Best Newborn Hacks for First Time Parents
Learn how to parent like a pro with newborn tips for diapers, sleep time and feeding.
Being a first-time parent is literally life-changing. And while many of those life changes are wonderful and sweet, some can be challenging. Its only normal for the first few weeks at home with your baby to feel a bit overwhelming. You’re running on little sleep and everything seems like a learning curve. This may be the craziest ride of your life, so here are some newborn hacks to help make this stage go a bit smoother for you and baby (leaving more time for all those sweet newborn cuddles).
Diaper Duty
Layer diapers.
You already know newborns poop…a LOT. And somehow, despite your best efforts, changes can get messy. To minimize mess and the need for yet another slippery bath, place a fresh new diaper underneath your baby before you even open the dirty one. That way, once you’re done with clean up, you can slide out the soiled diaper and immediately tape up the fresh new one! There’s still a potential for mess, but this prevents grappling around for a fresh diaper with one hand while holding baby still with the other.
Use those onesie shoulder flaps!
Did you ever wonder what those shoulder flaps were on baby onesies? Well, your mind is about to be blown. You can fold those flaps out to create a larger opening in case of blowouts (that term is self-explanatory, right?) to allow you to pull your baby’s onesie off from the bottom, instead of needing to pull a dirty onesie over their heads!
Avoid the tinkle.
If you have a baby boy, chances are, you’re going to get peed on at least once. To minimize these less-than-fun surprises, there are a couple of things you can do:
1) Use a
Pee-pee Teepee—a mini wizard hat-looking device—that you can place on your baby boy’s parts to keep the spray at bay! It’s washable and reusable and soaks up some of the wetness, minimizing mess.
2) Or, simply place a baby wipe on top of his diaper area while you’re wiping him down. That way, if he does decide to “go” while you’re changing him, it’ll at least get caught by the wipe!
Try a wipe warmers & wipe holder.
This hack varies by baby: some babies are really sensitive to cold and may squirm and cry if a cold baby wipe touches them during diaper changes. So, for some babies, a wipe warmer can truly be a game changer (despite looking like another gimmicky product). Another great product is a weighted wipe holder like the Oxo Tot Perfect Pull. It ensures that when you go for one wipe, you’re not pulling out a hundred like a magician pulling scarves out of a sleeve!
Use liniment cream.
Did you know that the French traditionally don’t use baby wipes? They use a cream called liniment cream and either a cloth or dry wipe to clean little baby bums, which is better at preventing diaper rash because it eliminates wetness. The cream is usually made with olive oil, and after cleaning baby with the liniment cream, the oil leaves a protective barrier on baby’s skin for in between diaper changes and helps to prevent diaper rash! Using liniment cream is also helpful when your newborn has their first meconium poops that can be really sticky and tar-like.
Try a diaper cream wand.
If you have a little one who is extra prone to diaper rash, I highly recommend a diaper cream wand! It looks like a little rubber spatula, but it makes spreading diaper cream on your baby really easy. Then, won’t need to scrub the water-resistant cream from under your nails and off of your hands after! (Helpful for on-the-go applications.)
Sleepy Time
Skip the traditional swaddle.
Swaddling is a life-saver when your little one is a newborn. The snugness replicates the womb and makes them feel safe and secure. It also eases them to sleep by inhibiting their startle reflex (the Moro reflex). However, it’s no fun doing baby origami when you’re sleep deprived and your baby is fussing. Zip-up swaddles will save you time and your sanity. An excellent choice of zip-up swaddle is the Love to Dream Swaddle. This version has “arms” to allow your baby to move their hands up to their mouths.
In the womb, you baby was able to bring their hands up to their mouths to practice sucking and for comfort. This swaddle mimics the womb in this way instead of straight-jacketing your baby using traditional swaddle methods (which they somehow still escape).
Use zip-up pajamas.
Button up pajamas may be cute, but not when you’re doing a middle of the night diaper change. It’ll feel like you’re fumbling with a hundred buttons when you’re trying to be quick (so she can hopefully keep sleeping). Zippered pajamas will get the job done quick and easy—they zip from neck to toe!
Start a nighttime routine.
It’s not too early to start a nighttime routine! A routine calms your baby and lets her know it is time to sleep. A typical nighttime routine might consist of a warm bath, lotion, pajamas, and a book.
(Yes, you can read your newborn a book—she’ll love listening to the rhythmic sound of your voice!)
Get a white noise machine.
For the first few days, newborns can sleep through almost anything. But the older they get, the more sensitive they’ll grow to noises that can wake them up. Getting a white noise machine helps to block out all the other noises going on in the house and allows baby to keep snoozing.
Follow “Wake Times” and “Sleepy Cues.”
Babies have a certain amount of awake time they can typically handle based off of their age. For example, a newborn until about 6 weeks old should only be awake for about 45-60 minutes at a time. Anything longer than this, and they can get overtired, overstimulated, and hard to calm down.
However, every baby is different, so follow your baby’s sleepy cues. Sometimes they can be tired before their typical wake time is up. Sleepy cues include things like rubbing eyes, yawning, and a disinterest in toys or looking at faces. Don’t wait until your baby is crying because that means they are
very tired.
It can be hard to keep up with your baby’s wake and sleep cycle, so a useful tool to keep track is the
HuckleBerry App. You can enter the time your baby fell asleep and when they woke up. Then, based off of that time, it will tell you when you should put baby down for their next nap taking into consideration age and how many naps a day they usually take.
Get a nightlight.
Having a nightlight or dimmable light in your room/baby’s room will be really useful during those middle-of-the-night feedings. An adjustable dimmable light, like a soothing salt lamp can be handy especially if you need to do a middle of the night diaper change. You can brighten it enough to see what you’re doing while maintaining the calm and dark atmosphere so as not to fully waken baby.
Feeding Time
Do the Haakaa
If you decide to breastfeed, a useful item to have on hand is called the Haakaa. When establishing your milk supply, leaks can happen during feeding sessions. The haakaa is a milk catching device that collects the milk that leaks from the non-nursing side.
Need More Tips?
Having a newborn baby is a lot of work. And if you’re a new parent, it can take a while to get into a groove. However, newborns can be fairly easy as long as you give them what they need
when they need it. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. The Newborn Lady is now offering online newborn consultations. Learn more and sign up
here.
Atwell Acres, LLC