First night out of Hospital

Also make sure baby is warm enough... I am not sure where you stay but I am in KZN and it has been chilly the last few nights. If it is cold put a longsleeve vest, socks and a long babygro. And then swaddle, The baby sense swaddle blanket is really great!!!

Good luck and enjoy your baby!!!

Thanks for that , we were much more relaxed the second night and things went way smoother.

Thanks , last night was much better. It's just nice to hear it's normal.............it relaxes everyone!!!

Hi Claire ,
Thanks for that , I think we just needed some reassurance that all that was normal.
We took her to the hospital today because the whites of her eyes have a yellow tinge. I know jaundice is quite common but we want to again.......just get some peace of mind.
Thanks so much for your advice

Aah I remember that night with horror! Ditto was the ladies above say and when in doubt feed feed feed! James slept on us for the first two nights - wasn't ideal but at least we got some sleep. Hang in there!

Hi, congrats on your little girl! You must be thrilled!

Have you been swaddling her? Swaddling really helps control those hands and makes them feel more secure (like they're back in the womb) Also if she's really niggly, try turning on the hairdryer or vacuum cleaner. The white noise is really soothing to them. It's quite normal for newborns to be unsettled, so much has changed in the last few days. Try to make it as close to the womb as you can. As for the noises, it is quite normal...enjoy them, they go away too quickly! Hope that helps.

Nobody can quite prepare you for how tough a new baby can be. No instruction manual either so I feel for you.

First things first, as hard as it may be you have to remain calm. Calm parent = calm baby (hopefully).

Make a list and check things on it. Sometimes when you are stressed and baby cries it is easy to overlook the obvious so feed, burp (only spend 5 minutes on this. Burping often causes stress and the winds will come out eventually) change nappy, check bedding isn't wet, make sure no prickly tags irritating baby and keep the sleep area calm.

Remove toys, mobiles etc as these tend to overstimulate so not ideal for sleep areas.

Many babies have refulx until age 6 months so lift the crib or cot up slightly so that baby sleeps at a more upright angle and lastly hold and love your baby.

Your baby has been with you for 9 months so it is perfectly understandable that she will want to be held and loved. keep it up. You can't spoil a baby.

Feed every 2 hours. Their tummies are small and can only take small feeds.

That is just about everything. If baby is very restless, take temp and consider having her checked out if only for your own peace of mind . Lastly babies cry. It is what they do. It isn't easy though.

Ask most parents here, kids only sleep through on their own much later on. Sleeping through means 5 hours of sleep not 12 hours. I think if you have a good and realistic expectation with regards to sleep then you will not be as stressed out.

You can sleep train after 6 months if you want to. I did. I am not so sure it was the best thing to do for my son and he is nearly 3 and still doesnt sleep through so it only worked for a little while.

It is really hard and the lack of sleep is so so hard on new parents. Hang in there.