When you have a baby, it can be extremely difficult to get through the day when you have so many things coming at you. Your whole life has changed since you had a baby, and now you are responsible for this whole other life. Now, more than ever, you may find it difficult to set aside time for self-care.

There is a lot of stress that you may be experiencing, and it is important that during this time, you are doing your very best to take care of both you and your baby. To make this easier for you, in this article, we provide some helpful insights into learning to manage this season better.

No. 1

Sleep When You Can

The first thing that we will touch on is that you should try to sleep when you can. Sleeping is important to get you through the day, and you deserve the rest, which means that you are going to need to prioritize sleep over some of the other demands in life.

For example, if the dishes need to be done, but your baby is sleeping and you have the chance to get a nap in, go ahead and prioritize sleep first. You can do the other things that need to be accomplished later. You might not get the chance to sleep again for a few hours, so rest when the opportunity arises.

Some people may commonly say to always sleep when the baby sleeps, but this is not practical for a lot of parents. Make sure that you sleep when you can, and get as much of it as you can.

No. 2

Discern Unsolicited Advice

Another helpful way to alleviate any unnecessary stress and pressure is to be discerning of any unsolicited advice that is given to you. There is nothing wrong with getting advice when you ask for it, but there are many people who will give advice when it is unsolicited, which may cause you to overthink or undervalue what you already know to be true.

They may have good intentions and think that it is helpful to say things like “Well, if it were my child” when you are not necessarily seeking their advice, and it can make you question your parenting and how you are doing things. At the end of the day, this is your child, and you can choose to do whatever you want, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

No. 3

Get Help From Those Around You

We are sure you have once heard the expression “It takes a village to raise a baby”, and that is absolutely true. Raising a child can be difficult; there are so many curveballs, and there are many different things that you must know and do at any given time.

There is nothing wrong with getting help with your baby from the people who love you, and that is what you need to remember even though it can be difficult at times. As a parent, you often get the feeling that you have to do it all on your own, but this is not true; if you do this, then you will end up struggling more than you need to. 

If you are struggling to get sleep, ask a loved one if they could watch your baby for a few hours while you get some rest. Likewise, if you need some time to yourself, or you need time to get some chores done, ask the people around you for some help. Your family would prefer that you ask for help from them rather than struggle on your own.

No. 4

Remember To Take Care Of Yourself

Many parents forget that they need to take care of themselves, too, and not just their baby. Of course, your baby is the most important person in your life now, but you still have needs and must care for yourself now more than ever.

It is easy to lose track of keeping yourself in good condition and taking care of yourself because you get overwhelmed with all of the other things that you must take care of. Things like feeding yourself, bathing, and having time for yourself can become less of a priority when you are too exhausted after meeting your baby’s needs. 

Realizing just how important it is to take care of yourself is the first step. Your baby deserves the very best version of you, and if you are not looking after yourself, then this is not going to happen. For everyone to get what they need, mom and dad need to be taken care of as much as the baby. 

No. 5

Sleep Will Come

We would also like to mention that proper sleep will come in due time. You might have heard stories of babies that never sleep, babies that do sleep throughout the night, babies that wake so much throughout the night that it is as if they do not sleep at all, and babies who once slept well but now do not. The important thing to keep in mind is that your baby is unique and their sleeping patterns may not be the same as another baby.

Meanwhile, something that is common amongst babies is that they will go through a regression around a similar age. You can explore Newton Baby's Surviving The 6-Month Sleep Regression article to get a better understanding of this and what you can do to get through those stages.

When you are getting frustrated at the lack of sleep, you are exhausted, and you feel like you can not do it anymore, just remember that it will all balance out eventually. One day you will be able to sleep throughout the night again. Once your kids do not need your attention throughout the night, you are going to miss those cuddles, so try to make the most of them.

Takeaways

We hope that you have found this article helpful and now see some of the things that also need your attention. There are going to be times when raising a baby becomes overwhelming and you feel as though there is no way to get through it, but you will.

Remember, you will always get through every challenging season, and the advice in this article should help massively when you are struggling to find balance. We wish you the very best season with your little one and hope that we provided some encouragement and tips to help you through this time of excitement and change.

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