Smart Parenting Tips to Avoid Exhaustion

Image Credit: Jessie Maxwell from Unsplash.

Being a first-time parent can be an exciting experience. But, it’s also an anxiety-inducing one, as you’ll want to make sure you’re looking after your baby properly, though you mightn’t know exactly what you’re doing. This can be a nerve-wracking experience for anyone.

This doesn’t have to be nearly as overwhelming as you’d think. More than a few parenting tips can help with this, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t be a smoother experience. With them, you’ll end up making the experience an amazing one with nothing to worry about.

Seven tips could help with this a whole lot more than others, making them more than worth starting off with.

1. Decide on How to Feed

Once your baby arrives, you’ll have the choice between breast feeding or bottle feeding them. Everyone has their preferences with this, and both can offer their pros and cons. It’s worth having a rough idea of what you want ahead of time so you can have everything you need in place, whatever way you decide.

You could always decide to feed your child breast milk, but through a bottle, too. This often offers the best of both words, though it comes with the drawback of needing to make sure there’s enough milk stored away for your child when you need it. Go with the best option for you and your baby.

2. Set Up the Nursery Properly

You’ll naturally want to put a lot of time and effort into your child’s nursery before they arrive. Do more than just sort out the basics with this and make sure it looks nice. It’s worth going out of your way to make sure it’s as perfect as possible, which means more than just visuals. You’ll need to consider practicalities, too.

This could include everything from getting the right crib and changing table to knowing the most comfortable sleep temperature for babies. While this seems complicated, it doesn’t need to be nearly as hard as you’d think. It’s just a matter of putting a bit of time and effort into it.

3. Embrace the Mess

You’ll have more than enough to do after your baby is born, and you’ll see this from the second you bring them home. It’s natural for a few of the less important areas to fall by the wayside a little bit, with cleanliness being one of the more common areas this happens with. Be prepared for that.

While you’ll do what you can to keep everything clean, don’t be embarrassed if there’s a bit of a backlog with the laundry, for example. You could end up needing to clean your baby’s clothes so much, it’s relatively natural for there to be a backlog with your own clean clothes. It happens to everyone.

4. Have a Routine (But Be Flexible)

Routines can be a lifesaver for new parents and their babies. It helps your baby feel secure and comfortable while giving them an understanding of what they should expect on an average day. And, it’ll give you a greater sense of structure as you settle into parenthood. You’ve no reason not to have this routine from as early as possible.

But, you’ll have to make sure you’re relatively flexible. Babies grow and change faster than many parents expect, and you’ll need to adjust based on their needs. Being too rigid could lead to both you and your baby being frustrated, so it’s worth being as flexible as you can be with your routine.

5. Build a Support Network

It’s natural to feel like you and your partner need to do everything for your baby. While you will in time, it can be a difficult transition at the start. You could struggle to adapt and need a bit of help with it. There’s nothing wrong with that, and it’s relatively straightforward to avoid feeling overwhelmed during this time.

Having a strong support network in place should help reduce this stress, and it helps take a lot of the pressure off you and your partner’s shoulders. It’ll also help you adjust much better, as well as to get into a routine that lets you take care of all of the baby-related duties, and other responsibilities you could have.

6. Don’t Forget Self-Care

Speaking of support, there are plenty of times when you could need this. One of the more overlooked of these is when you need some self-care. New parents often put this on the backburner, given how important it is to properly look after your newborn. But, that doesn’t mean you should neglect yourself completely.

If you go down that route, you could end up feeling burnt out, and you mightn’t be in the best position possible to actually be a parent. Make sure you’re getting this self-care when you can. Don’t leave it until you’re feeling overwhelmed. You’re much better off being proactive so you can properly be there for your baby, and your partner.

7. Trust Your Instincts

One of the strongest assets you’ll ever have is your instincts, and you’ll use this on more than a few occasions. This doesn’t just have to mean at work or with your friends and family, though. It’s also worth keeping this in mind as a parent, too. While you can use a lot of parenting advice, sometimes you’re the one who knows best for your child.

After your baby’s born, you’ll see that they have their own way of communicating. You’ll learn this relatively quickly, and your gut will always give you a great indication of what your child’s trying to communicate. Keep that in mind moving forward so you can figure out the best path forward for you and your child.

Having your first child is an exciting experience, but it can also be an anxiety-inducing one. You’ll be worried about making sure you’re doing everything right, after all. This doesn’t mean you’ve to settle for it being overwhelming. By focusing on the right parenting tips, there should be a whole lot less to worry about.

*collaborative post