Newborn and Expected Initial Changes in Life

Life becomes totally different as soon as you get a tiny angel in your arms. Your baby runs your life now, he becomes the leader and you become the follower. The main changes that you would notice in your life immediately after your baby’s birth is a change in your routine, as your routine is over-ruled by your baby’s schedule.

It is a good idea for the new mother to try and take quick short naps every time her baby is asleep. During the first few days, the newborn tends to sleep longer and is it best advised to the mother to rest up as much as you can during that time.

As days turn into weeks, your baby’s nap times will start getting shorter and waking up in middle of sleeps will start getting more frequent. This will in turn start affecting the mother’s sleep and can soon turn into restlessness. Moreover, you would not be feeling very well too in the beginning and would feel more tired and sleepy, therefore you might start getting very annoyed by your baby’s such behaviour.

For new mother’s it’s a big problem to make the baby sleep or keep the baby calm repeatedly especially when you do not have anyone else to help you out.

This is a very exhausting and stressful situation for new mothers. Many women end up screaming out loud because of stress of being caught up in a situation where they are unable to handle their baby.

Mothers want to do something of their own as soon as the baby sleeps but just as they try to step out of the room by leaving baby in the cot, he/she starts crying again and mother cannot do anything other than running back to the baby.

Some days it also happens that the baby does not sleep at all for a whole night and day continuously, which is also called unsettled baby behaviour.

This means you cannot get sufficient sleep or eat properly. And taking shower or going to toilet also becomes a big hassle. Entertainment or socializing are out of the question.

This is an alarming situation as you might end-up be hurting yourself or your baby. Do not worry, you can survive this time if you stay calm. At that time, you need to breathe, think and take some action to help yourself.

Tips to help yourself

• Get help from your mid-wife or healthcare provider if your baby is not sleeping and crying continuously for long periods of time.
• Join Group sessions with Parents with newborns for baby settlement classes.
• Join sessions at community centres or provided by your healthcare centre with new mothers to make friends and learn techniques to handle the newborn.
• Try to make a routine which suits you and your baby, where you get little time to do little work of your own (it will happen slowly).
• Talk to your family members or to friends to ask for any suggestions or if they can offer any help to you.