If this is your first Christmas with a new baby, then first of all Congratulations! As everyone will have been telling you since you first announced the pregnancy, everything is different from now on, and your Baby's First Christmas can be a big event for you. If you are worried or others are piling on the pressure then we have a few tips that we hope might help make the day as enjoyable as possible.
- Keep to Baby's Routine - Your baby is going to be the youngest one at this family Christmas, but for everyone's sake let the day be organised around them if at all possible. If you always have Christmas dinner at 1pm, but baby is due to be napping then have the meal earlier or later. A rested baby with a full tummy is going to make the day a lot less stressful than a tired and hungry one.
- Don't Get Too Many Presents - you might want to spoil your new baby at Christmas, but they have no idea what's happening. To them it's lots of lights, noise, people and extra stimulation. Try not to go overboard on the presents, and although it's a cliché they really will spend more time playing with the box and wrapping paper than the gift itself.
- Take a Rest - if you are going to be with family over Christmas then let them do the cuddling, rocking to sleep, playing and so on. It's sometimes hard to take a back seat but the chances are they would love to spend a bit of time with the baby, and it gives you a chance to take a bit of a rest.
- Choose a Practical Christmas Outfit - There are so many beautiful and cute festive clothes for babies, and why not take the opportunity to dress them as you want before they are old enough to start expressing an opinion on it (that comes soon enough). But if you can then make it practical as well as pretty. If you have a very young baby who is going to be asleep much of Christmas day then you need them to be comfortable, as well as making nappy changes easy.
- Take Lots of Photos - Really, take loads, and remember to get some with you in them as well!
- Make Your Own Traditions - My husband and I grew up with different traditions about where the presents would be, when they were opened, what time dinner was and so on. Well now that you have started your own family it's your chance to start again and pick what are going to be your family traditions.
- Enjoy it - Whatever you do try and enjoy the day. Don't spend it in the kitchen cooking up a feast, you have enough to do looking after a newborn. Keep it simple and have fun.
Do you have any tips for new parents at Christmas? We'd love to hear what you think.
Whatever you do for your baby's first Christmas have a wonderful time.
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