Happy & Healthy

Visiting a newborn?

The 5 things you definitely shouldn't do

It must have something to do with spring, but everyone around me is either giving birth or getting pregnant. Therefore, with frequent visits to newborns in mind, here are the five things you definitely shouldn't say or do. 1. Is that belly going to be okay?.

That was seriously asked by my partner's best friend (hi Bart) when he found me a day after the delivery. Needs no further explanation, right?

Not a Nice Question 2. Don't wash your hands.

New mothers are beings in a slightly hysterical state and have an excessive urge to clean. The idea that you just pressed the stop button on a tram with your fingers and are now stroking her baby's fluffy cheeks is too much for her. So do the new mother a favor and go to the bathroom or kitchen to disinfect your hands before you greet her. Tip: make sure to mention in detail that you are washing your hands, she will appreciate it.

3. Keep getting drunk.

"Have another glass!" my partner kept shouting after the birth of our first. Pizzas were being devoured, vodka colas were consumed (not by me of course) because nothing was allowed to change now that we were really playing mom and dad. Friends were only allowed to leave the house in a drunken state. My beloved thought so. I had other ideas because no matter how cool you want to be, you just gave birth and that is, as my midwife said, like running a marathon untrained.

“4. Judging the baby.

"She looks a bit like a shriveled monkey." The sender of this remark is, unsurprisingly, the same as in point 1. Who is otherwise very nice and fun, but has had a bit too much honesty drink.

“5. Arriving without a gift for the other child (if there is one).

If people already have a child, it can be quite a heavy situation for that child with such an 'intruder'. I'm sure the mother would much prefer it if you brought a gift for her oldest child rather than for the new baby. The baby doesn't know anything and is already getting enough anyway. Another nice tip:

give the father a gift . They never get anything, after all.. It must have something to do with spring, but everyone around me is either giving birth or getting pregnant. Therefore, with frequent visits to newborns in mind...