: impromptu diaper changing station, sun shade, nursing cover, burp cloth, actual swaddle blanket)

After your baby is born you might discover you have other essentials, like pacifiers or nipple shields. Update your emergency diaper bag accordingly as soon as you can. 

Set up 2+ postpartum “nests”

People often wonder what their first weeks of life with a baby will look like. They might imagine stroller walks, movie nights while nursing the baby, and afternoons organizing the nursery while the baby naps. While all of these things are totally possible, the truth is that most of the time you will be sitting/reclining/laying down with a tiny creature who takes up to 45 minutes to finish a single feeding. Therefore, you need nests. 

A postpartum nest is a comfy spot you’ve intentionally set up to relax and care for your baby. You’ll want a few things within reach of your nest:

• Water bottle
• Phone + charger
• Burp cloths
• Entertainment i.e. book, e-reader, TV remote, notebook etc. 

You might also want to have a few diapers and wipes within reach for quick changes, too. If breastfeeding, you will want a few extras like a nursing pillow, Haaka, and nipple cream. Set theses items up in a basket by your favorite rocker or spot on the couch, and another by your bedside. There is nothing more infuriating than being frozen in place by a newborn who finally latched well while everything you need is just out of reach.

Rest

Having a baby is hard work, and it takes its toll physically, mentally, and emotionally. To combat this you absolutely need more rest. Sleep deprivation and new parenthood do not have to go hand in hand, and truly it’s one of the most dangerous times of life to be sleep deprived. The point of all of the above recommendations on how to make life easier with a newborn is so that you can rest more often. You can pop a freezer meal in the oven instead of spending 30 minutes cooking. You know all of your household logistics are taken care of, so you don’t have to run through a long mental list before you fall asleep. You’ve planned shifts where close friends and family can come and do the dishes and hold the baby while you shower. You’ve hired overnight sleep support so you aren’t up all night in the dark, soothing your newborn. 

So now that you’ve got support and logistics in place, you’re going to rest! One thing some parents struggle with isn’t the planning, but actually relaxing once they land in postpartum zone. It’s a major change of pace to go from working 40+ hours a week to weeks on end of repetitive baby care around the clock. It’s so important to physically and mentally rest as much as possible, so you can heal and integrate. Letting go of perfectionism and letting other people take care of you are the two essential ways to do this. Learning how to make life easier with a newborn takes thoughtful planning, but it also takes intentionally receiving support and letting some things go. This is the give and take of parenthood, and with a healthy balance you’ll be well on your way to a sweet, smoother postpartum experience with your newborn.