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5 Tips For New Moms You Might Not Have Heard
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Hemorrhoid pads are your friend
Even if you don’t have hemorrhoids. They’re cooling pads (more like wipes cut in circle shapes) that come in little tubs. Get some, trust me. Line that giant pad you’re stuck wearing after giving birth with two or three of these babies. They’ll feel very cold against your skin at first, but oh so soothing. They also help stop those pads from sticking to your delicate down there skin. You’ll thank me later new moms.
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Night lights aren’t just for kids
When you have a newborn waking every 2-3 hours a night, getting them back to sleep after nursing / diaper changing becomes priority numero uno so you can get as much sleep as possible, so turning on lights can be counterproductive. But you also need to see what you are doing, which is where night lights come in handy. When Sienna was itty bitty, I had a nightlight in every room. If she needed a butt change, I didn’t need to turn any big lights on. If she was crying and I was walking around the house carrying her or holding her in the living room, I could walk from room to room without turning on any additional lights.
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Burp cloths everywhere
And when I say everywhere, I mean EVERYWHERE. I kept one next to the bassinet / our bed for nighttime, multiples in the living room where we spent most of the day so I didn’t have to walk too far to grab one in times of great mess, one hanging over the changing table because laying down for a butt change seemed to induce spit up, and pretty much everywhere else we might go at some point. I frequently walked around the house with one on my shoulder, even when not holding a baby, just because I was so used to having one with me. Believe me, having one within arms reach can mean the difference between a small mess clean up and a HUGE mess clean up. A plethora of these are a must for all new moms.
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Heating pad in crib / bassinet
If your baby is still at that age where you’re rocking them to sleep and putting them in their bed completely knocked out, this tip might be helpful. Sienna would notice the moment I set her down because her bassinet wasn’t quite as warm as my arms. I started putting a heating pad in her bassinet for a few minutes and taking it out right before I placed her in it. Boom. Still sleeping baby.
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Make some noise during nap time
This doesn’t sound like a helpful tip, but in the long run, it’s worth it. You don’t want your little one adjusting to extreme quiet during naps; you want them to learn to sleep through noises. Don’t hesitate to do the dishes, vacuum, watch television, whatever you need to do. Some babies may wake up at first, but they should adjust. We started this when Sienna was itty bitty and was already sleeping through everything, and she is still very good about sleeping through most noises to this day.
