text: Looking after a newborn baby is one of the most exhausting periods in a woman's life. You haven'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.'
target: Looking after a newborn is one of the most exhausting periods in life .
  New mums are surviving on little sleep and providing round-the-clock care .
  When friends and family visit the baby, they have several annoying habits .
  Parenting blogger Emily-Jane Clark shows how NOT to annoy a new mum .