I’m going to be completely honest here, as a parent I have no idea what I’m doing. My son is nine months old and I seriously don’t know how we have managed to survive this long, but I will take that as I am doing something right.
The shitty part about being a new mum is a great deal of the things you need to know in order to raise your baby you literally learn on the go. Unfortunately those cute little suckers don’t come with an instruction manual – which they really should! I mean, come on.
When I was pregnant with my son I read as much as I could so that I had some sort of mental preparation for when he’s here. I took as much advice from new mums as I could because no one speaks more truth than a sleep deprived mother with a care factor of zero. I think it’s time for me to pass on this wisdom to the next new mum as a kind of public service announcement.
So here it is – my gift to the New Mum, love from the Clueless Mum.
Cook in Advance Unless you’re Kim Kardashian and can afford your own personal chef, preparing some dinners and freezing them is an amazing idea. You will thank you past self when you’re tired as hell with little motivation to do anything but you’re starving. Pinterest will be a huge help when it comes to finding recipes that freeze/defrost well.
Pro-tip #1 - Rice goes soggy as hell if you freeze it with some sort of sauce. If you want rice, maybe freeze it separately. I made a creamy chicken dish and mixed the rice in with it all and it was the worst when I reheated it.
Pro-tip #2 – SNACKS! Buy so many snacks because sometimes you will have Twisties for lunch and that’s completely okay.
Yes, your baby needs to eat – BUT SO DO YOU, MUMMA!
Wind And I don’t mean the fast moving air outside. Babies have new tummies, new tummies means sensitivity. My little Ollie had soooo much trouble after every bottle because he couldn’t burp or fart so we were advised to buy ‘wind drops’. My understanding is that it helps bring up all the wind-bubbles in Bubby’s belly by making them one big bubble. After we tried these, Ollie was burping and farting like a trooper – as a parent, bodily gas is very exciting, especially when they’re crying in pain. Here’s a link to the stuff we bought -> Magic Fart Maker.
Obviously consult your GP before you give your baby anything as there is minimum age you can introduce this stuff. It was a life saver and its cheap so even buying some just to have on hand for desperate times won’t hurt!
Poo Catchers. Yep. Nappies. You will see millions of them (and spend millions on them). Tummies aren’t the only thing that’s sensitive for new babies, their skin is too. Unfortunately some babies may react differently to different brands of nappies. My advice is to buy the expensive ones first up because generally the rule is you get what you pay for and you’d hope the expensive nappies would help avoid a rash or reaction. When they get a bit older and their skin has been more exposed to the elements you could probably try different brands, but if you’re like me you’ll stick to what you know.
Pro Tip #3 – You can never have enough baby powder and sudo cream. You can use them for so many things!
Cheap Onesies I know I said you get what you pay for but your baby doesn’t need to be dressed in their Sunday-best when all you’re doing is lazing around at home. Big companies like Best & Less, Big W and Kmart sell $5 onesies that are perfect just for being at home. You can never have too many of these so go crazy!
White Noise I am literally listening to it right now while Ollie is asleep and I listen to it every night. It’s actually got that way where I can’t sleep without it. It helps block out any external noise and Ollie sleeps longer when it’s on. I’m pretty sure you can buy actual machines that make white noise, but we have an app that works perfectly. It’s called SoundSleeper and we use the Vaccum Cleaner option. You can buy the free version but the white noise only lasts 30-minutes – we bought it for something like $8 and it plays continuously.
Like I always say, do what works for you! x
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