What do you need to know as new parents?
There is a whole load of information that is thrown at you when you are pregnant and just after you’ve given birth.
When you’ve just given birth to a whole human being, listening to people chat with you is the last thing that you want to do, understandably so.
However, you need information to get through the parenting that is to come!
Sure, you’ll learn a lot on your feet, but it’s nice to have some knowledge in the bank, right?
In this post, we’re going to look at some of the different things that you need to know when you’re a first-timer parent.
If you want to know more, you know what to do.
1. Safe Sleeping
Safe sleeping has been all over social media for quite a long time now.
We’re pretty sure there are people without babies who know so much about safe sleeping.
It is baffling, but a lot of the information that people share online isn’t accurate.
The last thing that we want is for you to follow the advice of someone online.
Someone who has no idea what they’re talking about or who has taken facts and skewed them.
Or, a person who said that because they didn’t follow safe sleeping and nothing bad happened, it doesn’t matter who does what.
That’s not true because safe sleeping guidelines are there for a reason.
So, to practice the safest possible sleeping, your baby should be next to you or in a bassinet or a cot with a sleeping bag.
As new parents, you also need to know how to lower crib safely .
There should not be duvets, covers, pillows, cuddly toys, or anything similar.
The reason is that they can pull these onto themselves and suffocate.
Cot bumpers are also not recommended.
This is useful when they start to try to come out of their cot as they grow, and how to keep their room safe.
2. Temperature Control
Another thing that you need to know is about temperature control.
Your baby is likely not the same temperature as you and they do not have the ability to regulate their temperature in the way that we do.
So, you need to ensure that you are doing this for them and it can be tricky.
We recommend that you get a thermostat for each room in the house.
This is so that you can check the temperature and adjust their clothing accordingly.
It’s generally the case that they need a layer or two more than we do.
So, whatever you wear is not going to be enough when they are very little, and you need to think about this.
If you as new parents feel the need to wear a coat, then they are going to need a lot of extra protection.
You can learn more about this on various sites!
3. Signs Of Anything Wrong
You must know what to look out for in your baby.
There are some illnesses that babies can get that are more dangerous to them than anyone else.
One of the 5 importance of regular medical check-ups is that it helps you prevent, treat and avoid illness at an early stage.
If your baby gets one of these, you need to know what the signs are.
That is when you can get them the help that they need sooner rather than later.
The longer that you leave it, the worse your baby can get and this is never a good thing.
Generally, it is recommended that if your baby is under five weeks old and has anything resembling an illness they get checked over by the doctor immediately.
After this, if they have general cold symptoms that improve quickly then they are likely okay.
If they have more severe symptoms though and they are not going away, then you should seek medical advice asap.
Seek regular medical check-ups as new parents.
Again, you don’t want to leave this to worsen because who knows what could happen.
4. Crying Is Okay…Both Of You
Crying is okay, and this goes for both the baby and for you.
We know that you are always told that when a baby is crying it’s because they need something, but there are times when this is not the case.
If you cannot see any reason why they are crying and you have tried everything that you can think of to get them to stop but it’s just not working, maybe they just need to get it out.
It’s the same for you too.
You can cry if you want to, it’s normal and it’s okay to do.
Sometimes you’ve just got to let the tears flow, especially when things are hard.
They will get better though, you just have to hang on and keep pushing your way through.
5. Ask For Help When You Need It
There are going to be days when you need help more than others.
There are going to be moments where as new parents you feel as though you cannot do this anymore, and that’s where your support system comes into play.
You need to have people around you that you can ask for help when you need it, otherwise you’re going to struggle more than you can imagine.
Whether this is friends, family members, your partner, or whoever else you trust, you have to be willing to say that you need help when you need help.
If you do not, then you risk pushing yourself to burnout.
When this happens, you’re no good to anyone, and who does that help?
It’s better to take a break than to burn out, we promise and it’s true that everyone else would rather you did this too.
You’re not alone, okay? You don’t have to tackle everything on your own as new parents.
If you struggle to maintain your relationships with people, these 25 tips to maintain your relationship with good friends would be helpful.
Conclusion
So, there you go then!
These are some of the things that we think you need to know as a first-time parent.
It’s not always going to be sunshine and rainbows, and sometimes you’re going to want to cry, it’s okay.
You can do this, even if it feels as though you can’t, we promise that you can.
It’s a lot to take in, but you will get there one day at a time. You’ve just gotta keep going.
