Your Baby is here! After many months of waiting, you hold it in your arms for the first time and feel its small body on you. In this indescribable moment everything changes. All of a sudden you are a small family or an even bigger one and everything feels new and exciting. We would like to explain what is particularly important for the first days and weeks after the birth in this blog post, which we wrote together with Steffi and Janine from Hey Wow Mom.
Time and rest are the most important things now
Give yourself and your baby enough time in the first days and weeks after birth to settle into this new life. There is nothing more important these days than enough rest and closeness for both of you. Above all, your body needs this time - for its healing and regeneration. The recovery processes are running at full speed and the hormonal and emotional attitude to this new little miracle in your life will also be clearly noticeable. You will feel completely open and sensitive and you will feel things that you may not have thought were possible before. Your midwife will be your ideal companion here.
Take this time for yourself. Stay in bed as much as possible and push all to-do's and appointments into the background or plan while you are still pregnant who can support you and take things off your hands. Enjoy togetherness and these intimate, comforting moments of arriving together, cuddling and falling in love. Your:e partner can also be very active here - withdraw together or treat yourself to sleep while the two get to know each other undisturbed.
It is important that you pay attention to yourself and your needs. Listen to yourself - what do you need? Often new moms tend to forget themselves in the midst of all the baby care. Take time for yourself, create small islands where it's all about you and your well-being.
Equally important: You are not alone. Get help for all the things that need to be done around the house - cooking, cleaning, tidying up - other people can do all of this for you. Whether it's your partner, family, friends or help from a maternity nurse, for example: there are many wonderful options for your support.
Make yourself comfortable!
It is best to think about what is particularly important to you for the first time after the birth while you are still pregnant. It is ideal if your partner can take time off at first so that you can start life together as a new family, learn together how best to keep an eye on all needs and how to get as much support as you can possible.
Since you will be spending most of the time at home, you can make this place your oasis of well-being! The focus here is on the bed. Choose your favorite bed linen in advance and put all the things on your bedside table that you want to have to hand when you go to bed. Above all, there should be space for a large drinking bottle, snacks and products for your wound healing and well-being.
Prepare for breastfeeding too. Even if you don't necessarily have to buy every conceivable tool, it helps to at least deal with the topic mentally so that you know in advance eats what to expect, what is important and, above all, you already know the best possible positions for your baby to latch onto. This will make your start a lot easier.
Another tip: Take your time before inviting guests and arrive as a family. As I said: time and rest are the most important things now. Make this your top priority and honestly ask yourself who is doing you good and is happy to support you.
The first few weeks are a particularly formative time for you and your family, which is accompanied by just as much pure happiness and joy, but also uncertainties and questions. The more you take care of yourself and consciously engage in this time and create space to enjoy it, the more intensely and beautifully you and your family will experience it!
Author: Jane-Lee Fromm
