Adjusting to Life with a Newborn

There is no moment more momentous than the moment you and your spouse are released from the hospital with your newborn baby. Your vehicle is all prepared with a properly installed 5-point harness car seat that is rear facing. Your diaper bag is all prepared just in case you have to make a pit stop on the way home for a diaper change. Your home is prepared for the big arrival with the nursery set up. Everything is ready. Are you?

Adjusting to life with a newborn is not something that happens over night. It is a good thing that your precious new baby is so cute because that little face will be waking you up numerous times during the next few months! If you are a first time parent, everything about having a newborn in the home is new. You will have to learn to adjust your schedule to revolve around your baby’s schedule for quite some time. While many books give lots of advice about how to get your baby on a “set schedule,” let us be honest with you and tell you that there is no such thing with a newborn. You will simply have to let that sweet baby take the reigns for a little while, and you will respond with comfort, care, and lots of love.

When your baby cries, you need to pick your baby up and address his or her concerns. The “cry it out” method is never advised for newborn babies, as they are also having to adjust to a brand new world. Babies cry for specific reasons: they are hungry, they need a new diaper, they are in distress or discomfort, or they want to be held. All of these are natural needs for a newborn, and adjusting to life by caring for these needs is demanding, yes, but should not be complicated.

Of course, if you have other children at home and you are adjusting to life (again) with a newborn, there are other changes that will have to be dealt with. Your older child{ren} will be very curious about the new baby and may have times of acting out in order to get attention that s/he now has to share. Having grandparents, aunts, uncles, and close friends help by holding your new baby while you play with the older sibling or vise versa can help ease the adjustment.

At Marietta OB-GYN Affiliates, P.A. we are here for you after your baby is born. If you are finding it more difficult than expected to adjust to life with a new baby because of hormonal reasons, emotional issues, physical issues, or any other reason please contact us. We want your first weeks at home with your precious newborn to be enjoyable.