11 Tips That’ll Help You Survive Life with a Newborn

Whether you’ve just given birth to your first child or your sixth one, the newborn period is challenging. You’re recovering from childbirth (unless your newborn was adopted or birthed by a surrogate) while also dealing with midnight feedings, endless diaper changes, periods of unexplained fussiness, sibling adjustment, etc. You need to cut yourself some slack, mama.

I recently gave birth to my third child. I now have a 4-year-old, a 2-year-old, and a newborn. Each day feels like a marathon where portions of the course are alight with fire. I know this sounds dramatic, but if you’ve been in a similar situation then you know what I’m talking about! Thankfully, after my previous deliveries, I learned some shortcuts that make it easier to survive—and perhaps even thrive a bit—during the newborn weeks. Here are 11 of these shortcuts.

How to survive life with a newborn

• Make freezer meals in advance. If you’ve already had your baby, then it’s obviously too late for this. However, if you are due in the coming weeks, then roll up your sleeves and get cooking! You’ll be tired and busy caring for your newborn, so it will be extremely helpful to have food prepared in advance. If you are not sure how to begin making freezer meals, then check out my posts on Tips for Freezing Casseroles and How to Make 10 Freezer Meals in 3 Hours.
• Use disposable dishes for a time. I hesitate to include this piece of advice because I do try to live in an eco-friendly manner. However, after the births of my second and third child, my family used paper plates and plastic utensils for a few weeks. Doing this really lightened my workload! Because I wasn’t washing as many dishes, I sometimes had a few minutes available to nap or eat a snack in silence. These simple things make a big difference to the mother of a newborn! Don’t use disposable dishes forever, but allow yourself to do so for a time if it will have a significant impact on your quality of life during those first few weeks with the baby.
• Take advantage of online grocery ordering. Many grocery stores now allow customers to order groceries online for curbside pickup or delivery. Some stores offer this service for free, while others charge a small fee for the service. If online grocery ordering is available in your community, then consider taking advantage of it. It’s a great way to save time and energy. Additionally, you don’t have to worry about a bunch of strangers trying to touch your baby or offer unsolicited advice while you shop!
• Have essential supplies available throughout the house. There are certain supplies (diapers, wipes, rash cream, burp cloths, baby lotion, pacifiers, etc.) that you will use several times each day. If you have a large house (especially one with stairs), then you might appreciate having these essential supplies stocked in more than one location. Personally, I get tired of going up and down the stairs so I have a diaper changing area located upstairs in the master bedroom (where our baby spends the night) and another set up downstairs in the living room. Likewise, I have stacks of burp clothes in several locations. Your tired body and frazzled mind will appreciate not having to run around and look for these things when you need them.
• Keep a notepad and pen handy. You may have heard of pregnancy brain, but have you ever heard of mom brain? I’m not sure if this latter condition is a real thing or not, but I certainly feel like I have some memory loss and less ability to focus during the postpartum period (and beyond…I’m pretty sure it never goes away completely). It can be super helpful to write down notes for yourself (you can use a note app on a smartphone for this if a paper and pen seem archaic to you). You may want to write down things you need to order from the grocery store, when the baby nursed last, what time you need to get your toddler up from nap, etc. Let the notepad and pen help keep you on track!
• Establish a routine. If you’ve spent much time around Of The Hearth, then you likely know that I am a huge fan of organization. It won’t surprise you that I think routines are very beneficial for moms and kids. When I discuss routines, I’m not talking about rigid schedules where specific activities occur at particular times; I’m talking about habitual sequences of events that guide you from one activity to the next. A routine might involve doing laundry on a particular day, going to bed at a particular time, and bathing the baby on particular days. Routines help us ease back into the flow of everyday life and provide numerous other benefits.
• Don’t compare yourself or your baby to others. Every mom handles the newborn phase differently and every baby is different. Don’t stress out because your friend’s newborn is sleeping for 6 hours straight at night and your baby isn’t. Don’t stress because your neighbor lost all her baby weight in just 4 weeks and you are still struggling to lose even a few pounds. This sort of comparison is harmful. New moms don’t have the time or energy for it, and we are healthier when we are grateful for what is happening in our own homes and work towards the goals we have for our own families.
• Sleep whenever you can. Sleep is pretty elusive when you have a newborn. People often say to “sleep when the baby sleeps.” This approach sometimes works when you’ve just had your first baby, but it is no longer helpful when you have older kids because someone has to watch those kids while the baby sleeps! Sometimes you just have to get sleep whenever you can. If your husband is able to watch the kids for few minutes, then try to catch a quick nap. If your friend is willing to take your older kids for a couple hours, then sleep a little when the baby naps. If the baby goes down early for bed, then leave the dishes in the sink and go to bed early, too. You get the idea. Watch for and take advantage of any opportunity to get some rest!
• Eat nutritious foods. Once you become a mom, you’re rarely able to eat a meal from start to finish. Your mealtimes become fragmented. First, you’ll be holding a fussy newborn or nursing a hungry newborn while you eat. Later, you’ll be refilling a toddler’s cup and stopping him from throwing food on the floor. Kids always seem to need extra attention when you have a plate of hot food in front of you! You really need to eat because you are recovering from pregnancy/childbirth and producing breastmilk to feed the baby, so make meals and nutritious snacks (dried fruit and nuts, for example) a priority.
• Accept help (and ask for help if no one offers). If people offer to give you a hand, then take them up on their offers. If no one is offering, then ask someone. Call family members, friends, neighbors, fellow church members, etc. and see if someone can help. Many individuals are willing to bring you dinner, do a load of laundry for you, or watch the baby for an hour or two so you can sleep. You aren’t being selfish to accept offers of help or to ask for them if no one is offering. You need this, mama.
• Have grace with yourself. The newborn phase is hard. If someone says that it isn’t then she is either lying or she has so much help that she has no idea what it is like for the rest of us. It’s okay to stay in your PJs all day. Your bathroom doesn’t have to be spick and span. You won’t ruin your family’s health if you feed them a frozen pizza for dinner. Lower your standards a bit (or a lot) and have grace with yourself. You have the rest of your life to dress nicely, clean your house, and make Pinterest-perfect meals for your family; however, your baby will only be a newborn for a short time. Cut yourself some slack. Relax, recover, and take time to appreciate the unique joys of the newborn phase.

Though I’m discussing these shortcuts in the context of the newborn period, many are applicable to other seasons of life. For example, they’re also helpful for families who recently lost a loved one, folks who are suffering from serious illness, etc. Take advantage of them during these challenging times, too!

Have you survived life with a newborn? What shortcuts did you use to make this happen?

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Busy Monday.