When you first bring your
new bundle home, you think things are going to be easy. You’re filled with
excitement and to begin with, it feels like you’ve got endless amounts of
energy. It doesn’t take long for those feeling to wane, and you start waking up
feeling even more exhausted than when you went to sleep. You’ve got to recover
from childbirth, struggle with breastfeeding and find time for all your usual
chores. Thankfully, there are some tips and tricks to make life easier and more
manageable. Here are some you might find useful.
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Baby Tummy and Gas Issues – baby’s can suffer from painful
gas and digestion issues, and
it can be very upsetting not knowing what to do. Gas drops might help, bicycling
his legs and using a warm pack might also provide some relief. Something else
that’s worth trying is the elbow-to-knee trick. Lie your baby on their back.
Move his right elbow and left knee towards each other and then do the same with
the opposite elbow and knee. Do this a few times until your baby expels some of
the gas that’s causing problems.
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Don’t Let Your Baby Get Over Tired – it’s not unusual for new parents to think their
baby will be able to sleep anywhere, and quite often they do. They also seem to
be able to stay awake for long periods of time and that’s not always good. If
your baby is overtired, they’ll be harder to put to sleep. You can overcome
this by putting your baby down for a nap regularly and not letting them stay
awake for more than 90 minutes at a time.
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Drink Lots of Water – you’re going to need so much more than the average person because you’re nursing. It also helps your
energy levels.
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Make Sure You Eat – when you’ve got a baby attached to your hip, it’s easy to forget
about eating. You also get so wrapped up in providing everything your baby
needs to grow that you forget about looking after yourself. Before your baby
arrives or when someone else is taking care of baby duties, spend some time gathering
together foods that are easy to prepare and eat.
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Don’t Get Stressed About Nursing – nursing your baby isn’t as hard as you think but
you need to be prepared for it to hurt in the beginning. Practice also makes
perfect so persevere even when your nipples are sore, and you feel exhausted. It
can take a few weeks to get into the stride of it but stick with it and don’t
be afraid to ask for help. You should also look at choosing the best breast pump because you don’t have to shoulder all the burden.
One last tip is that having
kids is hard work. No one tells you that in the beginning and it’s all too easy
to feel like you’re a failure when things get too much. You’re going to have
days when it’s a struggle, but these are going to be outweighed by the joy and magical
moments that having kids brings.
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