Let’s face it, those first few weeks (and months) with your newborn can be intense.

To help, we’ve put together 10 New Mom Survival Tips. It’s everything we think you need to know that the books don’t tell you.

We hope these new mom survival tips give you the confidence and reassurance to survive and thrive through the fourth trimester and beyond.

Trust your gut.

You may be new to this Mama and feel like you have no idea what you’re doing, but here you are, and even if you don’t believe it, your mother instincts know just what to do. Your body knows, just as it did these last nine months of carrying your little one, exactly what your new BFF needs and wants. It’s biological, its instinct. It’s motherhood. Quiet the noise of social media and friends and family members that make you second-guess yourself, so you can hear what your gut says and get in tune with your baby.

So many expecting moms think, “I took the classes at the hospital and I don’t need to pay for new friends, I already have friends that have babies.”

We completely understand where you’re coming from. You’ve done all of the prep work and you have lots of friends who are mamas – why should you pay to meet other moms? Isn’t that what your friends are for?

But here’s the thing.

There is a huuuuuge difference between having friends who have 6-month olds, 1-year olds, and 3-year olds, and having a group with moms who have babies the exact same age as yours. Once your friends have passed the newborn phase, they’re having a completely different experience than you are. Sure, they might remember it was hard, but they won’t be able to relate to you in the way that people going through the exact same thing will.

I see pumps all the time in my job; I listen to mothers and how they feel about so many different brands; I watch videos, read manuals, and talk to companies’ experts… And I know choosing the right pump for you could become a real challenge. Based on my work experience, and also as a mother, I thought it would be helpful to share some tips and things to consider when you pick a pump…

6 Tips for Choosing the Right Pump

1. The first thing to learn is what kinds of pumps are available in the market. The pumps are categorized by level of power and efficiency to remove the milk, in the following order, from lowest to highest:

   -  Manual pumps
   -  Electrical single pumps
   -  Electrical double pumps
   -  Hospital rated pumps (which are also double electric pumps)

The constant cry of an upset and fussy baby can challenge us to our core. We may even have a chemical reaction in our body that causes us to sweat and feel as though our blood pressure is rising. When we get that feeling, all rational thinking often disappears on us!

When that happens, firstly: Try and run through this common checklist of reasons your baby might be fussy.

• Hunger
• Too hot
• Overstimulated
• In pain or discomfort
• Dirty diaper
• Overtired
• Needs affection or wants to be held
• Sick

If you’ve exhausted this list and haven’t managed to soothe your little one, it’s time to try imitating the uterus — the profoundly calming place your baby has just spent the past 40 or so weeks.

When baby is about to come, your shopping list is huge, and yes, probably you have a whole section for breastfeeding. There’re tons of products in the market and you don’t even know where to start.