Being a parent is one of the most life changing experiences. No matter how much you imagine whatit feels like, you never quite find out until you become one. Brace yourself to be washed over by a wave of sentimental thoughts, unimaginable fatigue and a million other apprehensions. Alongside your newborn, you will experience every new day as if it were your firstday as a parent after all.Here are the top ten concerns that every new parent undergoes:
The “What do we do now!” Moment!
Though you’ve been looking forward to this moment for many months, most new parents confess to have had this moment of “Okay… we now have a baby! What do we do with him/her? Do I even know what to do?”Just Relax. Take a deep breath. Everyone goes through this phase with trepidation. Everything will soon fall into place and you will acknowledge another moment. You know what that’s called? “Hey this jig is not so bad after all!”…but not for long!
Will everyday be like this?
Most new parents go through different phases after having a baby. After being all gushy and sentimental everyone gets into a routine,heaving a huge sigh. The sigh as you know is temporary. There are nights that seem to be an endless routine of feeding and changing diapers. Don’t worry! Your baby will sleep through the night one day! Every day is a day closer to that moment of a full night’s sleep. Until then, sit tight and remember to enjoy the small moments.
Is my baby eating enough?
After you’ve gotten a hang of the initial bumps, you will soon start obsessing over how much milk your child ought to consume. Out will come the advice of “Dr. Spock” and other venerable sources on how many ounces of milk an “x” many day/week old child ought to consume.
What you ought to know is that every child is born with the innate abilityto bawl away when they need more milk. However, you are justified in being anxious about their hunger, especially if they’re asleepas some doctors say that children’s blood sugar drops when they’re very hungry which causes them to feel drowsy. But, this is a less likely scenario so breathe easy but stay vigilant.
Why is my baby’s poop black?
Every article that has the word ‘baby’, ‘parent’ and ‘worry’ in it will feature poop. So get used to discussing the color of your baby’s poop with people you would’ve never dreamt of havingsuch a conversation with! You will spend at least a few collective hours worrying why the poop is dark.
All children pass meconium which contains minerals that collect in their stomach during the time spent in the uterus. This is very common and will soon make way for normal colored poop in the days to come. So relax, do your reading and have that cup of tea! It will help you stay awake at 1 in the morning when your babydecides to make hilarious faces.
Is my child pooping enough? Or why is my child pooping so much?
Depending on the bowel movement of your little tyke, your next worry may be why your baby is pooping too muchor not at all. Please visit your pediatrician before reading up about a host of illnesses on the Internet. Give your doctor a chance to repeat what they often tell new parents—
“Every child poops anywhere between once in two days and 5 times a day”. It depends on how the child’s body functions and both ends of the “poop spectrum” are perfectly fine! Are you now convinced that your baby is alright?
Why isn’t the child burping?
We know that post feeding the baby has to be burped. Yes. All parents leave out a little whoop of joy as soon as they hear the sound of that glorious burp. However,not everyone realizes that the burp is not always loud and significant. So, stop obsessing over the burp. All you have to do is ensure that your child is vertical or sitting straight after a feed. This way the food doesn’t remain in the food pipe and you will have successfully prevented a spit up.
Why is the baby crying?
Let’s just face this early on. There will be a bunch of times when your precious bundle will cry and you won’t know why! It could be hunger, nappy change or a reason like colic that begins in the afternoon. But sometimes it could be a reason you can’t quite fathom.
As the days go by, your understanding of your baby’s temperament will help you figure out why he or she is crying. Until then stay calm and try to logically understand the cause for it. Figure out a pattern with attention to time, feed, sleep etc. But if you believe your child is in some kind of distress, it makes a lot of sense to just visit a doctor to get your baby checked for anything serious.
Is my baby too cold or too hot?
Everyone seems to think that a baby needs to be swaddled or left open. You will get a million suggestions that veer in either direction. The best suggestion though is to follow your instinct. Touch the nape of your baby’s neck to see whether or not it is sweaty. If it is, then don’t swaddle your little one. He or she in all probability hates being swaddled. However if your baby’s feet seem cold, then you might want to go a little easy on the “Let the baby get some air” advice. Know their body temperature and maintain the room temperature around them. This will also help you prevent them from catching a fever early.
The “Sleep cycle and routine” obsession
For the first month, children’s sleep cycles oscillate between morning and evening. Do not worry if your child isn’t following the routine that you read about in your baby book. It takes a good month for a routine to set itself no matter how much you try.
Will I squish the baby?
Every parent who co-sleeps has this dark fear–“What if I turn around and end up hurting my baby?” Between the father and mother, one of you will definitely have this worry. There are some parents who look astonished that such a thought could ever cross anyone’s mind. Don’t talk to them about it; instead find some kindred spirits!This brings us to the most important point— Like-minded parents. As a parent, you will soon begin to look at the world around you with new eyes. Advice will come pouring in like a river in spate. So choose friends on their ability to empathize with your deepest fears rather than judge you or send you on endless trips to “guilt land”.
Remember that “guilt land” is full of parents, but so is the “land of elation”. Every parent has visited it almost once a day and it’s full of baby smiles, whoops of joy and lovely memories. It is true that the days are long. But when you look back, you will wonder why the years are short. Happy Parenting!
Are you a new parent or did you used to be one? Tell us in the comments below, the kind of concerns you put up with when your new-born came along. We would love to understand you better!
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