21 Tips For The Newborn Stage (Your Survival Guide)

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It’s true what they say - the time does go quickly and the newborn phase is fleeting. It’s such a special time with our babies. But - it’s also all about survival, and we need to survive it without breaking down completely or losing our minds. We should be able to enjoy it as mum as we can, which is hard in a society that’s lost its village. See my top quick self care tips here that will come in handy for you during this time. As a mum of 3, I’ve done the newborn phase with colicky babies three times now. Safe to say I’m becoming a pro (even though I think we’re done now haha)! So here are my top 21 ways of getting through the newborn phase to help you get the most out of it:

1. Keep clothing simple and easy - and keep wearing your maternity clothing! Post partum is a tricky time. Your body has just changed again, nothing fits like before, and who knows - you may find your new normal really soon. But for now while you’re healing, just keep it simple. If you can decide on comfortable clothing that you also feel looks good like simple tights and cute baggy sweaters, you’ll strike a really nice balance where you’ll feel good every day.

2. Buy something online that’s new and comfy to wear. You’ve just entered a whole new era of your life, in fact it’s been flipped upside down - and you’re probably feeling like a whole new person. Buy yourself something fresh and new to wear to match that vibe! I love Cotton On Body for their comfy cosy loungewear. Choose a brand you love and invest in a few new pieces. You’ll feel amazing for it.

3. Shower every day (aiming for 6 out of 7 days a week). Make it a priority even if you just have a 2 minute shower. Your body is healing. You’ve got a baby on you 24/7. You’re probably up all night. Having a shower every morning can make you feel like it’s a new beginning and you can tackle another day again a lot easier. Plus those 2 minutes is golden. Personal hygiene is so important so don’t brush it off, your basic needs are important mama!

4. Use zip up jumpsuits. I had 3 colicky babies, so I couldn’t bother with little fussy buttons and things like that. Changes had to be as quick and easy as possible, so I highly recommend opting for zip up jumpsuits like these Bonds Wondercool Zip wondersuits! I definitely had a couple of pieces that were very sweet with little buttons but they weren’t my baby’s main staple pieces.

5. Use Love To Dream swaddles. Oh my gosh. If only I knew about these with my first baby!! They zip up, they’ve got a few different thicknesses you can choose from (called TOG) for colder or warmer weather, and they’re perfect for baby to sleep in because they won’t unravel like the muslin cloth swaddles. Dont get me wrong - muslin cloth swaddles also have their place. But these are just another staple must have.

6. Have breakfast pre-prepared that you can eat one-handed, and snacks readily available. The nights are long with newborns and god knows you need sustenance in the morning - aside from cake or cookies hehe. My partner made me bacon & egg brekky wraps with baking paper around them and put them in the fridge at the beginning of the week, so when I wanted breakfast all I had to do was put it in the sandwich press. So good!! And sometimes it’s just too hard to think about lunch or even just some morning tea and preparing it. I even tried making noodles once but eating them with a newborn is just way too hard. So have Shapes and easy foods like that ready to go. One of my friends even froze a heap of sandwiches which I wish I did!

7. Drink less coffee, opt for tea. Sometimes I found that hit of caffeine from a coffee in the morning would actually have a negative effect because I was so sleep deprived. I’d feel shaky and anxious instead of energised. And I wasn’t going anywhere so why did I need such a big hit? So I went for a nice strong tea Australian afternoon blend. The bergamot in Earl Grey blends like this T2 French Earl Grey blend felt so nourishing to my body too. It was perfect!

8. Make lolly bags or snack packs prepared for the middle of the night. I decided to let go and go with the flow by the time I had my third and wish I did it from the beginning, so at midnight when I knew I wasn’t getting sleep anytime soon, I’d make myself a cup of tea and pick out some lollies and chocolate from the fridge and watch a movie. But it got hard doing it one handed - so I packed some sandwich bags with a variety of lollies and snacks like biscuits and things and my god, it made life way easier!

9. Don’t stress too much about baby sleep things right now. Some people will say it’s good to put your baby on a sleep routine but honestly, their brains don’t start producing melatonin until about 8 weeks of age so seriously don’t stress. Unless you genuinely feel you want to! But for me I just tried to enjoy it and go with it, until things got easier at 10-12 weeks old and then I started all that.

10. Keep the mood up during tough sleep deprivation stages - I loved watching upbeat shows like Love Island and feel good movies. It’s also good to make the room feel light and airy. Maybe even invest in a cute bedside lamp or a new baby light like this Tommee Tippee Penguin adjustable and portable egg night light.

11. Subscribe to all of the streaming platforms and use all the 30-day free trials during these early weeks. Again - you are most likely gonna be up all night unless you have a unicorn baby. As I said I had colicky babies and they only liked sleeping in my arms so I had to stay awake all night. Movies and tv shows were the thing that got me through those long hours between 12am to the morning!

12. Get sleep at the first stretch of the night with your baby. I had bad sleepers, and one thing I learnt from the sleep consultant was that the first sleep of your baby’s night will likely be the longest. So, get ready for bed at 4 or 5pm with a fresh face and pjs on, and when you finally get your baby down (whenever that is), you go to sleep too and get a bit of sleep. For me, that was the longest stretch of sleep I’d get for the rest of the night for months to come.

13. Do shifts with your hubby or partner. Since I had "bad" sleepers or clingy babies, I just had to somehow get more than 1 or 2 hours of sleep a night. Those first weeks, my babies had to slowly trust and get used to their bassinet. It took time for the stretches of sleep to go longer than 30 minutes or an hour. So, in those early weeks I’d stay up until 3am, getting sleep in wherever I could, and my partner would take over and I’d sleep. It’s a tough time because everyone is tired, but that’s just the way it goes sometimes and you do adjust I promise. Plus if he struggles like mine did, you could try sticking it out until 4am which is a little bit of a more normal wake up time for him and you should still get a couple of hours sleep.

14. Invest in a good nursing chair. I actually ended up buying a huge leather recliner chair like this one that was on sale at Harvey Norman at the time. At first it felt extra, but 3 babies later I am so grateful to myself for getting it - because I lived in it! You’ll get nap trapped a lot and when you’re in your comfy nursing chair, you’ll thank me later!

15. Use a baby nappy caddy to set up a station next to your nursing chair. Use one for baby's items but also for yours! You could be stuck in it for hours either feeding or nap trapped, and trust me - you won’t be able to move around easily with a settled, sleeping newborn on you to grab your phone and everything. Have a caddy ready to go with snacks, water, a portable charger, things like that.

16. Let go of the housework and just sleep whenever you manage to get baby down for a nap. It’s hard to let go. And I know that deep in my soul because I had toddlers to clean up after and provide clean clothing for etc. But you just have to delegate to your partner at this stage. Or, let it go. Drop your standards. It won’t be like this forever I promise.

17. Prepare meals ahead of time OR order take away/frozen meals and store it. Like I said before, it can be hard doing anything with a newborn! During these early weeks, it’s so handy to have preprepared meals on the go that you can just throw in the microwave. Things like curries with rice, lasagne, pasta dishes, are all good to freeze. We also had some friends gift us vouchers from The Dinner Ladies which was amazing!

19. Google “the fourth trimester” and “ways to survive the newborn phase” and read reddit articles about it. Blogs are great as well, but this will show you just how many people are also going through this and how NORMAL this time is. Look, you might need help to change some things for sure, but sometimes, it’s just the way the newborn phase is. Sometimes you just need that reassurance, and I found myself reading those posts on repeat especially during the really tough times. So read, reach out, and ask for help when you feel like you need it. This is a crucial time where it gets like that, and it won’t be like that forever. Eg the Australian breastfeeding association hotline is AMAZING.

18. Put one load of washing on a day and don’t overthink it - just throw a heap in. If you and bub have got clean clothes to live in, that will help you feel fresh and nice every day.

20. Get some earpods (cos who wants to deal with messy cords at 3am while holding a newborn) and listen to Audiobooks about babies while you’re in the thick of it. Everyone says you’ll just “figure it out” like we all did. But I tend to disagree. You can help yourself and get some real knowledge around it all by just throwing on your ear pods and listening to some books around babies. In fact something I’ve been doing lately is listening to audiobooks about parenting on the weekends while I’m with my girls a lot and it’s very “parent heavy”, if that makes sense. My top recommendation is The Happiest Baby On The Block by Dr Harvey karp. He’s one of those LA doctors who’s helped lots of celebrities with their babies, and he even coined the term “the fourth trimester”.

21. Have a night routine from day dot. Look I know they say babies are super clean and don’t need baths which is true. But for my own sanity it helped me have something to look forward to every day and gave me some purpose other than sitting around watching tv and feeding my baby. When it got to 6pm, when it had been a super long day, I looked forward to prepping for the long night ahead and giving my baby a special bath and a fresh jumpsuit. Plus, you’re going to be introducing a routine in a few weeks anyway. Why not start right away. I highly recommend this AngelCare Baby bath seat - it makes it SO easy to bath your fragile little bubba! I wish I had it the first time around. 

BONUS TIP: Be so kind and gentle on yourself right now!!

This is such a vulnerable time for both you and your baby. You’re both getting to know each other, your baby is establishing trust with you, your body is healing and rapidly changing again with the drop in hormones. Honestly, go easy on yourself. That can look different for different people, but try to keep asking yourself, “how can I help myself out right now?” And just know that by the time baby is 12 weeks old, most mums will agree that you’ll be out of the woods and things will be so much easier. Sending you SO much love!! 🩷

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