How to help friends with a newborn

Thank you to all readers who entered last week’s competition and sent me their suggestions for how to help friends with a newborn in the first few weeks. Here’s a round-up of top tips from Mummy in the City readers:

What to bring:
Dinners that only need to be heated up
Treats like fruit or cupcakes, which the new parents can serve to other visitors
Useful items like caffeine free tea, or wool breast pads on a cold winter day

How to help:
Visit frequently but not for very long at a time
Offer to stop by a shop on the way over
Do the dishes or empty the dishwasher
Suggest that you can look after the baby if the new mum needs a few minutes to have a shower, or wants to get out of the house for a quick walk

What to say:
Be empathic and only offer advice if asked. A reader highlighted that it is nice when people say “Yes, this is normal” and “It sounds tough” instead of “What? He is waking up every hour?” or “He won’t nap on his own?”

And don’t forget the dad–an experienced dad can help the new dad by showing him how to bath a baby, suggested a reader, or perhaps take the new dad out for a run to get some fresh air.

Tags: Competition, Helping friends, How to help, Newborn, Visitors, Week 1, What to bring, What to say