Things I Learnt From Being A New Parent

I was overwhelmed with mixed feelings just before I had my daughter. Don’t get me wrong, I was really excited about wanting to meet the little miss that had my insides all messed up , but I was also forced to confront the fact that my life was officially about to change. I have heard stories of how sleep becomes a major luxury and how my time was going to stop being mine.

Thing is the responsibilities are more overwhelming than I thought and I am not even exaggerating. You’d be surprised how much strain it can put on your romantic relationship with your spouse if you are not mindful and prepared.it is absolutely exciting to have a new member in the family but no matter how prepared you are, you’d discover there are a number of things you’d learn on the job.

Since I am such a nice lady, I am going to share with you some tips I have learnt first-hand.

Get some help if you can. It is not really easy settling back to work and handling all the house chores while taking care of a new child(ren). So, it is advisable to get some form of help, it could be relatives, friends or paid help. The strength in your arms can be saved for other things if you can easily access help from other people.

You should plan your sleep pattern around your child's. This is especially for new mums. I remember I was always in a constant state of fatigue after I had my child because she was always awake at really odd hours. I found a way around it by forcing myself to sleep whenever my daughter slept.

Don’t give medication just because you presumed what could be wrong. Run the necessary tests so as not to complicate issues. My daughter had a high fever recently and the elderly people around me told me it was because she was teething. It was after the results of her tests came out that it was discovered she had malaria. Imagine if I gave her drugs just to relieve the teething pains, the malaria could have gotten worse.

Don’t panic over everything and anything. I am guilty of this. The first three months had me checking for the colour of her poo, the movement of her neck, her response to her surroundings and whatever else you can think of. Most times, the things we worry about are always unfounded. Ione is sensitive because one is new at parenting. I have learnt that a child might just be crying because she just wants your attention. It is not always something serious.

                                                                                                                                                 

There is really no manual for the perfect way to take perfect care of your child so you should just go with your instincts. Also bear in mind that you can never do enough for your child. You’d discover that it is 10% work and 90% grace. This brings me to my most important tip.

Never cease to commit your child(ren) into God’s hands. Noone can watch over them like He will.

Truth be told, it is inexpiable the joy one feels giving one's best to one's child. I have just one now, I am looking forward to having more. I am told there are more lessons to be learnt on patience when I have more children. For now, these tips I shared are my chief tips. I’d love to read from you. What have you learnt from parenting? How do you cope?