My sister and husband just their first child. I'm an aunt yay! But it has been hard for them.
First they moved across the country.
My brother-in-law know how hard it is for my sis but she is stubborn, more than I am even and that has made the transition to motherhood hard for her. I have been out once to visit but will be coming again in a couple of months.
He has offered to have a housekeeper to come once a week or every other week. On top of that he has tried to take as much work off of her plate as he can. For example he has started to iron his work clothes. And is slowly learning how to cook. Sis says that it is edible, yay BIL!
Some things that I have learned is that this is a marathon, not a sprint. A bit of sleep deprivation comes with the territory but you should attempt to get as much as possible. One thing that they have started to do is take naps when baby naps. Also during the overnight periods they have started to limit how often both parents are awake. No more "team" feedings, instead they take turns. After all rested parents are happier attentive parents and that meas better parents all around.
My sister has said that it has been too much for her some nights. Apparently a crying baby at 2 AM is hard to deal with sometimes. I say to her: Do not feel bad sis. We know that you are not a monster. You are not required to be happy that you are awake in the middle of the night. And while you don't have to be happy about attempting to sooth the un-soothable, you are just have to clench your teeth and do it.
One thing that she has complained about and I agree that it is easy to get is info-overload. Parenthood requires a lot of decision making. Even doing it through proxy like I am I feel like I am completely overwhelmed sometimes. And while some of them merit careful consideration most do not require us to read a research paper on the subject.