First Week With Baby

The first week with the newborn baby can be quite taxing for new moms. While they have not still recuperated from the tiring and painful labor experience, the chores of the newborn are burdened on them. Add to it the constant stream of friends and relatives, who come in to see the new child and congratulate the parents. Rather than being happy, you and your partner are under constant stress, which can only lead to baby blues for many couples. In such a scenario, support from partner or spouse and other friends and family can relieve the stress on the mother to a great extent and leave her free to enjoy the bliss of motherhood.
Surviving Baby's First Week
Help From Husband
For the first week, husband should try to take as much leave from his work as possible and encourage and motivate the mum by praising her and telling her how well she is managing everything. Don't feel jealous of your child for he/she may be steering attention of your wife away from you. Instead, look at it as a family-bonding phase. Dad and child bonding is as important as mom-child relationship, so be ready to do your share of work for the newborn including changing diapers and bottle feeding the baby.
You may also help the new mother with house hold chores, such as cleaning the room, cooking, attending visitors and telephone calls. Remember, you should be supportive of your wife's feelings. Know that she may be susceptible to mood swings temporarily. If you need to go to the office, once you are back, let your wife take rest, while you take up the responsibility of taking care of the baby. Remember, you may have to sacrifice your sleep as well. Try to wake up after every few hours, to ensure that the baby is sleeping tight.
Help From Family & Friends
Instead of advising a new mom, be supportive. She would like if you actually come forward and offer help, instead of heaping her with advice. One of the easiest things to do would be to pay an empathetic ear to the new mom. There are a lot of changes that happen to a new mom, be it physically, emotionally or spiritually. All you need to do is allow her to give vent to her feelings. A small reassurance by you can make much of a difference in the life of the new mother.
If the new mom has older children, take them out for a while. This would solve dual purpose - while the mother would be relieved off the tension about her elder child, the child, on the other hand, would also feel nice. If the newborn baby is a wakeful one, take him/her for a stroll, so that the mother can rest. Help the new mother make a chart of what are the things that need to be done, so that when people come over, they can pick a job and complete it. Small chores like cleaning a cupboard or paying off the telephone bill will be your bit of help to the new mom.