Address
304 North Cardinal
St. Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Work Hours
Monday to Friday: 7AM - 7PM
Weekend: 10AM - 5PM
Address
304 North Cardinal
St. Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Work Hours
Monday to Friday: 7AM - 7PM
Weekend: 10AM - 5PM
No matter how many moms you talk to before you give birth, you won’t truly know what the first few weeks of motherhood really are like until you go through them. Sure, you know you will need standard supplies for Baby, like diapers, burp rags and bodysuits, but what about you? What will you need to survive the 24-hour grind of regular feedings, endless diaper changes and lack of sleep?
Make meals ahead of time and freeze them, so you can easily pull them out and heat them when you’re hungry. Lasagna, chili or casseroles freeze really well. You don’t have to cook for hours. Just make a double batch of whatever you happen to be cooking and put half of it away for a future meal. It’s also a good idea to make sure your pantry is well-stocked with simple things you can make if all of a sudden your days become nights and nights become days because baby doesn’t sleep. Great things to have on hand, especially when you’re sleep-deprived, are dried pasta, soup, tuna, cereal and crackers.
Before having a baby, if you need anything like food, clothing or toiletries, you can just run to the store whenever you feel like it to restock. Not anymore! After baby arrives, if you want to go out, you need to take the baby with you. Because it’s silly to spend a half hour or more getting a baby dressed and stocking the diaper bag just to buy one thing from the store, it’s a really good idea to stock up on items you may need. Here are some things you will not want to run out of:
The reality is newborns eat every 3 to 4 hours, and delegating some feedings can give you some uninterrupted rest. Delegating feedings is easy if you’re using formula. Whoever happens to be around, Dad or a visiting relative, can feed the baby while you do something else (most likely sleep!). If you’re nursing, you can pump some breast milk into a bottle or save it for later by freezing it, although experts advise waiting a few weeks while mom and baby are getting into the rhythm of breastfeeding before introducing a bottle to avoid nipple confusion and to encourage milk production. Nursing moms may find that it’s simplest to nurse rather than pump—the milk is always ready and always at the right temperature, with no stressful pumping or bottles to wash—and others can pitch in in other ways.
In a perfect world, every mom would have a baby nurse waiting for her when she came home from the hospital. The reality is, most of us are on our own with a new baby, especially if Dad has to go back to work right away. If you feel overwhelmed caring for a newborn, reach out to a friend or relative for help. If you’re feeling particularly sleep-deprived or can’t remember the last time you bathed, taking a break to take a nap or a shower should help even the most nervous new mom relax so she can savor her time with her little one.