Advice for New Moms from Three Moms with Babies Under a Year Old

As a new mom, do you ever feel isolated? Like there’s no one else in the world who understands what you’re going through? Motherhood is amazing, but it’s also really tough sometimes. It’s easy to get caught up trying to figure things out on your own that you forget others have been there, too. Today, I am sharing interviews from three fellow new-moms, where they share their struggles and triumphs, as well as some great advice for new moms just like you.

Each of these lovely ladies has a baby under a year old. And it’s their first, so they truly are brand-new moms just like you! Let me introduce them:

Tori is a dear friend of mine with a precious little boy who is four months old. She is a working mom who just returned to her job a few weeks ago. Her sweet boy and Little Man are having fun getting to know each other and I’m sure will have grand adventures as they get older.

Katie is another amazing friend with a gorgeous eight-month-old baby girl. She’s currently a stay-at-home mom who blogs at Pages & Puddles, where she shares tools to help you love like Christ. Fun fact: her daughter and Little Man are nine days apart in age, and are growing to be great friends!

Barbara is a super sweet and classy friend with a handsome little guy who is four months old. She is a working mom, and though I’m sad she doesn’t live nearby, I love watching her little one grow on Facebook.

Now that you know a little about these lovely ladies, let’s jump right into their interviews and advice for new moms!

 

What is one thing you wish you would have known before your baby was born?

Tori: How long it takes to get everyone ready in the morning and for bed.

Katie: That babies often struggle with breastfeeding after mom’s milk comes in. Mine was an unusual case because I had such enormous overproduction. But being ready with some tips to help with the engorgement would have been good. I felt so helpless and had no clue what was happening!

Barbara: He’s worth waiting for. I was so anxious for him to get here but he was so healthy when he was born being full term.

I absolutely agree with Tori! Getting ready for anything takes forever! Yes, Katie, I wish I would have known about that, too. It took some doing, but I eventually learned to love breastfeeding. Barbara, that pregnancy waiting game is tough, but absolutely worth it.

How prepared did you feel when you brought your baby home?

Tori: I felt prepared. We moved into our house a month before little man arrived. It was hectic getting the house ready, but we focused on the nursery first.

Katie: I felt pretty prepared when we brought home our daughter. She did well in the hospital and I felt decently confident going into that first night. Things quickly changed when we had our first issues with breastfeeding those first nights!

Barbara: He was a full term baby so we felt pretty prepared. We had everything ready and even had other friends who recently had babies so they helped prep us as well for what we needed or what to expect. Community is so important.

It sounds like all these mamas were pretty prepared! I felt a little behind the curve because Little Man showed up nine days early. We had almost everything ready, but I wish I would have known a little more about how to manage household chores as a new mom. I love Barbara’s comment about the importance of community.

What is the hardest part of being a new mom?

Tori: Getting our family onto a new schedule. It took a good month to get breastfeeding down. When I went back to work, [it] was really hard to not feel guilty about wanting to go back to work.

Katie: Trusting your instincts. The night my milk came in, my daughter stopped eating and didn’t sleep from 5 pm to 7 am. I was literally feeding her from a dropper in desperation! She was screaming all night and people kept saying, “Sometimes babies just cry for no reason.” I knew something was wrong, and we started getting help with lactation consultants the next morning. A month later when we decided to switch to formula, I still doubted myself. But looking back, I know I did everything I could and made the right choice for me and my baby. If something seems wrong, listen to your gut! (Learn how Katie successfully transitioned from breastfeeding to formula on her blog.)

Barbara: Trying not to argue with your spouse while trying to figure out why baby is crying. You both are on the same team, yet [still] try to find division as one parent is right and the other is wrong in making baby stop crying.

Great advice for new moms who are struggling; all these issues are so relatable. I think every mom struggles with self-doubt and mom-guilt. And a new baby definitely puts strain on a marriage because you’re both so new at the whole parenting thing.

What is the best part of being a new mom?

Tori: Getting to see little man’s personality develop every day!

Katie: I love seeing her grow and learn! Especially during this period between six and nine months. There’s new teeth, crawling, food…it’s amazing how everything is so new to them! Every new experience comes with wonder, and it’s an incredible thing to be a part of each day.

Barbara: All the smiles and pure joy!

I second all of these! One of the best parts of being a new mom for me is seeing Little Man’s face light up with smiles when he sees me or my husband. I love that he knows he’s loved!

What is one thing about being a new mom that you didn’t expect?

Tori: Leaking milk when he cries!

Katie: That I would be okay doing overnight getaways. I cried the first time we left her with our in-laws for the night, but those times away are so important to refresh. Now I don’t hesitate when the in-laws offer to keep her overnight! At first I felt like it meant I didn’t love my daughter enough. Now I know that’s not even close to true. And I am grateful we have people that love her and are willing to let mom and dad get some much needed time together!

Barbara: That time flies so fast! I also didn’t expect letting him go to daycare the first day to be so difficult.

Tori, that milk leaking struggle is real! I love Katie’s perspective on overnight trips. We still have yet to take one ourselves, mostly because we’ve been so busy, but it’s on the to-do list. Barbara is so right; it’s incredible how fast the time goes.

What is one baby item you swear by and one that you could have done without?

Tori: One baby item I swear by is cloth diapers. We haven’t had a single case of diaper rash since changing from disposables. One item I can do without is the bassinet. He only slept in it for four weeks before we transitioned him to his crib.

Katie: We absolutely loved our wraps and carriers! I used both a Moby Wrap and LilleBaby Complete All-Seasons Carrier. They were so helpful to keep her close and perfect for air travel to see family. One thing we definitely didn’t need were baby shoes! They fit for such a brief period of time, they don’t stay on, and I honestly forgot about most of them until they were too small.

Barbara: MAM pacifiers! And a Rock ‘N Play sleeper. He slept in that until recently and the self-rocking is so helpful!

Such fantastic advice for new moms who are wondering what items they actually need! I’m with Tori: I love my cloth diapers, and it’s really not as gross as everyone thinks. Katie’s suggestion about carriers is right on; I use my Moby Wrap all the time. And Barbara, we use MAM pacifiers, too! I love how lightweight and breathable they are.

If you could do one thing differently as a new mom, what would it be?

Tori: I would be more on top of meal prepping to make weeknight dinners go faster.

Katie: Ask for more meals!  We had family and friends sign up to bring us meals the first two weeks. Our plans to visit family in California for Christmas didn’t work out (flu season baby). It would have been so helpful to have meals that whole first month! Even if it wasn’t every day. Definitely take advantage of the help others offer!

Barbara: Stay home with my baby and not fuss at my hubs for trying to help.

A piece of advice for new moms: meals are super important; you and your hubby have to eat, too! I was able to prep about two weeks’ worth of freezer meals before Little Man was born, and Katie was amazing and set up a Meal Train for us. We were pretty set for a while, and it made life so much easier!

In one word, how would you describe your life as a new mom?

Tori: Enjoyable

Katie: Growth

Barbara: Joyful

Love these. Mine would be “fulfilling.”

What is your best advice for new moms (or expectant moms)?

Tori: Remember to take time for yourself. You aren’t of any use to your family if you’re run down.

Katie: Give yourself grace. Every single moment of every single day. There will be days you mess up. There will be days you feel like you’re doing a terrible job. But everyone goes through those moments. And the truth is as long as you and baby are eating, sleeping as much as possible, and enjoying most of your time together, you are totally rocking it!

Barbara: You go, Momma! You got this!

Love it! My advice for new moms is to not get so caught up in the day-to-day that you miss the special moments. Take some time everyday to reflect and commit those moments to memory.

So there you have it, mama! You’re not alone in this crazy world of new motherhood. Every new mom struggles with many of the same things. I think these three lovely ladies would agree that we should treasure this crazy time because it’s gone before you know it. I hope you gained some encouragement from this advice for new moms and were able to relate to these three amazing mamas who all have babies under a year old.

What’s your best advice for new moms? Let us know in the comments!