As excited as every new parent is to introduce their bundle of joy to friends and family, making it through the busy holiday season with a new baby is intimidating. Here’s a few tips to make it a little easier.
1) Make them come to you. Especially if your baby is just a few weeks old, you should be at home recovering and bonding with your baby. Have only your closest friends and family stop by, and make them bring all the food!
2) Babywear. A little leery Aunt Martha’s hacking cough? Babywearing creates a bubble of space and protection around your baby–and you! And when well-meaning relatives want to hog your baby, you can always remind them how snuggly your baby is close to your heart…and you never wake a sleeping baby!
3) Listen to your intuition. Are you eagerly anticipating a round of pass the baby to give your weary arms a break or does the thought of handing your baby over give you major anxiety? Either sentiment is totally normal. Do what feels right, and don’t feel bad about it.
4) Listen to your baby. The holidays are notorious for seeing a rise in plugged ducts and mastitis in breastfeeding moms. It’s easy to miss baby’s feeding cues or fail to notice your full breasts when you’re baking multiple pies or relatives are shushing your hungry baby back to sleep. Try to keep baby close by unless you’re sure he or she has a full belly.
5) Just say no. It’s safe to say that it won’t be as easy to jump from party to party this year. Don’t feel guilty picking and choosing those that are the most important and feasible for you and your baby’s routine.