5 Tips for Surviving Baby’s First Year from Experienced Moms

*This post is sponsored by Church & Dwight. All opinions are our own.

Being a new mom can be overwhelming, especially during your baby’s first year! Don’t worry, though, we’re here to help with these five tips for first-time moms from an experienced mom!

Being a new mom can be overwhelming, especially during your baby's first year! Don't worry, though, we're here to help with these five tips for first-time moms from an experienced mom!

From post-partum recovery, adjusting to a new sleep schedule (or lack thereof!) to learning to recognize your baby’s cries and wants, the first year is a struggle for even the strongest of women. To help make baby’s first year a memorable one for you and baby, we partnered with Church & Dwight to bring you five must-know tips to get you through the first milestones with ease!

5 Tips to Surviving Your Baby’s First Year

1. Take a Postnatal Vitamin

Feel like you’re walking around in a constant state of exhaustion? You’re not alone! Most new moms feel that way, too! Eating well can be tough when caring for a newborn, so taking a postnatal vitamin can fill in any nutritional gaps and help give you and baby what you need when nursing. First Response Prenatal & Postnatal Gummy Multivitamins are a go-to. They come in an easy to take gummy format – perfect for pregnancy and beyond to provide calcium, and other essential nutrients, like B vitamins and folate.

Being a new mom can be overwhelming, especially during your baby's first year! Don't worry, though, we're here to help with these five tips for first-time moms from an experienced mom!

2. Recognize and Treat a Gassy Tummy

Babies can be quite gassy, passing gas more than 20 times a day! With plenty of opportunity to swallow air whenever they feed, or suck on a pacifier and cry, it can be challenging to prevent gas buildup. But keeping the baby’s head higher than its stomach when feeding, and burping them often can help minimize it. Using a slow flow nipple if bottle feeding or working it out through a gentle massage also works, but in a pinch, try Ovol Drops. They provide gentle and fast relief of colic, bloating or gas by helping to break up gas bubbles that causes the discomfort. You should only use Ovol Drops on the advice of a doctor.

 

3. Baby’s first tooth? Ensure a good sleep for you and baby

Did you know that babies can start teething as early as 3 months? It’s true! My son was an early teether, which was a HUGE surprise because he was a preemie. Teething causes discomfort and disrupted sleep for both mom and baby. A trick I swear by is Baby Orajel Homeopathic Teething Gel. With the soothing power of Chamomile, this teething gel offers safe, effective and naturally-derived medicinal ingredients for your baby to treat you both to a full night’s rest.

4. Give new moms the support they need

Being exhausted and a teething or gassy baby are all things new moms struggle with but don’t mind admitting to or talking about, but what about those unspoken issues that you’d rather keep to yourself, things like, um, postpartum hemorrhoids?

Did you know that around 25 per cent of women who develop hemorrhoids after giving birth still have them at six months postpartum[1]? Although it may be embarrassing, that doesn’t mean that you should suffer in silence since there are things you can do to help you relieve the symptoms.

TIP: Try applying an ice pack (with a soft covering) to the affected area several times a day or soak your bottom for 10 to 15 minutes in a warm and relaxing bath to decrease swelling and discomfort. You can also try an over-the-counter medication such as Anusol Plus* ointment or suppositories to soothe and ease the burning sensation, and help reduce the swelling of hemorrhoid tissue. Anusol Plus* even has an anesthetic to help provide that extra pain relief over other over-the-counter treatments. It’s important to note that you should always consult your doctor or pharmacist before using Anusol products. Moms must unite, so next time you meet a new mom, don’t be afraid to have those real conversations and share some of these tips – I’m sure they’ll thank you for it.

5. Give yourself some “me” time!

It’s hard during your baby’s first year to find time to take a shower, let alone schedule in a whole afternoon of “me” time. You don’t have to go to a fancy spa or leave your baby with a sitter to give yourself a little break, though. Steal little moments throughout the day and treat yourself to something special. It takes less than five minutes to order yourself some flowers or a divine new pillow to help you make the most of the sleep you are getting. While everyone says you should sleep when your baby sleeps, you could also load up the DVR and spend one hour a day (42 minutes if you fast-forward commercials!) catching up on your favorite guilty pleasure. “Me time” doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated, it just has to make you happy!

Most of all, enjoy all the milestones that come along with baby’s first year. Yes, it’s definitely a challenging year. You’ll be frazzled and tired most of the time, but make sure you take a moment each night to reflect on the wondrous joys of being a new mom.

What advice can you offer new moms to help make baby’s first year a little less stressful? Tell us below

 

*Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before use

17 thoughts on “5 Tips for Surviving Baby’s First Year from Experienced Moms”

  1. It was really hard to get me time with both of my kids. It was either I was working (I guess that could be called me time) Or I was taking care of the kiddos. Especially their first year.

  2. When I had my first child, I felt so alone because my family wasn’t here. I thought for sure I was going to lose it lol. These are great tips.

  3. i used to be up and down a thousand times a night until I was introduced to baby sleeping miracle! IT has worked wonders full night sleep every night 100% money back guarantee that’s the only reason i gave it a shot and i am telling you IT WORKS!! https://tinyurl.com/y7x46hfm Give it a shot you will be so happy you did!!! im only sharing this because it might actually help some one in need

  4. Giving support to a new mom without being intrusive is invaluable to them. No kids of my own yet but I am always there for friends and family of a new baby.

  5. I remember the first time someone looked after my son so I could go get my hair done and relax, it was amazing! Definitely recommend getting some me timme or you just start to go crazy. I was so lucky with my son though I didn’t have any of the other issues, even when he was teething it didn’t bother him

  6. BohemianBabushka

    GREAT advice. Babushka is now a grandmother of 6, and the only trick that still works wonders are lullabies and rocking babies. Yeap, there’s a reason they’re still being done. BB2U

  7. Always great to receive tips from experienced moms. Letting people help with anything and giving yourself me time are the two very important ones for new moms.

  8. Heather @ Kraus House Mom

    The best advice is to not to be hard on yourself. No one knows what they;’re doing at first and no two babies are the same. I had three and they were all very different. Oh and always, always go with your gut…you know what your baby needs.

  9. Great tips! For me it was so important to remind myself to trust myself. Family and friends are quick to offer advice and it can be overwhelming but we have to trust ourselves and develop a parenting style that is ours and ours alone. Most of all, enjoy this time. They grow up so fast.

  10. Baby Orajel was a lifesaver when my kids were teething. I always tell new moms to nap when the baby naps if at all possible in order to catch up on sleep.

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