Disclaimer: These things worked for us. Your mileage may vary.
Here's some tips for parents of newborns:
- Try to sleep when the baby sleeps. Swaddling helped us tremendously to get our babies to sleep. Velcro swaddlers are super easy.
- If the baby is crying, check if she's hungry, lonely, sleepy, wet, hot/cold, etc. Sometimes she cries for no apparent reason (she could be gassy (most common), over-tired, over-stimulated, cranky, or just blowing off steam after a long day). If you keep trying different things to appease her, either you'll fix the problem, or eventually enough time will pass, and she'll stop crying.
- Practice Dr. Karp's five S's: swaddle, side/stomach position (we didn't use this one), shushing, swinging, and sucking. They work miracles! http://www.babyslumber.com/happiestbaby.html. I recommend getting his book and DVD. A pacifier is also very helpful.
- Get a Boppy. Makes it easier to breast- or bottle-feed, and keeps her at an angle after feeding to reduce likelihood of spit-up. The boppy helped both our babies fall asleep.
- Get a Baby Papasan, rocker, or (big) swing. This will keep some babies occupied for a 1/2 hour or so.
- Get a Baby Bjorne. Easier than a stroller for short jaunts. Babies often fall right asleep in this.
- Take a break! Friends/family will offer to babysit. Take them up on it! You both need a break from the baby and each other to stay sane.
- Get a baby book like "How To Understand Your Baby's Symptoms." Babies do all sorts of alarming things like spit up, throw up, wheeze, gag, cry, etc. The more knowledge of what is normal vs abnormal will help alleviate anxiety.
- Moms should join a "new moms" group (or several). You'll make a ton of new friends who will have a lot in common (to replace the many non-parent friends you'll lose). It's extremely helpful to know that other moms are dealing with the same issues as you, and what worked or didn't. Don't just listen to your parents' advice! :) This new network is also great for organizing babysitting exchanges, organizing play dates, obtaining babysitter/nanny/pediatrician/school/etc. references, barrowing baby gear, tips/advice, etc. etc.
Here's a bunch of stuff that's really handy to have for newborns:
- Pacifier - Sooths the baby and helps them fall asleep.
- Baby Papasan, rocker, or (big) swing
- Boppy
- Microwave sterilizer - If you feel you need to sterilize bottles, nipples, etc.
- Velcro swaddlers - Helps baby fall asleep during the first 3 months.
- Bjorn baby carrier
- Graco MetroLite LE stroller - We've had one for over 2 yrs. Extremely sturdy and has a great storage basket.
- "Happiest Baby on the Block" book
- "Healthy Sleep, Happy Child" book - Both our babies were sleeping through the night at 2 months thanks in part to this book.
- "How To Understand Your Baby's Symptoms" book
- Bumkin bib
- FisherPrice booster seat
