Written by: Barbra Smith / Last updated: Mar 13, 2024
What is the best advice for new parents? This question is commonly asked among new parents who have just had their newborn.
The moment they feel and touch the little fingers of their baby while she holds your finger with her little hand cannot be forgotten.
At that very moment, you feel like you want to do everything to make her happy, safe, and satisfied.
As a mom of two little daughters, I will teach you effective tips for new parents, and I will also tell you some common mistakes to look out for.
We will discuss:
Get advice for new parents. only from successful parents.
Trying to figure out what to do with a newborn alone is really challenging.
To make it easier, you should consider asking others about supporting you with valuable parenting tips.
Some will guide you to read a specific book, others will tell you real-life lessons from their own perspective, and others will direct you to educational content on the internet.
Anyway, you should make sure to ask a trusted couple for advice for new parents, not any random couple, because this couple will raise their kid healthily and will really want to help you.
Try to sleep whenever it is possible.
My precious advice for a first-time mom and dad is to get as much sleep as possible because babies are not stable in their sleep.
Their sleep cycle has a periodic change from one phase to another, and that turns your day upside down.
My best advice for new parents is to get enough sleep whenever it is possible to be in control of their temper.
Try not to shout or yell when you wake up in the middle of the night because babies love to be in an environment filled with love, passion, and calmness.
Catch your memories with your baby.
One of the positive parenting tips I learned from my sister is to record every special moment with my baby.
Remember the time when we had these old photo albums of us with our own parents, uncle, aunt, and grandparents. And when we look at them, our faces automatically draw a smile.
When you look at these photos, you feel grateful to your mom and dad because they documented the joyful life you had when you were a toddler.
You have to do the same with your child; take advantage of every moment you spend together and take photos on any occasion.
Also, try to make it a photo album like the old ones we used to have, not a software copy because they are vulnerable to being lost on some device.
Practice your duties.
Parents should share their responsibilities together and be involved in their baby’s life.
As a father, be ready to change a diaper anytime during the day and to fulfill any late call to stay awake with the baby so that you can let the mom have some rest after a long day taking care of the baby.
As a mom, you can do some chores or spend your time reading books about how to take care of a baby so that you can be ready to give the baby all the love she needs.
Do not forget about yourself.
I know that taking care of a baby is exhausting, and a lot of effort goes into this relationship, but you should focus a little on yourself.
A first-time mom and dad prefer to ignore their physical and mental health to put more work and effort into the baby.
But you should really consider taking care of your body and practicing your favorite sport, and if you have the chance, spend some time with your partner, like going out for dinner or having a simple walk in the park.
Spending private time with each other is a great way to improve your mental health and to also withstand your challenging journey as a parent.
Related: IS DEMOCRATIC PARENTING GOOD?
Newborn babies can adapt to noise.
If you are a light sleeper, you should consider this advice, so maybe you can save your baby from this habit.
Newborn babies are best known for their light sleep. If there is noise around them, they will wake up instantly, and it will take time to make them sleep again.
For example, I have two married sisters older than me, and one of them had a new baby.
On weekends, we gather as a family, including my sisters and my nephews.
When the nephews make noise, the new baby wakes up, and my sister rushes to calm her down, hoping she will fall asleep again. So my other sister advised her to let the baby alone for some time without rushing so that the baby could adapt to the noise.
After applying this advice for one week and at the next gathering, whenever there is a noise like talking or cooking, the baby stays asleep.
Seek help from family members.
Nowadays, first time parents are not as happy as non-parents because, in the past, the normal arrangement of humans was to live together in small groups called tribes.
In the tribe, moms got enough help from other individuals while raising their kids. This behavior can be witnessed in other breeders, such as birds, wolves, lions, etc.
Cooperative breeding has evolved in dangerous environments where it is almost impossible to take care of the kids and survive at the same time, so it was normal to outsource some parenting duties to others.
Mistakes that first time parents do
They let the baby sleep alone.
When the baby is sleeping, some parents do not watch their baby, and that could expose the baby to the danger of suffocation.
Sometimes babies suddenly wake up and vomit, so if they are sleeping on their back, they may breathe in their vomit through their nose, which makes them vulnerable to suffocation.
First time parents may ignore the baby’s oral hygiene.
Some parents may think that as long as their babies do not have teeth, then why should they clean their mouths?
Bacteria can accumulate in the baby’s mouth, and because babies do not have much saliva compared to adults, they cannot get rid of any milk residue.
Cleaning the baby’s mouth can be as simple as wiping the mouth, gums, and tongue with a clean washcloth.
Parents ignore their relationship with each other.
When new parents have their first baby, they only focus on the baby and forget about themselves.
Love and relationships should be treated like another baby; both parents should nurture their relationship; otherwise, they will get bored quickly from it.
Comparing the baby’s growth milestones to others.
This mistake is common among many parents because they keep comparing their baby’s growth and milestones to other babies.
Many reputable online resources share the correct information about a baby’s milestones, so consider visiting them.
In conclusion
Those are the best parenting tips for first time parents that I have known so far.
Every piece of advice for new parents should be applied one at a time because you should not expect to succeed the first time; accept failing because the whole thing is a new experience.
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