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A NEW BABY: WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE FIRST DAYS AT HOME
The initial few days are very crucial for both the parents and baby after the mother and the baby have been discharged from the hospital. You have just gone through an intense period of physical and mental upsurge with the process of birth as parents. This is all a new experience to you. The new mother will be heavily taxed mentally and bodily. The new father would now have to come to terms with his big responsibility with the addition of the baby. Any advice or suggestion from another person just could not prepare you for it and it will be so much more personal when you go through the experience practically.
You should not entertain many visitors at your home when the mother and the baby comes home because you need to first settle down after the draining process of birth you just faced. Only your own kith and kin and a few near and dear friends should visit the baby. Other acquaintances and members of the extended family can wait for two weeks or so before arriving at your door with gifts, wanting to cuddle the baby.
For new mothers it is important to tap their emotions so that you can keep those creeping “baby blues” in check and not overwhelm you. After the delivery all mothers generally feel sad and out o sync with everything. You should know that your body is under the process of many important changes after your baby is born. There would be less sleep and hormones would be playing their tricks on you. All these are nothing out of the ordinary and give yourself some time to adjust to the new facts. You can also consult your doctor in case you are suspecting an increased depression which is called “postpartum depression.” The symptoms are the following:
• Feeling negligible or zero energy
• Either completely uninterested in your baby or being more than normally worried about your baby.
• Bursting over with depression and sadness yielding to bouts of crying.
• Feeling worthless and guilty.
• Too much of eating and putting on inches or too little eating and losing weight.
• Having to spend sleepless nights or sleeping throughout the day.
If you rule out postpartum depression then you can beat this in a few ways – rest and relax as much as you can. During the baby’s sleeping time, you too go ahead and touch the pillow.
• Give yourself the space and time to recover without too much pushing yourself into “normalcy”. Ask and take the help of your family members to do some bit of housework and so forth.
• Do not spend much time all by yourself – your mind and body should be kept comparatively active like going for short walks in the evening.
• Seek the help of a professional if the depression continues over a long time.
• Seek out other mothers and share their experiences too. Perhaps their stories will reflect your problems too.
Your family would also be adjusting with the new member during the initial days. If the new baby is not your first baby then you will see that the other children might be suffering from envy because the new baby now takes up all your time. To counter this you can involve your other children in the everyday activities and routines of the new baby. having a baby is an overwhelming experience so be lenient with yourself and give yourself the same space as you would extend to any the family member or friend in a similar circumstance.
About the Author: For more information from Samantha Parker about babies, please visit http://www.happiinfants.info
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