The Best Ever Newborn Baby Reference Guide: Everything You Need to Know

Knee-deep in newborn baby nappies? Up at 2am pacing the living room trying to lull your little one to sleep? Unsure of whether it’s night or day, or when the last time you changed your shirt was?

Welcome to the wonderful world of new parenthood! Yes, you’re probably stinky, stressed and sleep-deprived. But you’re also probably basking in the newborn glow (and enjoying actually being able to see your feet again).

If you’ve got a brand spankin’ new ball of squishiness or if you’re expecting one soon, join us as we walk you through exactly what you need to know about life with a newborn. Some information is helpful, providing tips and tricks to make new parenthood easier. Some is heartfelt, giving you all the feels. And some is humorous, offering a laugh in between the constant nappy changes and breastfeeds.

So sit back, relax, and let us guide you through the newborn baby stage.

Advice, advice and more advice

When you have a newborn baby, you’re going to have questions. Am I doing this right? Is my baby supposed to be doing that? Should I feel like this? Is there a reason for that?

You’re also going to get a lot of advice, from family, from friends, from forums even. Here are a few of our favourite advice articles, written by our team of seasoned mums, especially designed for new mums.

For advice you can use, check out 31 Tips for Surviving Your First Week Home With Baby.
For advice you can ignore, check out The New Mum Advice You Can Throw in the Bin.
For advice that is just a little bit cheeky, check out How to Survive the Newborn Phase (Without Relying on Coffee or Wine).
For advice on what life with a newborn is REALLY like, check out 10 Things New Babies Do That Will Totally Freak You Out.
For advice on what life with a newborn is really NOT like, check out, 6 Little White Lies About Life with a New Baby.

The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth

With all the advice coming at you, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed and to assume that you’re not doing it right. This is why we at Mum Central also wanted to share our own experiences about the newborn stage and the bullshit that often comes with it. If you’re looking for something a bit cheeky and relatable, then here are our top picks:

For an honest account of new mummyhood, check out, 18 Messed Up Things No One Seems To Mention About New Mummyhood
For new mums wondering why everything now makes you cry, check out A Letter to My Newborn.
For a better understanding of how your newborn sees the world, check out This is How Your Newborn Really Feels.
For those days when you’re still wearing pyjamas at 4pm, check out, 7 Completely Valid Reasons Why New Mums Get NOTHING Done.
For those days when you’re ready to lose your mind (and kill your husband), check out, How to Piss Off a New Mum (In 10 Easy Steps).

Sleep, settle, rest, repeat

Your new mummy days are often focussed around sleep – how much sleep is bub getting, how much sleep are you losing, and how you can both get a little more shut eye. Here are a few of our top stories on sleep and settling.

For swaddling tips, check out Are You Swaddling Your Baby Correctly? Too Tight and You Could Do This!
For sleep guidelines, check out our handy baby Sleep Charts.
For settling ideas, check out 17 Tricks to Try When Baby Won’t Settle.
For dealing with sleep deprivation, check out Sleep Deprivation as a New Mum.

Breastfeeding

When you’re not dreaming about sleep, you’re probably attempting to breastfeed, which isn’t the easiest task. Time-consuming, yes. Frustrating, yes. Rewarding, yes. But easy? No.

For advice on getting through the struggle, check out The 4 Most Common Breastfeeding Struggles (And How To Fix Them).
For assistance on making breastfeeding less painful, check out Why Does Breastfeeding Hurt Like Hell?
For an honest guide to breastfeeding, check out This is What Aussie Mums REALLY Think About Breastfeeding.
For a bit of a laugh, check out 101 Thoughts I Have While Breastfeeding.

The fourth trimester – what you can expect

Looking for more specific articles related to newborn babies? Check out:

- For a funny guide on bringing home baby, check out How to Bring Your Newborn Home from Hospital in 20 Easy Steps.
- For tips on controlling colic, have a look at the Latest Information on Treating Colic and this miracle Colic Cure.
- For the truth about ‘bouncing back’ after baby and postpartum bodies, check out The Honest Post-Baby Photo EVERY Woman Who Has Given Birth Can Relate To.
- For information on postnatal depression, check out How to Deal with Postnatal Depression and Anxiety.

Hopefully these stories will provide you with a bit of a guide for the first few weeks and provide you with peace of mind that, yes, you are doing everything right for your baby!

And if you’re stuck on the couch feeding bub and want more funny and useful articles to read, make sure to check our newborn archives.