I am your Parent, you are my Child…I am your Quiet Place, you are my Wild
I am your Calm Face, you are my Giggle…I am your Wait, you are my Wiggle
I am your Dinner, you are my Chocolate Cake..I am your Bedtime, you are my Wide Awake
I am your Lullaby, you are my Peekaboo..I am your Goodnight Kiss, you are my I Love You!!
-From the book, You are My I Love You.
While the birth of a new baby is nature’s best miracle, the demands that arrive with this event are overwhelming, especially for first-time parents. As feelings of pride and happiness scramble with sleepless nights, hectic schedules, marital issues, and work pressures, people underestimate the profound stress of two people becoming three in one magical moment. But fortunately, most new parents today feel blessed due to advances in health sciences as well as free information available through online media.
Bringing a child into this world is a life-transforming event. You can never feel the immeasurable shift in every aspect of your life before your little one is born. In order to help you land more softly, here is a brief list of survival skills,
- Caring for a child is incredibly undulating in the first year or two. Use humor and playfulness to break the spell. Always remember to support your baby’s head and neck while also supporting his body.
- Reprioritize your life. Give up the need to be perfect and reduce your expectations so that you can pass on the calm energy ripples to your baby.
- Create a supporting cast and be pro-active about asking help. Enlist few people in your circle to count on when the going gets rough.
- Be generous with yourself, practice self-soothing methods like mindful breathing, yoga and other grounding practices which will support you in “bringing yourself back from the brink”.
- Trust yourself and the process, deep down you know how to nurture, care for, and nourish your little one. Enjoy the tender moments, your bundle of joy will be wiggling out of your arms and running away from you before you know it!!
