Breastfeeding is a really hard skill that takes time to learn. I experienced this myself and see so many mums struggle through this learning curve as a paediatrician. It is so important to ask for help and know that it does not come easily to most mums.

Newborns are so noisy. Even though I knew it was normal, the sounds newborns make while breathing and sleeping are still a huge adjustment. They can be so loud and go through periods of sounding congested, coughing, gagging while learning to feed, and making squeaky sounds, among others. It took us some time to get used to sleeping through these normal noises.

Nothing can really prepare you for the lack of sleep with newborns. I thought I was ready from years of difficult hours with medical training and it was still a shock to the system. It takes babies time to learn to sleep in a crib and for their sleep cycles to develop and even knowing this it was still hard. Remind yourself over and over that the sleep deprivation is temporary!

One thing I’ll never forget about being postpartum with my first baby was how much better it made me feel to talk to other mums going through it. I was lucky enough to have two friends having their first babies around the same time and we talked about anything and everything, it felt good knowing that they were also up in the middle of the night feeding their babies, worrying, recovering, and learning. Having them to share fears and joys made me feel understood in a way that no one else could at that time.