Parent Hacks for Your Baby’s First Year

It’s an amazing feeling finally having your baby in your arms and caring for them from their soft, wispy hair to their tiny baby toes. As cute as they are, no one can deny that looking after a baby is hard work - sleepless nights, learning to understand what each cry means and constantly keeping an eye on them. For many new parents, hacks are a godsend to make each day a little easier. We hope the below parent hacks help you during the first year of your baby’s life.

White Noise

Trying to get your baby to sleep - or go back to sleep - can be a repeatedly difficult occurrence. A solution one of our team members lived by with her newborn son when he really struggled to sleep was white noise. With white noise, you can mask naturally-occurring sounds in the environment or create specific sounds such as a heartbeat or the tide of the ocean. There are many white noise machines specifically for babies available, however, you may not want to use it all the time as your baby may become reliant on it and it’s recommended to keep it at least 7ft away from your sleeping baby.

Don’t be Afraid to be Noisy

White noise is often used to mask outside sounds, not get rid of sound completely. It’s beneficial to you that you can go about the house as normal when your baby is sleeping, so ensure that your baby is used to household sounds so that they can sleep through the noise - which will also be helpful when you’re out and about with them. If you aim to be quiet all the time when your baby is sleeping, they may struggle to sleep through anything else.

The Kitchen Sink

Don’t be too concerned about purchasing a baby bath and keep your own bathtime to yourself by making use of the kitchen sink. It’s an ideal height so you’re not leaning over the bath in your bathroom and will be just the right size for your baby. If you use the sink for household chores, ensure it’s baby-ready by cleaning it thoroughly before filling it with water and lifting your baby in. If your sink isn’t equipped with a drain plug, you can purchase a kitchen insert that has a built-in plug.

Brush on Nappy Rash Cream

Chances are your baby will need some soothing relief and, fortunately, diaper cream can provide it. It’s great for them, but can be messy for you. You can prevent your hands from getting sticky by brushing it on with a brand new make-up brush. Just make sure to clean it after every use and let it dry.

Breast Milk Ice Pops

This new-parent hack ticks some very important boxes. When your baby’s teething, freeze some breast milk into ice pops - not only will it help to ease your baby’s pain, but it’s also a great way to give them some nutrition! Due to limited product testing, manufacturers do not recommend doing this with baby formula.

These new parent hacks can help to make your baby’s first year even more enjoyable!