A friend of mine reached out to me when I had Elle and told me that one of her close friends was pregnant with her first baby. She really wanted to know what she could do to give her friend the support she wanted and needed in those early days. I gave her a few ideas, and thanked her for inspiring my next blog post! After thinking about it for a while, this is the list of ways you can help a new mom that I personally think contains the most helpful ideas.
Set Up A Meal Train
This is 100% my number one. Cooking with a newborn can be SO hard because they are nursing around the clock. Elle is a month and a half old now, and even last night she decided that she wanted to nurse on and off from 4:30pm-6:30pm, which meant I didn’t start cooking until after 6:30. I was so fortunate in that when she was born, I had so many people cooking for us, bringing us food, sending us food, and taking us out to eat, that I only needed to cook 4 dinners in the entire month after she was born. If a meal train is already set up, sign up for it!
Hold Her Baby
This obviously depends on if she’s comfortable with it. A lot of moms don’t want people holding there babies right away, which needs to be respected. Once she’s comfortable with it, offer to hold the baby while she eats, takes a nap, takes a shower, just sits by herself, whatever she wants to do! She probably needs a much deserved break.
Help Her With Chores
Maybe she doesn’t want anyone holding the baby at the moment, in which case, offer to unload her dishwasher, or fold some clean baby clothes! Like I said, newborns want to nurse around the clock, and having to spend every waking moment between feedings keeping up with housework can really take a toll on your mental state, so help her out! Figure out what she’s comfortable with you helping with. She might even try to deny the help (I for one have a very hard time accepting help even though I always end up appreciating it), but try to get a read on if she actually doesn’t want the help, or if she’s denying it to be polite.
Run Errands With Her
This might be another one that’s a little farther down the new mom road, but going out and about solo with a baby is really scary at first. Go with her and help with getting the stroller out of the car, taking a walk around if the baby gets fussy, even just being there for moral support. I promise it can make a new mom feel more confident. At the very least, you could pick up her grocery pick up order for her so that she doesn’t have to worry about getting the baby in and out of the car for a little errand like that.
Go On A Kid Friendly Girls Date With Her
New motherhood can be so isolating, especially when not a lot of your friends have kids yet. Plan a day where she can bring the baby. Places with porches are always nice, along with casual restaurants and coffee shops. She might be DYING to dress up, get out of the house, and feel slightly like her old self again, but is overwhelmed by the thought of doing so with a baby. Make sure you’re really hands on when you’re with them. Hold the baby while she eats, help her to and from the parking lot with the stroller and diaper bag, etc.
If you’ve made it to the end of the list because you want to help out your friend who is a new mom, I really admire you! I hope this list helps. I know your friend will appreciate the help more than you can imagine!
