A new baby is a wonderful gift from the Lord, bringing joy and thankfulness. But he or she comes with a lot of extras – sleepless nights, constant nappy changing, feeding routines, oodles of laundry, and suddenly it takes at least half an hour to get ready to leave the house.
In the middle of all of this, normal routines can go out the window. Even a daily shower begins to feel like a luxury.
So how does this affect Christian mums? It can be very difficult to get to church; then when you do, you’re often in a back room trying to feed or change your baby, and then settle them back to sleep. At the end of a service you’re so tired you just want to get home. All of which makes it difficult to get regular teaching or Christian fellowship.
Quiet Times are also hit. Someone who used to spend regular time each morning studying the Bible and praying is suddenly struggling to read God’s Word at all.
Cassie Martin and Sarah Smart are two mums, with three boys each, who experienced all of this and more. And what they found was that well-meaning friends told them not to worry about Quiet Times. There would be plenty of time for that when the baby was older.
But this was a time when they needed to be fed from God’s Word, and be reminded again of His goodness and love.
That’s the background to the New Baby Survival Guide. It has 30 very short Bible readings from Psalms. Each has a couple of questions, some comment, and a prayer – all written with new mothers in mind. There are true stories from mums who have experienced having a disabled child, or single motherhood, or coping with twins. The passages are printed in the book, so there’s no need to try and find a Bible that has been buried under a pile of baby clothes, and there’s also an A-Z of being a new mum.
And it all comes in a small, spiral-bound book – designed to stay open and flat even when you need both hands to hold and care for your baby. Or as an ebook that can be sitting waiting on your phone for an odd snatched moment, such as when you've driven home, your baby is asleep in the back of the car, and you don’t want to disturb them by getting out.
Most importantly of all, Cassie and Sarah have written something that will help mums to stay close to the loving Lord who gave them their child, and who loves their newborn even more than they do.
Click HERE to find out more.