Your baby will be here soon. The anticipation of meeting your little one will finally be over! After all the preparation and hard work of pregnancy and labour, it is time to take on a new part of your life as a mummy. You may have accomplished weeks, months, or even years of research into motherhood. However, there is always something new to learn. Here at Babycare TENS we reached out to some new mummies and asked them to share their pearls of wisdom. Here are the top 9 things they shared that every new mummy should know once baby is born.

1. Nap when baby naps

This is not an understatement – YOU WILL BE EXHAUSTED, make sure you are optimising your sleep time. Baby will want to feed every hour or two; this can be every tiring especially if you are breast feeding. Many mums lean on to baby’s nap time to get ahead of chores but sleep needs to be a priority, the less sleep deprived you are the more alert you will be with baby.

2. Stay hydrated and eat regularly

Your body is going through a lot of changes and regular meals and hydration are a great way to support your body. Eating regularly and staying hydrated throughout the day also helps if your breast feeding, whilst it does not increase your milk production but it does however help to prevent decrease and potential ‘Dry up’ of your available breast milk.

3. Bask in your baby

When baby is born everyone in your life will understandably want to meet your little bundle of joy. However, don’t be pressured to have visitors, its ok to say no to a visit. Take the first few moments for you and your family and your new baby.

4. Baby will grow quickly

It is true what they say, ‘children grow up in a blink of an eye’, and new borns grow even faster. We urge you do not go crazy with purchasing new born clothing. New borns spend a large about of time in their baby grows and will outgrow all of their outfits pretty quickly. Be sure to capture the moments when they are small as they will not last forever.

5. Its ok not to be ok

If you are feeling down, don’t be ashamed seek the help you need, contact your doctor. Once you do it you will be glad you did and wish you did it sooner rather than later.

6. Trust your instincts

The amount of advice you may receive from well-meaning family or friends can feel overwhelming at times. It is ok to take on their advice but it is also ok not to use it, trust what you want for your child. Do not think you doing something wrong because you have chosen a different way to raise your child, everyone raises their children differently.

7. Me time is a must

If you are feeling overwhelmed and need a bit of a break, by all means take that well deserved break. It is ok, to find time for yourself, every superhero needs maintenance.

8. Its ok to ask for help

We all need it sometimes. Lean on an experienced mother you can trust and/or find a local NCT mother and baby group to receive support from those who are experiencing similar challenges.

9. Embrace your ‘mum-bod’!

It may take around a year for you to start feeling normal again. Embrace your stretch marks, it’s a sign of your hard work. You are beautiful just the way you are! That little angel you brought into the world is an overwhelming sign of your beauty and strength. You go girl!