Small Acts of Kindness that will Help a New Mother

Photo by Isaac Quesada

Originally Posted On: https://midwifeandlife.com/new-mother-tips/

Do you want to help a new mother? Then there are a few things that you can do to try and offer your support while also helping them to feel at ease during their time as a new parent.

The gesture of bringing over a cooked meal is fantastic, but if you are able to facilitate dozens of meals then this is even better. Ask if somebody has organised to do this for her already, but if they haven’t then don’t be afraid to set one up. There are so many online meal websites that you can sign up to and when you do, you can get meals delivered right to your door. This is a fantastic way for you to reap the benefits and it only takes a few clicks.

Another thing that you can do is try and help out with the family pet. Offer to take the dog out for a quick walk or even clean up the litter box for the cat. Your friend will probably have a lot to deal with. If you want to be even more helpful, then why not think about taking the pet to your house for a week or two? When you do this, you will soon find that they have less to handle and this means that they can concentrate on the baby much more.

By now, there’s a chance that the new mother has so many gifts for the baby. It would be nice if you could bring something for her instead.  When you bring the mother a small gift, you are showing her that she is appreciated and that she is loved. Consider bringing things like lotion, magazines or even chocolate. If you are stuck then remember that you can always get some flowers delivered by Fig & Bloom.

If you are going to the grocery store yourself then it would be nice to see if the mother needs anything. If they say no then there’s a high chance that they are just overwhelmed, so bring them a bag of snacks that they can eat on the go. If you can, pick up a treat from the freezer aisle too. The great thing about this is that they will have something to sit back with and they can also keep it as long as they need.

You may also want to offer to clean the house for them. Specific offers, such as vacuuming, washing up, doing the laundry help to convince the other person that you are being sincere and this helps them to accept your help much more easily. If you are worried about interfering or if you don’t want to go around someone else’s home then this is understandable, but try and do something else instead. This could include doing the gardening or even just playing with their other child while they take care of the baby. Things like this can really work in their favour and they will appreciate it far more than you realise.

If you know that this isn’t their first baby, then there’s a high chance that the mother is going to be struggling to tend to the new baby while also giving the other kids enough attention. If you want to help them here, then why not think about taking the other kids out to the park or even for ice-cream? When you do this, you will soon find that they can get a break and that you can also help to keep the other kids as the centre of attention too.

You should never feel as though you are intruding by offering to do this. Make the offer and let them say no if they don’t feel as though it is a good time. More often than not, they will feel thrilled to just be able to use more than one hand to get things done. If you do this then they will be able to relax way more and you may even feel as though they can go and have some “them” time away from the baby.

It is very difficult to get out when you have a newborn. It may be that your friend is feeling isolated or shut-off from the world. It can be very difficult to talk on the phone when you have a newborn baby around, so try and strike a compromise. Text the mother between visits, ask her how she is doing, and even try and send some links to a few interesting articles. It may also be worth trying to pass on some videos that you might have seen, or some memes. If she doesn’t reply in a timely manner then this doesn’t mean that she is not interested, it just means that she has a lot on her plate, but probably appreciates the sentiment anyway.

There’s a high chance that your friend is dealing with a huge influx of people who are all telling her how great the baby is and how she should try and cherish these moments as much as possible. If you have been there before then you will know that sometimes, it doesn’t always feel that way. There may be times when the baby cried so much that it makes you cry too, so it will be very comforting to tell her that a wide range of emotions are okay and that there is never any harm in feeling a little down from time to time. If you want to give them some support then tell them that you are always there for them and that you are happy to help if they ever need anything, whether it is a shoulder to cry on, or whether it is simply a time-out so they can go to the movies or just sit down with a good, relaxing book.