New Parents ? 7 tips to staying joyful


Congratulations!

So you have just become a parent for the first time.  WOWZIES !  Your life is about to change. BIG TIME….

So much joy !  So much excitement !  And so much to learn and do.  Don’t panic, here’s a  list of 7 simple things to remember when you become a parent for the first time. They are just little reminders that point you back to your natural parenting instincts. To help you stay in that joy zone that comes with the birth of a child.

 

You are born to the task of raising children. It’s in your DNA to know what to do.  Even though you might feel like you don’t have a clue.  In today’s complicated world, the simple task of helping our children grow  has been layered over and over again with child rearing fashions, cultural expectations and societal norms.

The very simple things that you already know in your heart about raising children sometimes can be lost. Here’s a list of 7 simple reminders to point you back to the natural art of parenting…

 1. Luck

Maybe good luck has it that you will be graced with a baby who is peaceful, calm and who sleeps well. But don’t worry if your baby is different. Do not take it personally. Some babies come in crying and stay that way for… well ages. Don’t compare your baby to the one on magazine covers. Don’t compare your baby to anyone else at all. You have the perfect baby for you – every parent does. And guess what – your baby is lucky too – to have you as their parents. And it all changes. Who knows how this child will be when they grow up? Who knows what this child will be lucky with in life? What you can know is to remember how lucky you are to have this experience of love.

2. Eat Well, Love Well

With the birth of a new baby, it can be remarkably hard to remember to eat at all or to over-eat on cakes, chocolate, caffeine or anything you can get your heart pumping and blood sugar up after a long night and not much sleep. If you can snack on raw food or nuts and avoid sugary snacks and drinks your body will feel much better and you will be in better shape to look after your wee one. Staying healthy is your primary task. Hopefully you gave healthy nutrition some attention when you were pregnant, this doesn’t stop now the baby has arrived. Also it may seem ages away, but soon enough your baby will be big enough to be eating what you eat.. creating healthy eating patterns in your family will help you all stay healthy for life !

3. Full time job

Don’t think that you will have much time for anything else but looking after the baby. It’s amazing that even in today’s world with so many gadget and time saving devices to hand, looking after a baby is still going to ask more of you than a full time job. Do not be surprised if days and weeks go by and when someone asks you what have you been doing, you might be tempted to say nothing, just looking after the baby. Remember, that’s not nothing: it’s the most important job in the world. And if you have to or want to go out to work as well just remember that you’ve got two jobs now so look after yourself accordingly!

4. Mirror neurons

Just to throw a little science in here: your baby is wired with what are called mirror neurons which will pick up and reflect your brain waves and the signals that your brain is emitting. Baby’s brain mirrors your brain. A stressed out parent will emit stressed out signals to their baby. The baby will pick it up. So you might want to put more effort into relaxing, remaining calm and getting lots of rest. Staying calm and peaceful helps your babe to do the same. You may want to develop or maintain your own practice of mindfulness or meditation to help you with this.

5. Do it your way

There are a hundred ways to sing a lullaby, a thousand ways to rock a baby to sleep, a million different ways to raise a child. Be brave and do it your way. Trust your gut instincts. If you have a hunch that something is working for you and your child (which obviously does no harm or inflict any pain on you or your child) then don’t let those parenting books, people or professionals convince you to do it differently.

6. Communicate

Whatever you are feeling let others know. Don’t be embarrassed or ashamed of whatever you are feeling. Part of being able to feel the joy of being a new parent is to also feel the anxiety, the fear, the worry the irritation and the overwhelm. Don’t be surprised about surges of emotions. And communicate so that people who love you know about how you are feeling. You may find that sharing your emotions feels much better than bottling them up.

7. Ask for Help

It’s amazing what an hour can do to re-charge you, ask someone to take the baby for an hour and have a bath or go for a walk on your own. Share this amazing task of childrearing with others. An African proverb says it takes a village to raise a child and if you don’t live in a village – then create one around you. Find other parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles who may not be related but whom you can trust. Don’t be afraid of asking for help. Most people are delighted to be of service.

And you can also purchase The Treasure Within – The Joyful Parents Handbook – full of exercises and ways in which you can discover how to be more mindful, aware and learn how to take better care of yourself. It’s your guide to being a joyful parent.


Being a first-time mama is an amazing experience. The New Mama Welcome Pack blog hop is a celebration of this life changing event! Follow the links to discover more unmissable advice, stories and essential tips. And if you’re a new mama who wants to rock motherhood without guilt, overwhelm or losing yourself, check out the New Mama Welcome Pack here.

New Mama Welcome Pack / Lotte Lane / Dreaming Aloud / Zhendria / Birthing in Conscious Choice / Natalie Garay / Eli Trier / Knecht Ruprecht / Lise Meijer / Naomi Goodlet / A Lifestyle By Design / Story of Mum / Like a Bird / Holistic Mama / Birth Geek / Joyful Parenting / Stroller Packing / My Healthy Beginning / Mums and More / Kate Beddow – Growing Spirits / Ellen Nightingale / Stacie Whitney / Maternity Leavers / Photography for Busy Parents / Close Enough To Kiss / Atelier Susana Tavares / Offbeat Family / Katie m. Berggren ~ Painting Motherhood / Winship Wellness Blog / Liberate From Weight / Jessica Cary / Art + Craft / Raising Playful Tots / Peaceful Mothering / Play Activities / Lauren Nenna / Nurture You / The Adventure Mama / Be Wise Be Healthy / b.a.d.momGoodmom / Doula in Your Pocket / Making Mom Strong / Adrienn Csoknyay / Joyful Parents / Alison Hummel / Simple Solutions for Photos / Lynne Newman / Euphoric Birth / Mumpreneur Mentor / A Walk in the Clouds / Parenting on the Fence / MiaMily

Comments

  1. Awesome advice here! I hope this gets shared again and again because there’s is so much great info in this article. I can’t tell you how much I agree with all of your points! I love what you’re about! Naomi (blog hop) x

  2. Kathy White says

    thanks Naomi, yes I’m currently reading my own way through the New Mama blog hop – what an awesome bunch of writers and mama’s collected together to gift our collective wisdom for new mamas (and papas) – thanks for being a part of it

  3. Beautiful and helpful words that I wish someone had spoken to me during those first days! Thanks for connecting on my blog too, I am moved by the amount of sincere help for new mothers here. Lise (also in the bloghop)

  4. Hi Kathy, What a fantastic post – I always try to give a bag of ready-made healthy food to new mamas, including bags of apricots and almonds for energy and optimism, as I remember that that kind of one-handed ‘snacking’ food helped me too! I was also amazed how much easier it was with the second child, once I had discovered that I was up to the job, and learnt how to explain what was going on for me emotionally – it’s so hard to have that confidence and calmness first time around, but truly pays dividends once you do. Lovely to meet you through the blog hop!

  5. Kathy White says

    Thanks lise, great to meet you on the blog hop !

  6. Kathy White says

    thanks Pippa – too true – maybe we should suggest they put healthy snacks in those bounty packs they hand out after baby is born !