There really is nothing like becoming a new parent. It is a time full of excitement, joy, and unconditional love. For some of us, it is also a time of confusion, exhaustion, and frustration.
I remember how overwhelmed I felt when I first brought my baby home from the hospital. No matter how many books I had read or advice that had come my way, I still felt so unprepared.
That’s OK though, everything turned out fine and I learned as I went along. I really was thankful for all of the advice that people would give. Some of it worked out, some of it didn’t, but as a first time mom I was willing to try anything that might help save my sanity and let me be the best mom that I could be.
I wanted to share some of my sanity savers for new parents that you may not have heard before. I want to give you my six favorite tips for parents with a new baby that really helped me, especially during those long months of colic!
This conversation is sponsored by Luvs at Sam’s Club. All opinions are my own.
Have Different Feeding Essentials on Hand
When I was pregnant, I planned on exclusively breastfeeding my baby. I didn’t think that I would need a breast pump right away since I was staying home with her for the first few months.
Well, that didn’t go as planned. She had a hard time latching on and that first night home from the hospital was so painful since she wouldn’t eat as much as she should.
I needed a breast pump badly so I made my husband find a 24 hour Walmart and go buy one. I really wish that I had just purchased a manual pump to have for situations like that.
Also, no matter how badly you want to breastfeed your child, sometimes it doesn’t work out. I wasn’t able to produce enough milk for her so we had to supplement with formula.
I was so glad that I had bought a small container of formula to have in the house just in case we needed it. I didn’t have to run out to the store with a screaming, hungry baby right at that moment.
Save Money and Time on Diaper Shopping
As many experienced parents know, you don’t have to purchase the most expensive diaper to get great leak protection and to keep your baby dry.
I used Luvs diapers for my baby. Not only did they work just as well as the more expensive brands but they saved me a ton of money in the long run, babies go through so many diapers!
Luvs can save your day because you can order them directly from Sam’s Club online to save even more money! You can snag a limited-time $3 off offer on Luv’s Ginormous boxes at SamsClub.com (not available in-club) and free shipping.
This means you can get high-quality Luvs diapers for as little as 11 cents per diaper without having to leave the house!
Click “Save Time With Subscriptions” and select a frequency for delivery at checkout so you don’t have to worry about running out of diapers. Trust me, you do NOT want to run out of diapers with a newborn!
White Noise Machine
One of the things that really was a sanity saver for us was a white noise machine. It was the only thing that seemed to get our baby to sleep.
It is also great if they wake easily, especially if you have another child in the house. It helps drown out the noise and makes them feel relaxed.
I made sure to have it on all the time when she was feeling sleepy.
Baby Sleeping Sign
Make sure you put a baby sleeping sign on your registry. There is nothing worse than finally getting your little bundle of joy to sleep and then someone knocks loudly or rings the doorbell!
We also have two dogs so anytime this would happen, they would start barking and wake her up right away. I really wish I had seen these when my daughter was born.
I really thought I might hurt the next delivery driver or mail carrier that rang our bell and woke up our baby one more time!
You can easily make one but I found a lot of cute baby sleeping signs already being sold online.
Freezer Cooking
This is such a sanity saver for new parents because you will not have time to cook nutritious meals for your family with a newborn. I thought I would, but quickly learned that it was not possible!
I really wish that I had made some freezer meals in advance so I could just pop one in the oven and be done. We ended up eating a lot of takeout during those first couple of months.
I would recommend making a freezer meal once or twice a week during your last month or two of pregnancy. That way you will have enough home cooked meals to last you for the first two-three months.
I also liked having ingredients for slow cooker meals on hand as well. If you run out of freezer meals, you can just throw everything in the slow cooker in the morning and have the meal ready at the end of the day.
Take Friends & Family Offers
As a new mom, I thought I could do it all. I quickly found out that I was just exhausting myself and not being able to enjoy quality time with my baby.
Don’t be shy about asking friends and family for a little help, most of them would love to offer help of any kind. I had friends that would come by and do laundry or bring over a meal and that helped so much!
If this is your second or third baby, ask if they wouldn’t mind taking the older children for the day so that you can have some one on one time with the new baby or just to nap when your baby does.
Little things like that can really be sanity savers for new parents. It helps take some of the burden off just you when you know that other people have your back.
No matter if you are expecting your first, second, third, or even fourth child, I hope that these sanity savers will help you. I wish I had done more of them with my little girl. I would have felt less stressed and not like I was going to lose my mind some days.
Let us know some sanity savers that you have done or wish you had known about when you had a newborn.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of PG. The opinions and text are all mine.
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