Do you know the 7 common mistakes new parents make in the first year?
Maybe you are expecting your first baby and interested in avoiding the common mistakes new parents make in the very first year of their parenthood. Becoming a parent is not easy and the very first year can be the toughest as many struggles to understand their new role as mom or dad. But being extra careful and preparing well can always lessen the number of mistakes you make. Following are the seven common mistakes new parents make (that you must avoid) in the first year:
- Panicking Over Anything And Everything
Panicking can be one of the major reasons for not performing a task well. The same applies to parenting as well. Many new parents show unnecessary physical reactions to vomiting, spitting up and similar other things babies do. Being careful and being worried are two different things. So, try not to worry much and be careful in doing things that are necessary to be done. You need to understand that babies are far more resilient than you may think.
- Waking The Baby For Breastfeeding
Newborn babies sleep more than 16 hours a day, 2-4 hours each time. And you must not hamper his or her sleep cycle just to feed. You can get plenty of time to feed your baby when he or she is awake. So, let your baby sleep as long as he or she wants and feed only when he or she is awake.
- Trusting Unreliable Sources For Parenting Advice
There are so many aspects of parenting. And you might need help for many of these aspects, but when you do everything you hear from other, you do things that are not right for you and your baby. Be very careful about where to get information from. Consult doctors and childcare specialists to have the best advice regarding any aspect. You can also trust high authority childcare sites online.
- Not Sharing the Load
As a mom or dad, many parents take the overload and make a mess of everything. So, try to understand how your spouse can help you take good care of the baby. You may be diapering the baby faster, but your spouse needs to learn that as well. When others offer you help, not accepting is not a good idea. Being a parent especially a new parent can be overwhelming and exhausting. So, always be open to getting help and sharing the load.
- Not Sleeping When The Baby Is Asleep
As I already have mentioned babies sleep at least 16 hours a day but not at a stretch. Sleeping when the baby is asleep is the best way to have enough sleep. Otherwise, you won’t be able to take care of your baby when he or she is awake. In fact, you have nothing to do when the baby is asleep, but you need to keep taking actions one after another when the baby is awake and active. So, learn to sleep enough by sleeping when your baby sleep.
- Not letting the Baby Cry Out
As a new parent, you need to understand that crying is not always bad for a new baby. Yes, your baby will cry when something is wrong, and you need to fix it. But babies are designed to cry as well. Crying is just a part of being a baby. So, try soothing the baby but don’t always think something is terribly wrong. Just let the baby cry it out.
- Not Breastfeeding The Baby For Long Enough
At least six months of exclusive breastfeeding is recommended by doctors. After that, you can give your baby various healthy baby food along with breastfeeding.
Then, you can slowly move to various pre-made baby food. But never underestimate the need for breastfeeding your baby for at least 6 months.
Hello Julia,
You have written a good article. it’s helps lots of new parent and they don’t know much about parenting. In my opinion Grandparents are also one of the most valuable resources be it in the form of advice for the new parents.