The first few days and weeks after a baby is born are a very special time and family and friends are keen to come and see the new arrival. Every parent wants to present their precious bundle to the world, but a constant stream of visitors can create additional stress when what’s really needed is a bit of peace and quiet. Here’s dad of 2 Ben Wakeling with his tips on how to achieve a balance.

Getting home from the hospital after the birth of a child is an incredibly important time. It gives you the chance to bond as a new family, away from the stresses and strains of outside life; a moment to adjust to your new settings; time for your child to settle in at home.

That is, until the visitors come round. In their thousands. And often out of the blue.

Sometimes, they’re welcome. Grandparents want to see their new grandkids, smother them in kisses, leave them smelling like old lady perfume. But when hordes of rubber-necking visitors come through your door, leaving a wake of muddy footprints and empty coffee mugs behind them, it can get a bit irritating. So how do you deal with unwanted guests without upsetting them? Here are just three of the many ways you can get a bit of peace and quiet:

Set Visiting Hours

A great way of at least regulating how long the guests stay at your place is to enforce strict visiting hours. This gives you all time to relax and settle in to family life, as well as giving you the opportunity to look respectable for when visitors do arrive.

Alternatively, you could always stick a note on your front door simply saying that mum and baby are asleep, so back off (or ‘do not disturb’, if you want to be all traditional and polite about it). You’d be surprised how many visitors back off when reading it, especially if you use terribly offensive language.

Make Up An Appointment

Visitors will come, and they will invariably outstay their welcome – which, to be fair, only lasted about 30 seconds anyway, so they didn’t ever stand much of a chance.

If you really want to get rid of someone, make sure you mention to them as soon as they come in that they can only stay for, say, half an hour, as your mrs has an appointment to get to. You don’t even have to say what the appointment is for, if you don’t feel like making something up. Which could be fun.

Put Baby Down

No, not in the veterinarian way! Gosh. I mean for a nap.

Let’s face it: the visitors aren’t here to see you, or your mrs. In fact, by this point, you both probably look so knackered and dishevelled they may well avoid eye contact with you altogether. So if you put your baby down for a nap, it won’t be long before whoever has come round will lose interest and leave. Ta-dah! Your house is empty. Apart from you, of course. And the mrs. And your bab – oh, you know what I mean.

Did you feel overwhelmed by visitors after your baby was born? How did you cope and what would you do differently now? Leave a comment after this post and we’ll choose one person to receive a pack of BornFree CoolFlow Soothers

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