Advice I Wish Someone Would Have Given Me as a First Time Mom
Motherhood can feel overwhelming. Being a new mom and taking care of a newborn baby comes with a large learning curve. You don’t know what questions to ask until your in the thick of it. You don’t know what you don’t know! Here are some things I experienced as a first time mom that you probably won’t learn in a baby prep course. Some lessons I had to figure out myself and other advice was given to me from other experienced moms that I’m so grateful for and want to pass on to you.
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Advice for first time moms
Don’t just prepare for baby, prepare for life with a baby. Most first time moms focus on baby gear and packing their hospital bag, but what about newborn care, postpartum recovery, and creating a support network? Birth is just a small part of bringing a baby into this world. We need to do a better job of preparing new moms for the realities of caring for a baby! That’s exactly why I created my baby prep course.
Breastfeeding is natural but it’s not easy. It’s a miracle that your body can produce breastmilk and knows exactly what to do. However, it is definitely not intuitive. It’s going to be a learning curve for both you and baby!
Create a simple efficient system for storing breast milk. Unorganized milk will just add to your already heavy mental load in the early weeks postpartum. Don’t add to the stress! Learn a simple system before baby arrives, like the Pitcher Method, so you know exactly what to do once baby is here.
When you have a let down during a breastfeeding session, the let down happens on both sides. This means that while you are feeding your baby on one side, you will also have breastmilk come out the other side initially (this is your let down). Catch that let-down! I built up a healthy freezer stash solely from collecting the let down on the opposite side I was feeding. If you don’t catch it it’s basically wasted milk. You can catch your let down with the Haakaa or Elvie Curve.
Breastfeeding hunger is intense - way more intense that pregnancy hunger! It also makes you so thirsty. Be sure to stock up on healthy snacks and keep a water bottle at your feeding station in your nursery. Want to be sure you have all the essentials set up and ready when baby arrives? Grab my free nursery design and organization guide to help ensure you have everything you need to feed baby and create a functional nursery layout that makes newborn care easier. The guide also includes what to keep in baby’s sleeping and diapering areas, and smart nursery organization tips!
Emotional ups and downs postpartum are normal. Estrogen and progesterone, which are at all time highs during your pregnancy, suddenly crash after baby is born. Oxytocin increases, which helps the uterus contract and prevent excess postpartum bleeding, and prolactin increases, which helps your body produce breastmilk. All of these hormones can leave you feeling all sorts of ways. Know that it is completely normal to feel anxious or overwhelmed, to cry or have mood swings. Give yourself a lot of grace and ask for help when you need it.
Newborns are active and very noisy sleepers. I remember wondering if we brought home a baby or a zoo! Just because you hear your baby making noises does not mean he or she is awake. Try to keep yourself from picking them up and waking them during the night unless they are crying or it’s time to feed. Read this for more on what to expect for newborn sleep.
It’s okay to accept help. When your friends and family offer you help, they really do want to help you! It’s true that it takes a village to raise a baby, and postpartum is hard. Give yourself permission to ask for help, and to accept the help without guilt or shame.
Make time for yourself. It’s not selfish. You can’t pour from an empty cup. It doesn’t have to be anything big; take time for a hot shower or sip your coffee in the morning sun while baby takes their morning nap. Though the moments might seem short or few and far between, take and enjoy them when you can.
It’s okay to cry over spilled milk, but have perspective. It’s just milk, mama. As long as you and your baby are safe and healthy and happy (most of the time), you’re doing a great job and life is good.
YOU WERE MADE TO BE YOUR BABY’S MAMA. God chose you for this baby, and chose your baby for you. No one knows what your baby needs better than you do. Know that even if you have some bad moments, in the eyes of your baby, no one does it better that you.
Want to know how to create ultimate clarity, confidence, and ease as a first time mom? Preparing for baby and postpartum. Most first-time moms feel overwhelmed because they focus on baby gear and childbirth, but not the day-to-day reality of life after baby arrives. Check out the Baby Prep Blueprint, where we’ll be diving into how to truly prepare for life with a newborn, not just childbirth, how to approach breastfeeding and pumping with confidence, and how to create a stress-free, functional environment that supports you in the early weeks postpartum. You won’t want to miss it!
