How to be a New Christian Mom

Congratulations on becoming a new mom! This can be a very difficult time in your life, and somewhat scary, but it will also be one of the most special times in your life. This will most likely be your most sleep-deprived time in life, but know that it is all very much worth it. Taking good care of your new little one is very rewarding. Like anything new, there is a kind of high at first, as you get to know and fall in love with your new baby. The fun never ends, as you put new outfits on them and take endless of pictures of how cute they are. It is a lot of fun, but sometimes being a new mom can be a difficult job. Some say it's the hardest job in the world, and when you get woken up about 6 times every night, it can definitely feel like that. Here are some tips that will help to make your role as a new mom be a bit easier to manage.



Steps

1. Stay positive at all times. Being negative about anything will only discourage you. Don't allow your spouse to speak negatively about anything either. Speak life, not death. The Bible says, "Life and death are in the power of the tongue." So be careful what you say about yourself and your baby.
Believe that you can be a good mom, and you will be.
Believe that your baby is going to be a good baby, and he or she will be, or at least you will ensure that he/she will be.
2. Try to remain calm at all times. To worry about anything only drains your energy. Worrying does not solve any problems. It only makes the problems seem bigger than they really are.
If your baby gets a fever, for example, try to not worry right away that he/she will get brain damage etc. Most fevers go away after about 24 hours. Just give your baby some baby Tylenol, mixed in her formula or water, and everything will most likely be ok.
If your baby is crying and you can't figure out why, know that it is probably because of gas. Sometimes you will have changed your baby, fed your baby, but they are still crying and it might be driving you crazy. Don't worry, every mom has been there, at a loss and not know what else to do. You may just need to pat their back and hold them upright so that they can burp. The solution might just be as simple as that.
Don't freak out immediately if you make a mistake or accidentally bump your baby's head etc. And don't let your spouse freak out either. Babies get their head hit on things all the time. It is just a myth that it will cause brain damage; they will be ok. God gave us a skull for a reason. :)
Try to worry less and have faith that everything will be okay. Know that God is in control and he will help to protect your baby. Angels are helping you protect your baby, if you are praying for him/her. Learn to let go and let God. Ask for God's help and he will help you and give you His peace that passes understanding. Amen.
3. Don't do the cry it out thing with your baby at night. They are crying because they need you, so help them in any way you can.
Do whatever you can to find out why they are crying, and fix it. If you do let them cry for hours, as some moms do, this can have a huge negative effect on their emotional well being, and it could affect them the rest of their lives.
Babies are learning how much they can trust other people, in this time in life. Believe it or not, you are setting the stage for how they will interact with people for the rest of their lives. The way you treat them might also be what determines their temperament or personality.
It has been said that babies need to learn all the basics before the age of three; how to respect themselves and others and how to love and be loved. If they don't learn all this then, it will be hard for them to ever learn it.
Don't neglect your baby in any way, attend to their needs as best as you can.
4. Learn ways to make being a mom easier on yourself. It is hard enough to now pretty much be employed 24/7. The only working people on call are doctors, and mothers. This can be a very hard adjustment to make.
Your life now revolves around your new little one. You have to deny yourself in almost every single hour of the day. You keep getting your sleep interrupted, which you are of course not used to, but don't worry you will get used to it. You can't get outside as much as you might want to. It can be a very hard adjustment to make. You are all of a sudden having to die to yourself, and sometimes you feel like you are living completely for this new little life. So remember to give yourself breaks sometimes. Listen to fun music. Watch some good movies etc.
In regards to feeding with a bottle, it's OK to prop the bottle up on a blanket. This will free your hands so that you can get some work done. The baby will not choke. He or she will be perfectly fine. Sometimes, this can be a nice break which will allow you to get things done or just relax for a bit.
5. Use diaper rash cream often. With disposable diapers, babies get rashes a lot. This can lead to a lot of crying and discomfort for them.
Sometimes babies resist diaper changing time, or are extra fussy, because they have a rash.
6. Transition to milk gradually. It is a fun transition to make, because milk is obviously much cheaper than formula, but do it with caution.
When switching to milk from formula, make sure you mix the formula with milk. You need to slowly wean your baby off of the formula. If you don't do this, they will be very constipated and unhappy. Constipation happens with an abrupt change in diet, so make transitions in food "slow and easy".
7. Ensure that you have support from a family member. You can't do this huge new job on your own. You will feel overwhelmed if you don't have any help at all. Before a baby comes you may think that your husband will be a big help, but unfortunately men are not very helpful with new babies. They really have no idea what to do. They do not connect as well with the new baby in the way that mothers do. It takes men a bit of time to warm up to a new baby, and they might even be jealous of the new baby. So realize that of the two of you, you will be the main person doing everything for your new baby.
If at all possible, make sure you are living near either your mom or your mother-in-law. Make it happen somehow. You will definitely need their help and advice. Also whenever you have questions just google whatever it might be and you can find the answer to pretty much anything online, which is great.
You have to have breaks, even if it's just going to the store by yourself, baby free, once a week. Try to get them to babysit once a week so you can relax and recapture the peaceful life you had before taking on all this responsibility.
8. Take time to maintain your other relationships. Still have friends after your new baby comes. If you used to go to Bible studies, keep going. It helps a lot to have other women to talk to about being a mom.
Especially, make sure you still do things with your spouse, and don't let the baby consume all your time. It's can be easy for your husband to get jealous of a new baby, but if you still do things together, that will help. Watch movies together still. Play cards. Go out to the mall or the park etc.
9. Go easy on yourself if you have to shift your obligations. You probably won't be able to do everything that you did before your baby arrived.
If you used to go to church every Sunday, don't stress yourself out too much if you can't make it to church on Sundays anymore. You can find alternatives during this phase of your life. For example, you can always watch online church services or go to a mid-week Bible study when your mother or mother-in-law are able to watch the baby.
Be flexible and refrain from forcing yourself to go out when you know the baby might have a very hard time in the nursery.
10. Be forgiving of yourself. Have grace with yourself. You don't have to be the perfect mom because no one alive can be a perfect mom. We all make mistakes but that is ok. God can cover whatever mistakes you might make. Everything will turn out ok in the end. As the Bible says, "God works all things together for the good of those who love Him." Amen.
Don't blame yourself for not being perfect. Realize it would be impossible to be.
Don't expect too much of yourself or anyone else.
11. Have fun and enjoy your new baby. Don't just take care of him or her.
Play with your baby, laugh with them, and make faces and noises at them.
Dress them up in tons of cute outfits.
Take lots of pictures.
Learn to enjoy this time because it goes by super, super fast.
12. Give yourself a huge congrats on getting to be a new mom! Not everyone gets to be one. Remember to be incredibly thankful everyday that God blessed you with the most precious gift in the entire world. Recognize that it is a tremendous privilege to get to be a mom. Many women spend thousands on fertility clinics and still have no success. You are a very lucky and very fortunate woman to be able to have your own little mini me. Praise God every day for your new little blessing.



Warnings


Be cautious of which vaccinations you give your baby. Vaccinations do cause fevers in babies and they can cause more ear infections. If you do vaccinate him/her, which you have the option not to, try to space them out so they don't get five shots at a time for example. This can be very hard for their tiny little systems to deal with.