Weeks 1 – 2

Many parents find the first two weeks a massive adjustment and so this period is all about helping new parents to find their own feet.

At this early stage, your baby will mostly sleep, feed and poop and so you will be taught how to feed, wind, change, swaddle, bathe baby and care for the umbilical cord; lessons that are crucial for the everyday care of the newborn baby.

Many mothers can often forget about their own well being, so as well as caring for the new baby, Maternity Nurses also ensure that new mothers get plenty of rest and that they are eating nourishing meals to promote a speedy recovery from childbirth.

For breastfeeding mothers, your Maternity Nurse will make sure you are drinking plenty of fluids to produce a good supply of milk and help you to establish the right feeding position for baby to ‘latch on’. They will then settle baby allowing you to get as much rest as possible.

For those who prefer to bottle-feed or express, your Maternity Nurse will teach you all you need to know about trouble-free feeding, how to ensure that baby is comfortable, how to use, sterilise and care for equipment, as well as advise on the correct teat size to ensure baby doesn’t gulp air at the beginning or end of feeds. This method will also allow her to exclusively take care of nights if you wish her to so that you can get a good uninterrupted night’s sleep.

The first two weeks tend to pass in a blur, and many who book a Maternity Nurse for the minimum 2 weeks often wish they’d booked theirs for 4-6 weeks instead. Whilst an extension is sometimes possible, this is subject to the Maternity Nurse’s diary, so do keep this in mind.