Tips For New Mothers

My daughter is now four months old. The past four months have been a roller-coaster ride. New things, new and changing schedule, adjustments, frustration, joys, discoveries, and lots of happiness.

As I look back at these four months, I can think of a few things, which if I was told about them earlier, would have made my life easier. I am sharing those tips here.

• When you prepare your bags for the D-Day, ensure that you pack the following items for yourself:

• Breast pads: Disposable and reusable

• Lots of sanitary napkins

• Feeding bras

• Feeding tops

• Pillows to support during breast feeding

• Ensure that the following items are available for your baby:

• Mosquito net

• Soft cotton cloths big enough to wrap the baby: Use your old cotton odhanies for this.

• Pair of surgical scissors

• Use a pair of surgical scissors that is available in a shop selling surgical equipment to cut your baby's nails. The nail cutter that is available in the market for babies is really not of much use, at least not for new born babies.
• If you are having a baby in the summer months, refrain from the traditional massage that elders insist that a new mother must have. It usually leads to rashes for the mother. Do not give the usual dhuri that's given to babies in those months.
• Use some soothing music to help the baby sleep. It really works.
• If your baby does not sleep on its own and needs to be rocked, switch over to a crib or a rocker/bouncer as soon as possible. If you don't do that, your baby will get used to your rocking him/her always and it will be troublesome later.
• If you are using diapers, once a day, put some antiseptic cream to the diaper area. That will help keep the skin clean and rash-free. Also, change the diapers every three to four hours to avoid rashes.
• Keep small cloths in ample amount to wipe your baby's face after feeding. At around three months, you will also need those cloths to wipe your baby's drool.

I'll keep updating this page as I think of more tips.