9 Parenting Hacks That Actually Make Newborn Life Easier
4 October 2022
When you’re in the first few months of newborn life, any parenting hack you come across can make life just that little bit easier. To start you off strong, we’ve rounded up 9 of our favourite hacks to help you save time and eliminate hassle during the first few months of caring for a baby.
1. Stash baby wipes – everywhere
In the nursery. In the kitchen. In your diaper bag. In your purse. In your car… During the newborn years (and beyond), you’ll want to have a stash of baby wipes just about anywhere you can. They come in handy for not only wiping bums but also wiping sickie off your baby or yourself, wiping down highchairs at restaurants, cleaning up spills, wiping down a dropped toy, and many other situations.
2. Buy clothes with zippers – not snaps
If a piece of clothing has a zipper option, go with that one over buttons. At 2am, when you’re already lacking sleep, snapping up 39 teeny tiny buttons on a onesie in the dark can turn into quite the complicated task. Zippers are hands down the easier option when it comes to speed and trying not to unsettle your sleepy baby.
3. Setup multiple nappy stations in your house
For unpredictable blowouts, you’ll want to have changing supplies ready to go in multiple areas of your house, so you don’t have to carry a messy baby from the living room upstairs to their nursery. You can add some baby wipes and clean nappies to a decorative box to make the storage space blend in with the rest of your décor.
4. Do bicycle exercises on a windy baby
Is your baby particularly windy? So are most newborns. If you suspect your baby is fussing because of wind pain, try doing some bicycle exercises with them. Simply lay them on a soft surface on their backs and gently cycle their legs in a bicycle motion towards their tummy. This can help release that trapped wind.
5. Roll, don’t fold
You’ll likely go through a couple of outfit changes every day with a newborn, which can make your drawers become unorganised, as you quickly dig through everything to find what you’re looking for. Instead of folding and stacking, try rolling the clothes and placing them into the drawers in one single layer. Then you’ll be able to see where everything is at first glance.
6. Have a dedicated spot for clutter
It’ll be easy for your house to get cluttered when you’re running on little sleep and have so many new baby items and clothes around the house. To keep everything more manageable, try designating one spot in the house where all clutter and laundry goes. That way, when you have a few minutes to finally clean up, it’ll be easier to sort everything out from one area.
7. Layer your baby’s mattress
Layering your baby’s cot with mattress protectors and fitted sheets can be extremely helpful during middle-of-the-night messes. First, add a mattress protector to the mattress and then top it with a fitted sheet. Next, add another mattress protector and then another fitted sheet. When you layer like this and there’s a spit-up or poo incident, you simply peel off the top sheet and mattress protector, and you’re ready to go with another fresh sheet and mattress protector.
8. Use apps – for everything
Apps can be your best friends as a newborn parent. Need to order groceries? Do so on your supermarket’s app with one hand while your baby is feeding. Want to keep track of feedings and nappy changes? Yep, there’s an app for that too, simply search your app store!
9. There’s more than one way to use a onesie
Yes, those folds at the shoulders of your baby’s onesies do actually have a function – they allow for the onesie to be pulled down over your baby’s body after a blowout (instead of over your baby’s head). Genius!
Conclusion on parenting hacks
The first few months with your bundle of joy will certainly be full of love, but also full of learning curves as you navigate how to care for them. We hope that with the above parenting hacks already in your back pocket, you go into newborn life with a bit more confidence and some time-saving tricks.
