Top tips for a new baby with Graco

I'm the first to admit that having a baby has often left me feeling overwhelmed, even third time around! It is such a huge change and I always seem to underestimate the impact that having a newborn can have. Graco put together a great list of to tips with parenting expert Sarah Renshaw from BabyCentre, to help make the early days a little easier.

1. Manage your expectations

- You will be feeding a lot, whether breast or bottle. Newborns feed around the clock in the early weeks and months, something which took me by surprise when I had my eldest!

- You won’t eat a hot meal for a while – feeding, winding, playing and sleeping will pretty much take up all of your time! Batch cooking and freezing in advance is a great tip, ask visitors to bring a meal for you, or just get someone else to do the cooking.
- You will feel vulnerable – but this will pass. Whatever your expectations are, lower them. Remember to look after yourself.

2. Bonding with your baby

- Skin to skin contact is really important, make sure you and your partner both get plenty of skin to skin contact. Your smell will be really comforting to baby.
- Your baby will have got used to your voice in the womb, be sure to talk and sing to your baby regularly to keep up this bond. Essie's favourite is Five Little Ducks!
- Pick up on their cues. Parenting doesn’t come with a manual and each baby is different. You will learn what each sound and movement means as your baby develops.
- Newborns love looking at your face and mimicking your expressions. Try sticking your tongue out to see if baby copies!
- All babies reach milestones at different times, whether it’s responding to sounds, lifting their head, staring at faces, following objects, smiling and more! You will always meet mums whose baby did everything better and faster than yours, but that's fine. Also, if your baby was premature, remember to use adjusted age guidelines. If you are really worried, speak to your health visitor.

3. Sleeping, feeding, routine

- Baby will sleep for 16-17 hours a day in the first week, and will feed between 8 and 15 times a day. After the first week or two, this will decrease to 6-8 times a day. Breastfed babies may feed more often. On day one, your baby’s stomach is the size of a hazelnut. By 14 days it’s the size of an egg!
- Between 6-8 weeks baby may get into more of a settled pattern, however this rule isn’t hard and fast and it may take you a few weeks to notice.

4. Tips for the first few months

- It’s normal to worry – the most common questions on the BabyCentre website are about skin conditions and baby poo! It’s normal to worry, but you’ll find you relax as your baby develops and you get to know each other. If you are really worried, see your GP/midwife/health visitor.
- Get prepared. Before baby arrives, set up an online shopping account. Netflix and Amazon Prime are also good subscriptions for new parents! Most of these subscriptions have free trial periods. Be sure to write down your login and password somewhere!
- Practice getting the car seat in / out of car, collapsing the pushchair / travel system, fitting car seat to pushchair and removing it. Blogs and YouTube videos are great if you ever get stuck with a particular feature!
- Get a nightlight or bedside light with a dimmer switch for night time feeds.

- Keep a small screwdriver in house – musical mobiles, white noise toys etc all require a screwdriver to get into them! And stock up on the batteries you might need for toys.

- Find your local breastfeeding support group and pop along, so if you do need help you know where to go. Take your time and be patient.

- Contact baby groups near you to check if there is a wait list. Arrange to see friends and visit your local children's centre.

- If you think you are going to go back to work – research nurseries /childminders early – some have a waiting list.

- Depending on your birth, leaving the house and going for a walk with your newborn may feel like a huge obstacle but you will come back with an enormous sense of achievement and pride.

- Have your changing bag ready and stocked to leave the house, apart from the obvious things like nappies / wipes, some other items that may be useful are things like breast pads, a few freezer / zip lock bags for any messy baby clothes.

Graco have a great range of products to help in those early days and beyond which they shared at their Baby Bootcamp event last week. One of these is their Move With Me baby swing which is suitable from birth to around 9 months. Graco were the original creators of baby swings, and their latest model is a high performance, ultra compact swing that can be moved from room to room with ease. It features a five-speed side-to-side swaying motion, plus the choice of 10 musical melodies or 5 soothing sounds, and conveniently can be powered by mains or batteries. It sounds like just the sort of thing Essie would love, particularly in the early evenings before I take her up to bed with me!

Then there is the Graco Evo family of pushchairs are compatible with their SnugRide i-Size car seat to create a comfortable and convenient 3-in-1 travel system, from birth and babyhood, right through to toddlerhood! I have the Evo Avant pushchair and SnugRide i-Size and will be sharing my review soon, so keep an eye out if you'd like to know more!

What are your top tips for a new baby?

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This post has been written as part of my sponsored partnership with Graco