First Time Mother Must-Know
Being a mother is difficult, being a first-time mother is stressfully exhausting. Why? Because motherhood is a journey filled with self-doubts, constant worries and uncertainties.
It’s normal for baby to have jaundice
Yes, it’s totally normal for a newborn baby to have jaundice, and all you need to do is to ensure baby is well-fed so he/she will be able to eliminate bilirubin through bowel movements.
At time like this, people around you will be giving you all sort of tips, like “feed you baby this that this that and jaundice will be gone”. Please keep this in mind, YOU SHOULD NEVER FEED A NEWBORN BABY ANYTHING OTHER THAN BREASTMILK OR FORMULA MILK. This it very crucial as you can put your baby at great danger if you were follow those home remedies.
So, just stand your ground, feed your baby milk every 2-3 hours interval, and keep an eye on the level of bilirubin by visiting the clinic/hospital. Your baby’s doctor knows the best if the jaundice is prolonged and will be able to advise you on what needs to be done.
Baby doesn’t know what is “Day” and “Night”
Every newborn baby is adorable and you will just want to cuddle that little miracle of yours day and night. But one night, when you’re too exhausted from the continuous feeding and changing diapers, you’ll find your adorable newborn baby looking at you with his/her beautiful eyes when it’s already 3AM.
Yes, a newborn baby doesn’t know what is “day” and “night”. Hence, there’ll be days when he/she can sleep perfectly well during the day but wide awake throughout the night. You may find yourself busy checking on Google or baby’s body temperature to make sure everything is okay. If baby’s temperature is good, then you have nothing to worry about.
So just take a deep breath, and put him/her in bed with you while you try to rest and he/she can enjoy staring at the ceiling. Trust me, he/she will eventually fall asleep, even though by then it’ll already be morning. This will get better as baby grows older and learn there’s a “night time”.
Sleep. Deprivation. Is. Real.
No really, what is sleep?
Remember when everyone was telling you to “rest more” throughout your pregnancy? Yes, that’s because you’ll probably won’t be having any because you may be busy checking on your baby, and also keep tracking on the wet diapers you’re getting in a day.
It makes it even harder if you’re breastfeeding, as eventually your newborn will be making you a human pacifier. Therefore, we suggest mommies to get help for night feeding – it’s totally okay to pump and get husband to feed, or you can opt for feeding formula milk throughout midnight so you can rest. You must know that, you’re more important than your baby being 100% breastfed – you have all the time to fully breastfeed your child after you’ve recovered from delivery, physically and emotionally.
So mommies, don’t be afraid to get help – wake husband up during the night when you need an extra hand; or get your mother/mother-in-law or anyone who can help you attend to the baby for a few hours while you can get out from the house and enjoy some fresh air to keep you sane. It doesn’t make you love the baby less if you need some “time off”, cause you deserve it mommies!