Have you ever wondered how you can help a mom of a newborn? Here are a few ideas!
- Prepare meals for her family – One of the biggest ways you can help is by bringing meals. This takes one huge burden off of the new mom and enables her to have more time to rest and care for her new baby (& other children). Take Them a Meal .com is a great site where you can create a meal schedule and invite others to help the family in this way too.
- Take her other kids for the day – Offer to take her older children (if she has them) to the zoo or park for the morning/afternoon. This will give her rest & bonding time with the newest baby and it will give the kids a chance to run off some energy instead of being cooped up inside all day with mom and baby.
- Household chores – Call/text and ask if you can stop by to clean her kitchen or do her laundry for her. I always had a hard time saying “yes” to these requests, but it was very helpful when friends would do things like that and allow my body time to recover.
- Take photos – Ok, yes, I’m a picture obsessed person. But if you have a talent with a camera, offer to take some in-home newborn shots of the baby! Photo sessions can be expensive and by the time the mother will feel up to going somewhere to have shots taken the baby’s appearance may have changed a lot, so this would be a wonderful gift for mom & baby.
- Ask her – It’s hard to guess what a new mom might prefer, so don’t be afraid to ask! After I had each of my babies I loved having company. I’m not a person that enjoys just sitting around the house, so it always helped my sanity to have people come over and chat for a few hours. BUT I have some good friends who prefer the opposite. They go into hiding – no texts, no phone calls and only very brief visits as they get to know their new baby. Ask you friend if she would like company, and respect her wishes if she doesn’t!
Melissa says
Absolutely! Especially #2 – anytime someone wanted to take my older kids out to do something fun was WONDERFUL. Gave me time to bond with the little one and not feel guilty because I knew my other kids were happy and occupied.
Kassi @ Truly Lovely says
I really think I’ll be someone who would love to have company… But you never know til you get there I guess… We’ll see in July! haha
Keri says
I’ve had 3 babies, and by far my favorite gift has been the sweet women who come over and ask what they can do to help. Food is wonderful and diapers and wipes are great, but having someone do the laundry and clean the kitchen or play with the other children is a special treat! I try to remember this when a friend has a new baby, especially if she doesn’t have a mom or husband at home to help.
Great post!
Jennifer | The Deliberate Mom says
These are such wonderful tips! Thank you!
I like to make meals for the new mommies in my life! Another thing that I offer is to go over and hang out with baby while the new mommy takes a much needed shower or nap.
Wishing you a lovely day!
Faith @ Artistic31Mama says
The perfect list! Some really great suggestions. I’ve received all of those and I can tell you they are ALL wonderful and such a blessing. :-) My friend JUST had her fourth baby. Since I’m a photographer, I’m going to ask if she would like a free newborn session (I’ve been keeping that a surprise) and offer to bring her a meal.
Erica {let why lead} says
Taking my kids is the biggest one for me!
A timely post for me considering I have a newborn! Thanks! :)
Joanne Viola says
Very nice post. I especially like the last 2. I think we all do the first three, almost like a given. But the last 2 are not something we ordinarily think of. So that is most helpful to be reminded of. Thank you for sharing. I was your neighbor at Titus 2 Tuesday :)
Lisa- The Domestic Life Stylist says
Love the suggestions! When I had a new baby, I had a friend that would call frequently to just see how I was doing and offer me a “sounding board” of sorts. It was the nest gift ever.