Words Of Wisdom For New Parents:
So your little bundle of joy is finally here and you cannot wait to spend all that time creating memories and “ooh-ing” and “aah-ing” over everything they do. Of course, they are going to be the best children ever and you will put every other parent to shame. After all how hard can it be? All of a sudden you realize you cannot stick to a routine, your perfectly planned day has officially flown out the window and all those parenting advice books really need to go into the bin. This is when you require words of wisdom for new parents!
What all books fail to tell you is that you are dealing with little people. Beings, just like you, that have personalities of their own. To top it off, they don’t talk. They just cry as a means of communication. Hungry? Cry. Cold? Cry. Hot? Cry. Belly ache? Cry. Want to fuss and cuddle? Cry.
It’s up to you to decipher what they really want. At this point you seriously wonder how on Earth your parents managed it and even made it look easy. Here are a few words of wisdom for new parents, to help you maintain your sanity until you get the hang of parent-hood.
The Best Words of Wisdom for New Parents:
1. Rest As Much As You Can
After my first baby I was constantly tired and cranky and just couldn’t find time to finish all the things that needed to be done. I remember regularly telling my husband that I would like my old job back and that I had never been this tired in my life even after working a 16 hour day at office. After a couple of weeks of doing this, I reached the point of exhaustion and just couldn’t handle it any longer.
I had to fall back on the age old adage of “sleep when baby sleeps”. It was easier said than done but, I made it a point to not skip my afternoon rest. Needless to say the state of my house was not neat but a rested me was a happier me.
2. Let The Neatness Rest
At this point you have to let go of your ‘Neat Freak’ and let yourself take a break from a super neat house. Your mental health is of utmost importance right now and neatness has to be put on the back burner. Your baby needs a clean but, not neat house. Having said that, it is important to be clean but, not necessarily neat.
3. Accepting Help
Whether it’s to clean the dishes, look after baby for some time, help you settle up or even cook a meal for you; if someone offers the help, don’t feel ashamed to take it. We tend to think we can do it all because all our lives we have seen our parents doing it all. But, we seem to forget that we don’t remember anything from our infancy and only remember them being veterans at the parenting game.
Accepting help is not a bad thing. It means you get some much needed “Me” time and a break from the pressure of being a perfect parent.
4. Grabbing “Me” Time
As a new parent you suddenly realize that your day is filled with only baby and baby’s needs. All concept of having time to do anything for yourself has disappeared into the void called Parenthood. But, it is important to both your baby and you, that you keep in touch with yourself and take a breather from the daily routine of looking after your new miniature person. It’s important to remember that your child learns from your example not your words. This is highly important words of wisdom for new parents!
5. Looking After Your Marriage
In the whirlwind of having a new baby in the house one of the most common mistakes people tend to make is neglecting their spouse. Remember your love for one another is what brought about this new person in the first place. Sadly our marriages seem to suffer from all the energy it takes to look after this new miracle in our lives.
Arrange a sitter, ask a friend or better yet, ask the grand parents to look after the grand child for an evening. Spend some time with your spouse even if it is just an evening watching a movie on the couch at home.
Be grateful for all the little help they give you around the house. Remember they are also new to this game and probably know less than you as they are not attuned to baby’s every need, given that they spend less time at home. This is perhaps the most neglected of all the words of wisdom for new parents!
Remember that while you experience all the difficult times related to this new miracle, you will also experience untold joys. Finally welcome to this roller coaster ride called parenthood.