5 Things every new parent should be told!
1. You can express colostrum before birth and use it to feed your newborn
Did you know that you can express colostrum from around 36 weeks and keep it frozen in sterile syringe vials? Take the vials with you when you go into labour and use it as a nutrient dense boost for your newborn. Expressed colostrum has traditionally been used for babies who are unable to latch. But it can also be used as an extra feed for newborns particularly on day 2 when mum is still waiting for her milk to come in. Having some extra colostrum can help baby sleep longer and stay satisfied through the night to help you get just a little more sleep. I tried this little trick out when Rainbow Boy was born and it bought us a couple of extra hours sleep.
2. Start using a playlist of soothing music from day one and it will become a magic sleep cue
Music is a wonderful way to soothe newborns, toddlers and children alike. If you start using a soothing playlist in the first few weeks of baby’s life, during wind down time, it will soon become a sleep cue. For example play the same piano lullaby track every time while reading a book before bed. This is an easy way to create familiarity and sleep associations (babies love to be able to predict what is coming next). The soothing playlist becomes particularly useful when you can’t get home to put baby down for a nap or are staying in new environments. The sleep music signifies that it’s to get ready for sleep regardless of where your travels take you.
3. Use a timer!
When your baby is crying it can be really stressful. Often it can feel like they have been crying for hours, when in reality it has only been three minutes. If your baby’s crying is stressing you out, you are doing sleep training, or you are waiting to see if baby will self settle before going into her room, set a timer to help give you a reality check of how long the crying been going on for. I am constantly amazed how much longer it feels than it really is. I also find it useful when rocking baby in the middle of the night in the dark or figuring out how much longer I need to keep patting baby in the cot for. If I don’t have a timer I’ll often count the seconds out in my head!
4. Most babies fight the swaddles, but it doesn’t mean they don’t like it once they are swaddled. Persist.
It is common for new babies to resist being swaddled. But have you ever seen a baby who has surrendered to being swaddled after putting up a major fight? When they are finally wrapped, the most exquisite sigh of relaxation goes through their tiny little body. Most babies do enjoy the snugness of a swaddle wrap even if they resist the act of being swaddled. If you think your baby doesn’t like being swaddled its worth experimenting with a few different variations and (it sounds counter-intuitive) but even try swaddling a little more snugly.
5. White noise will help you sleep
Yes you mamma bear, and the baby too! Newborns make lots of funny noises when they sleep, big grunts and sighs. If your baby is sleeping in the same room as you, chances are you bolt upright at every grunt, convinced baby is about to cry. Not only does this mean you never fully elax to fall into a deep sleep, but your movements can also wake baby up and before you know it a viscous cycle of disturbance occurs. Use some white noise, like rainfall sounds on Spotify to drown out the baby grunts and it will help you to relax and fall asleep. And just maybe keep baby asleep too.