7 Things To Do When Your Friend Has A Baby (& What Not To Do)

At a certain point in your life, it’s not uncommon to feel like all of your friends and family members are having babies. That happens to almost everyone. The trick to this is how you respond to this seemingly surprising development. By knowing the right things to do when your friend has a baby, you shouldn’t have to stress about anything.

Whether they’re about to give birth or have already, there are a few of these to be aware of. From baby shower wishes and messages to seeing if there’s anything you can do for them, seven of these are more than worth considering. Why not take a look through them?

Things To Do When Your Friend Has A Baby: 7 Top Options

1. Ask Whether She Wants Visits

There’s a large chance your friend will be busy with their newborn and countless other things in the weeks after the baby’s born. She mightn’t have the time for you to just drop by unannounced. You wouldn’t want to catch her when she’s busy, so ask if she’s available for a visit.

If she’s not available that day, you can always arrange for a visit for when she’s got more time. While it’s only a little bit of effort, it’s something she’ll appreciate more than you’d think.

2. Offer To Babysit Older Kids

If your friend has older children, they could find it hard to keep up with looking after them on top of looking after their newborn. Why not give them a bit of a break by offering to babysit their older kids for a little while?

Though they’ll still end up needing to be with their newborn, it could give them a chance to relax a little and even get some extra sleep. It’ll give her a much-needed break, which is often one of the more important things they’ll need.

3. Keep Visits Short

If your friend says she’s okay with a visit, it’s worth keeping these relatively short. Her and her partner will have quite a lot to do with the newborn, and they’ll have multiple other things to do aside from that. They mightn’t have the time just to sit and chat for a few hours. Avoid long visits as much as possible.

Feel free to ask her if she’s short on time or in a rush, and base how long you stay on this. They could feel rude if they need to ask you to leave, so avoid it by keeping your visits relatively short.

4. Ask Leading Questions

When you want to help your friend, it’s natural to ask, “What can I do to help?” As logical as that is, it could lead to your friend feeling a little overwhelmed, and she might say there’s nothing she needs. She might still actually need help with something, though. She just wouldn’t know how to say it.

By asking leading questions, you can work around this. Asking if you can babysit the kids is a great example of this, as mentioned above. Think of things you believe she’ll need help with, and ask if you can help with them.

5. Ask About Allergies Before Bringing Food

With how busy your friend can be looking after their baby, it’s not uncommon for them not to have enough time or energy to cook fresh dinners. Cooking food for them is one of the more practical things to do when your friend has a baby. It’s a more than recommended option, as you’ll really be helping them out.

Before you do this, though, make sure to ask about any allergies. You wouldn’t want to end up cooking something that they won’t be able to eat, after all. It only takes a few seconds to ask, so there’s no reason not to.

6. Listen To Her

You’ll naturally be talking to your friend quite a bit after she has a baby. When you’re doing this, make sure to actually pay attention and listen to her. The better you can listen to her, the better you can actually help her. Sometimes, she might just want to vent about what’s going on in her life.

If that’s the case, you’ll end up helping her much more than you would’ve thought. In quite a few cases, she’ll feel much better because of it. Listen along and feel free to nod and agree with her when appropriate.

7. Wash Your Hands Before Touching The Baby

Nobody wants to be told to wash their hands, but it’s something you should do before touching or picking up a baby. It’s something you’ll need to do, though. The baby’s immune system wouldn’t be properly developed, so they’re much more at risk of getting sick than other people are.

Washing your hands avoids you getting any germs on them and risking them getting sick. Since that’s something everyone wants to avoid, go out of your way to wash your hands. It only takes a few minutes, so there’s no excuse not to.

What Not To Do

Knowing the right things to do when your friend has a baby is a great way of showing you care and want to be there for them. That’s far from the only thing you’ll need to do, though. You’ll also need to avoid doing a few things if you want to make sure your friend and their newborn are as comfortable as possible.

While you can find out the specifics from your friend themselves, there are a few common things you’ll want to avoid, including:

• Don’t Bring Guests – You’ll be visiting your friend at some point or another. As mentioned above, ask before going there. When you are visiting, make sure you don’t bring any unexpected guests. Your friend already has a lot to deal with, so they  mightn’t be in the mood for extra guests.
• Don’t Make Assumptions – It’s easy for people to make assumptions based on what people are saying, but these assumptions aren’t always accurate. If you want to avoid irritating or offending your friend about how they’re looking after their baby, it’s worth avoiding making these assumptions. Ask questions instead.
• Don’t Offer Unsolicited Advice – It’s not uncommon for people to want to give advice to new parents. A lot of this can be unsolicited, and new parents mightn’t actually want this. There’s a decent chance they already know what they’re doing. If they don’t, they’ll ask questions. Avoid offering unsolicited advice if you don’t  want to irritate them.

By avoiding each of these, you should make sure there aren’t any uncomfortable situations and you don’t put a foot out of place. If you’re unsure about anything, make sure to ask your friend about it. You shouldn’t have a problem making sure your friend and their newborn are both comfortable.

Things To Do When Your Friend Has A Baby: Wrapping Up

There are more than a few things to do when your friend has a baby, many of which are much easier to do than you could’ve thought. You shouldn’t have to put much time or effort into it, but it’s worth going out of your way to help them.

Offering to babysit, bringing food your friend and their family can enjoy, listening to your friend, and similar options are all some of the more notable of these. As recommended as these are, it’s also worth knowing what you should avoid doing during this time.

Nobody wants to make any mistakes or cause any accidents, after all, so it’s worth keeping each of the above in mind.