Having people visit during the first week at home is a mixed blessing. Doctors routinely encourage new mothers to breastfeed their baby 8 to 10 times a day. Immediately after giving this advice, they tell you to get lots of rest. If you do the math, you will quickly see that it’s impossible to feed babies that much and get much rest.
While it helps to have friends or relatives assist you in taking care of the baby, what begins as a 5-minute visit can easily stretch to an hour or more. As a result, loved ones can unintentionally prevent you from taking a catnap or just closing your eyes to rest.
I advise new parents to restrict or discourage visitors during their first week or two that a baby is at home. It’s terrific for people to bring food or do some shopping for you, but they shouldn’t stay for more than 30 minutes. In addition, it’s a good idea for fathers to tell friends and family about limited visiting hours so moms can concentrate on nursing.
