I’m putting it out there straight away: when you are a mum of a newborn, you will never, not in a million babies, remember to do all of the things. This is because there are just so many items on the to-do list when you have a fresh baby. Things like:
- Wash the baby
- Feed the baby
- Turn the baby over
Oh, hang on… I think that’s a nursery rhyme about dishes, not my baby to-do list. Did I mention that there’s something called baby brain that makes you type weird stuff like that all the time? Baby brain is an actual thing. During pregnancy we lose grey matter volume in our brains and which can last up to two years (but in my case it has lasted much longer). Combine that with sleep deprivation and all the stress of managing something brand new to our lives, and you can understand why new mums all get a little loopy.
So, when you browse through this slideshow of all the things you are likely to forget to do when you have a newborn, remember this: mums are all united in our forgetfulness. Don’t worry; there are loads of suggestions offered here to help you keep on track. For instance, while it feels impossible to remember all the key immunisation dates for your baby, there’s an app called Save the Date to Vaccinate to help with that. Read on!
Image: Getty
Mums of Newborns Will Forget to Do - AU
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1. Sleep When the Baby Sleeps
Everyone from our granny to the lady at the checkout is telling us to get our sleep when our baby is down. It’s a bit of an eye roll, really, because don’t these women realise that there is so much to be done? If you remember to sleep when the baby sleeps, how are you going to clean, cook, plan and have a minute to yourself?
Remember this: Everything is ten times harder when you’re sleep deprived. Newborns wake continuously all night and mums are awake with them. If you don’t make sleeping during the day a priority, when are you going to catch up? Relax your housekeeping and life planning expectations for the first few months and make sleep your number one priority. Ask friends and family to pitch in to help you stay on top of things. You need this!
Image: Getty
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2. Remember to Book Immunisation Appointments
We know we’ve got to book our baby’s immunisation appointments on time for them to be most effective, but life moves so fast when you’ve got a newborn that it’s hard to keep up with the schedule.
Remember this: There’s an app for that. The NSW Health Save the Date to Vaccinate app will send you reminders when your baby’s immunisations are due. It’s really simple to set up and once you do, you’ll get a personalised immunisation schedule to keep handy as well.
Image: Stacey Clare
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3. Write Down Your Birth Story
It feels like your child’s birth story will be emblazoned on your memory forever, but you may be pleased to know that it will get quite hazy. So many of us forget to write down the details as soon as possible after the birth and before you know it, they are lost to us forever.
Remember this: Carve out a little space to write down everything that happened during your bub’s birth. The sounds, the sights, the, er, smells. Eek. Write it all down because it’s so important. If you can’t make time to write, try dictating your story into your phone while you’re breastfeeding the baby.
Image: Getty
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4. Attend Your First Mother’s Group Meeting
Mothers Groups are a godsend, but remembering to attend the first meeting eludes many of us. It’s usually around the six-week mark and there’s always a lot going on with the baby during that time. So we let it slide. We think, “I’ll just catch up next time…”
Remember this: The first meeting is generally when everyone introduces themselves and shares a little about their pregnancy and birth experiences. If you miss this, you’ll always feel like you didn’t quite connect with the other mums as a group. Ask about the first meeting as soon as you can, put the date in your calendar and make arrangements well in advance.
Image: Getty
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5. Take a Daily, Weekly or Monthly Photo
Isn’t it enough that we feed, bathe, clothe and cuddle these new munchkins of ours? We have to take a photo every day, week or month too?
Remember this: You will most likely regret it if you don’t capture each day (or week, or month – you know what you can commit to!). Our babies grow up so very fast!
Like the NSW Health Save the Date to Vaccinate app (see earlier, “Remember to Book Immunisation Appointments”), another app to make life easier is the 1 Second app. You could take one second of video each day of your baby and the app will do the rest for you.
You could also capture your baby in the same pose month to month like this image from Famille Summerbelle capturing Baby Lucien’s first year. If you were really ambitious, you could create a time lapse video like Frans Hofmeester’s video of his daughter Lotte growing from 0 to 16 years before our very eyes.
Image: Famille Summerbelle
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6. Be in the Moment
There is always, always something to do with a newborn in the house. Between feeding (all the feeding), changing, bathing, settling, cuddling, dressing and staring at them because gosh I made this, there is little time left in the day for just… being with them.
Remember this: Breathe in the moments. Pause to hold your baby skin to skin and just drink them in. The smells, the sounds, the feel of their liquid-soft skin on your own. Do this as often as possible. Forever, if you can.
Image: Getty
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7. Start a Keepsake Box
In the rush to get home from the hospital, settle the bubba in their new cot, unpack your hospital bag and marvel at the fact that there is a real live baby in the house, we often don’t remember to put the birth keepsakes somewhere special. I’m talking about the little hospital bracelet. The first wrap you brought him home in. The name card from the hospital cot.
Remember this: Set aside a large box, drawer or basket to start collecting things into. The hospital keepsakes are just the beginning of a lifetime of memories to treasure. Make sure the box is very, very big.
Image: Getty
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8. Send Out Birth Announcements
It feels a bit old-fashioned to send out a birth card. Didn’t the text message / Facebook update announce the details just fine?
Remember this: Sometimes old-fashioned simply means ‘special’. I still have the birth cards from each of my niece and nephews’ births (not to mention my own kids’ cards). My neighbour has all her grandkids’ cards framed leading down her hallway. People really like birth announcement cards, so it seems a lovely way to make sure your baby is remembered.
Image: Peach Perfect
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9. Register Your Baby’s Birth
We have to register the birth? Doesn’t the hospital do that? Or something?
Remember this: Yep, you have to register your child’s birth with the authority in your State or Territory. Each State/ Territory differs slightly, so check their website for details of exactly what you need to do. Once the birth is registered, you will be issued with your child’s official birth certificate. Click here to find the registry for your State / Territory.
You should also add your baby to your Medicare card. If you do this, your baby will automatically be added to the Australia Immunisation Register.
Image: Getty
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10. Have Your Own Six-Week Check Up
With so many baby appointments to remember (don’t forget to use the Save the Date to Vaccinate app to help with this), we can so easily forget about our own wellbeing.
Remember this: Your body has been through so much to bring your baby into the world. The least you can do is treat it to a six-week check-up with your OB or doctor. You can have your six week check up at the same time your baby receives their six-week immunisations, so book your appointment well in advance.
Image: Getty
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11. Take Time Away From the Baby
Most mums don’t feel like being away from their new baby, not even for a second. The responsibility we feel to our baby is HUGE, plus who really feels like going out anyway?
Remember this: It’s understandable to want to bunker down in the early days, but it still makes sense to take a little bit of time away. We may be new mothers, but we are still our old selves too! You can spend this time with your partner, your friends or just enjoy the luxury of being alone for a while. Taking time to reconnect with yourself away from your baby makes a lot of sense. A leisurely Sunday breakfast at a local café might be just the thing you need.
Image: Getty
