Looking after a newborn baby is one of the most exhausting periods in a woman 's life . You have n't recovered from giving birth and are suddenly on duty 24/7 , responsible for entertaining , feeding and cleaning an unstoppable machine . On top of this , the mothers have to deal with the never-ending conveyor belt of friends and family who are desperate to see the new addition . Looking after a newborn is one of the most exhausting periods in life ( picture posed by model ) Well-meaning visitors arrive at the house armed with gifts for the baby and plenty of compliments . But while they might be well-intentioned , there are a number of pitfalls to be avoided when cooing over a newborn . Parenting blogger Emily-Jane Clark , who runs the popular site How to Survive a Sleep Thief , which she describes as 'an antithesis to baby advice ' , has compiled a list of the ways that visitors can avoid annoying a new mother . They include bringing gifts for the mum and coming armed with chocolate and coffee - read on to find out more ... New mothers receive plenty of visitors shorty after giving birth , who often have annoying habits ( picture posed by model ) 1 . DO NOT arrive unannounced to ‘ give us a break from the baby ’ . Emily-Jane says : 'We have known our child for two days . We do not need a break from her just yet . 'Give me a week or two and no doubt I ’ ll be begging for you to take her off my hands ! ' 2 . DO buy presents for ME ! Not for the baby . Emily-Jane says : ' I ’ m the one with the stitched up lady bits who did all the hard work . My daughter has spent the past ten months sitting on her arse . My need for gifts is greater than hers . 'Besides , all she cares about right now is milky breasts . So unless you can supply some of those then you really needn ’ t bother . 'And what ’ s with all the muslins ? In no other situation would it be deemed acceptable to buy someone just out of hospital cleaning cloths as a present . Not to mention the ultimate insult . I can barely bring myself to type the words . NON-alcoholic ‘ champagne ’ . Sparkling bloody grape juice ! ' I have just endured ten months of pregnancy and hours of labour . Do you not think I might need a proper drink ? Sure , I am breastfeeding , but I can still have one glass ( yes , I checked , by god , did I check ) . ' Mothers are often on the brink of exhaustion when looking after a newborn ( picture posed by model ) 3 . DO wash your hands before you touch my baby . Emily-Jane says : 'You may think you have clean hands until you meet the first time mother of a newborn . 'The brand new mum is highly adept in detecting dirt invisible to the naked eye . She is well aware that on every square centimetre of your hand there are 1,500 bacteria . 'And the moment you touch her baby ’ s face or , god forbid , let the baby suck your finger ( why ? ) – she can see all 50,000 of those germy little tossers wriggling off your hand and into her baby ’ s brand new little mouth . ' 4 . DO give support not advice . Emily-Jane says : ' I might tell you I am finding motherhood tough . I may say I feel out of my depth . But do not take this to mean I need you to tell me how to feed/hold/change my baby . 'Thanks to the Internet , parenting books and the NHS , my head is filled with so much advice that I am already struggling to listen to my maternal instincts . 'So offer a shoulder to cry on , or a sympathetic ear , but please , no unsolicited advice . ' Mothers often get a stream of visitors in the months after giving birth ( picture posed by model ) 5 . DO NOT tell me that my baby looks just like her father . Emily-Jane says : 'She doesn ’ t . She currently looks like a wrinkly , blotchy newborn . Seriously , if my husband really did look like a two-day-old baby I don ’ t think I would have married him . ' 6 . DO NOT gender stereo-type my child . Emily-Jane says : 'Just because I have a girlbaby it does not mean I want to dress her up like a princess or fill her room with princesses . 7 . DO NOT enter my home unless you are armed with coffee and or/chocolate . 8 . DO NOT ask me questions about the future . Emily-Jane says : 'Will you be getting her christened ? When will she go in her own room ? Will you be going to the NCT baby group ? Where will she go to school ? 'Right now , I can barely work out what I am doing tomorrow , let alone in three years ’ time . '
waking after a newborn is one of the most exhausting tasks in life . New mums are surviving on little sleep and receive round - the - clock visits . When friends and family visit the baby , they have several annoying problems . Parenting : Emily - minded Clark shows how NOT to annoy a new mum .