*Don't let crying rattle you. Postpartum hormones give you a visceral reaction to crying that feels just terrible. It makes you feel like you need to jump up the second the baby makes a noise, and when he really cries, you feel like he is screaming, "I hate you!" or "I'm suffering! Why don't you help me?" It's painful. Try to remind yourself that crying is the baby's only way of talking, and usually it is just that: he is simply saying, "I'm slightly uncomfortable" or "Please take me outside." If you need to go to the bathroom, or finish a bite of food, or drive in traffic, it is okay to let the baby cry for a few moments while you do that.

*Don't wake the baby. I mistakenly thought that, since newborns sleep a lot, I'd have lots of down time. I even thought I would subscribe to Netflix and watch movies in my spare time! In reality, babies sleep in very small chunks, and they wake easily at random times. Often they will only sleep while on top of your unmoving body. Figure out what wakes the baby up unnecessarily, and then figure out tricks to prevent it. For example:

--Swaddle to prevent moro reflex, which wakes baby with flailing arms
--Prevent a loose swaddle which needs to be re-wrapped by using the Miracle Blanket (see product reviews)
--Cover velcro strips (on your diaper bag, etc.) w/ duct tape because the sound wakes them up
--DO NOT CHANGE pee-only diapers in the night
--Wear him in a sling or on a moveable breastfeeding pillow, so that you can move around a little when he finally falls asleep.

*Go out to dinner and travel when your baby is still tiny. Although most things get easier as the baby gets older, this doesn't! Newborns fit in portable carriers, sleep in noisy environments, are light-weight, and don't have scheduled bed times. You can bring them to a restaurant or on a plane and they will probably sleep the whole time. Once the baby has a bedtime (around 4 months?), you suddenly have a curfew and become more housebound. Unless you can get used to having dinner at 5:00, you won't be dining out much after that.