Tips and Tricks for Baby’s First 100 Days

Tips and tricks for baby’s first 100 days. Great tips for how to survive the newborn stage! Helpful for taking care of yourself and baby!

This post is sponsored by Babies R Us, P&G, and Pampers.

I remember when my son was born three years ago and we were getting ready to go home from the hospital. All the nurses had been so helpful and given me great tips, and I had gotten as many free goodies as I possibly could to take home. They helped us load everything up in our car, and then we got in and drove away.

And all of a sudden, we were completely on our own. We were 100% responsible to keep this tiny, precious baby alive. And that was terrifying.

Being a new mom can be so scary, especially if you haven’t been around a lot of babies before. So I’ve put together some helpful tips and tricks for baby’s first 100 days!

1. Find find what works for you. Advice is great, but not every piece of advice you are given is going to work for you and your baby. When my son was born, I was told to nap when he napped. Unfortunately, I do not wake up well from naps and basically turn into a monster. So that piece of advice went out the window pretty quickly. Try what you feel comfortable with and ditch anything that doesn’t work. All babies and mamas are different, and that’s how it’s supposed to be!

2. Read reviews before you buy things. Especially if it’s your first baby, you probably won’t have any idea which stroller or car seat parents like the most. So check out the reviews, and then go to the store to buy them. Even reading reviews for something as simple as a baby bottle can really make a difference!

3. Write things down. Mommy brain is so real, so if you think of questions to ask your pediatrician, write them down. When your baby hits milestones like first smile or rolling over, write down the date. If you don’t write things down, you are going to forget them.

4. Ask for help if you need it. If you feel like you are drowning in piles of laundry and puddles of spit-up, ask a friend or family member to come help. It’s totally fine to ask for help! Babies are amazing and wonderful and so fun, but sometimes you just need a little break or a little extra help to help you manage. There’s no shame in that.

5. Get your car seat inspected, and know how to buckle your baby in correctly. I am a HUGE advocate of car seat safety. I see so many parents making mistakes that can put their child’s life at risk in an accident. I highly, highly recommend taking your car seat to a police department or car seat inspection site to make sure you are doing it right. I learned a lot about what is okay and what’s not when my son was a newborn.

6. Diapers have wetness indicators. One of my favorite things about Pampers Swaddlers (besides the fit and softness) is that they have wetness indicators on the front. That little yellow line that goes down the bottom of the diaper turns blue when baby is wet or dirty. It’s SO helpful. And I have talked to a lot of moms who had no idea that it even changed. So there you go!

7. Find a hobby for nap time. Being a mom is amazing, but I think it’s very important to find a hobby outside of being a mom that you can do during nap time. For me it’s blogging, but for you it might be reading or baking or sewing. Babies sleep a lot, and if you just sit and watch TV every time they nap, you’re going to regret it.

8. Pay attention to diaper sizes. For a while, we went through several outfits a day due to blowouts. It was awful. And it took me a while to realize that it was because the diapers my son was wearing were too small! Diapers have weight guidelines for each size, and it’s important to pay attention to them. Just because your baby is two weeks old doesn’t mean that newborn diapers are the right ones for him.

9. Disconnect. Your baby is adorable. No doubt about that. But you don’t need to post a thousand pictures of them on social media. Take time every day to disconnect with your phone and connect with the people around you, especially your baby. Kids can tell when you are putting other things before them, and you don’t want to be the mom who has her phone in her hand all the time.

10. Learn how to swaddle right. Swaddling is my best friend when it comes to babies. Both of my kids loved to be swaddled, and any time they were crying and I didn’t know what to do, I would just swaddle them, “shhhh” them, and rock them back and forth. Worked like a charm.

11. Take care of yourself. It’s important to take care of your baby and do everything you can for them, but you also need to take care of yourself. Pay attention to your feelings and know the warning signs of postpartum depression. Put actual pants on instead of yoga pants. Do something to make yourself feel nice, too. You just had a baby, so you need to give yourself some love!

12. Know how to remove poopout stains. Something I really struggled with when our son was first born was getting poopout stains out of his onesies. I am ashamed to say that I couldn’t figure it out so a lot of his baby clothes got put in storage with stains. Then when my daughter was born, I figured out this secret to removing poopout stains and haven’t ever had a problem since! It’s every mom’s dream.

13. Learn the trick to getting dirty bodysuits off. Speaking of poopouts, did you know that baby bodysuits fold down at the tops so that when your baby has a poopout, you don’t have to pull it over their head? YEAH! Mind blown. That was a lifesaver with my daughter, so I am happy to pass that tip along!

14. Last and most importantly, don’t stress. You will figure it out. This whole mom thing might seem crazy and like you’ll never get the hang of it, but you will. Don’t compare yourself to other moms and don’t freak out about the little stuff. Lots of moms will give you advice (so go back up and read #1), and not everything will work for you. That’s okay. Just enjoy every minute and learn to take things one day at a time.

Your baby’s first 100 days can be a little scary, but they can also be some of the most fun, special times of your life. Newborns are so precious, and it’s so fun (and also a little bittersweet) to watch them figure out the world and grow bigger!