"Giving birth just before or during the holidays might seem like unfortunate timing. There is the crushing pressure to buy gifts and send greeting cards, the whirl of holiday parties and, for some of us, that inexplicable drive to make elaborately festive confections. I was so afflicted one year: I mixed butter cookies with one hand while nursing my 2-month-old in the other. Good for developing my right bicep, bad for my baby, who kept slipping from position. Suffice to say that the mix of magic and madness spikes people's stress levels and sucks up the day's hours like an industrial-strength vacuum. But you can relish the holidays without compromising your own well-being or that of your new baby. You just have to set limits for yourself and others. If you're used to creating the perfect Martha Stewart holiday, try to lower your expectations; think "less is more" and do exactly as much as you want...."(read more)