Your bundle of joy has finally arrived and you cannot help yourself stop gazing at your little creation lovingly. Someone has aptly said, “When a child is born, a mother is also born”. Understanding the mistakes that new parents make is very important. One can always learn from mistakes.
With the tiny, frail life in your arms, you swear you will toil harder to provide all comforts to your baby and not let despair touch him. With this in mind, most parents exhaust themselves. Hold on! Most parents make mistakes, if you do not believe it, think about your parents! However, the time is to turn towards smarter parenting and avoid the common mistakes most new parents make. Read below:
10 Common Mistakes That New Parents Make
Following are ten common mistakes that new parents make:
1. Thinking Too Much
This is the time that you may need advice from elders and surprisingly you will find them calm when your baby throws up. Seeing your little life in this state definitely gives you a jolt, but it’s important to realize that these are little babies they don’t even know how to swallow.
It will take some time a few months, perhaps to get accustomed to swallowing things. Occasional bouts of spitting milk out should not be panicked much about. Stop panicking about whether the bowel is normal.
There is no need to think and over-think whether your baby is having enough food. Or whether the baby cries too little or too much. Do not fret in situations just like that.
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Relax! Crying does not always, implies that your baby needs something or is feeling uncomfortable and that you should act pronto! Sometimes babies stop crying on their own, do not fuss over them. Do not let these worries get in the way of admiring the little beings’ most important phase!
2. Comparing
Not only for academic or extracurricular achievements, but parents also tend to compare their babies to ascertain whether they are progressing “normally”. We scroll through the innumerable web pages, trying to collect more information about the baby’s development and behavior. Even if we successfully manage not to compare our baby to others, the average benchmarks set by other parents and family members become the source of comparison.
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Remember that the growth of each baby differs and every baby will achieve development milestones at his or her own pace
3. Neglecting The Partner
Of course, the new life needs your maximum attention and time, is suddenly chucking the marital relation out of the window wise? Even if you are not ready for intercourse, lighting up the candles, setting up the mood, and cuddling with your partner will keep the much-needed romance ignited between you two. And the more connected you are to each other, the more connected you will be with the baby.
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Take out time for your partner. Allow him to help, if he wants to in taking care of the baby. Do not underestimate him. Make him feel important too
4. Creating Long-Term Habits
Yes, you may be instilling habits in your baby, which cannot be easily broken as he grows. Not letting the baby cry it out – as parents tend to think that crying indicates they have done something wrong.
Feeding the baby while putting on the cartoon, rocking him in the lap to sleep, breastfeeding till he sleeps, etc., are some habits that condition the child. By conditioning, an association is established. Now your baby will find it difficult to go to sleep if he is not rocked in the lap, for instance.
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Try to minimize such pacifiers. Let the baby cry it out. Do not feel pressurized to be a perfect parent – there is no such thing as that!
5. Setting A Rigid Schedule
Most parents try to discipline the child right from the start. “Early to bed, early to rise” is the principle that influences the parents. Setting up a schedule to sleep, feed and play are very common. But what you need to realize is that most of the time is spent sleeping by the newborn. If you go by the rule of feeding every 2-3 hours, then the result will be a cranky baby who repeatedly wakens for feed.
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Be flexible, ensure sufficient feeding when your baby is awake, and let him sleep peacefully. And do let him enjoy as well – he is a baby after all!!
6. Confusing The Baby With Baby Talk
You may notice that when you talk to your child, you temporarily hold the attention of your baby. There may or may not be eye contact and your baby may even respond to your baby talk by smiling or making guttural noises. What most of us miss is that our little babies start processing language quite earlier than we anticipate.
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Speak, short and clear instructions to your baby, it will make it easier for him to understand and process.
7. Weaning Early
Most doctors suggest breastfeeding the baby for at least six months. Mother’s milk is the best source of nutrition for your baby. Some mothers are eager to get back to the pre-pregnancy figure or in a hurry of feeding semi-solid food to the baby. In the wake of these desires, the baby is being deprived the nutrition.
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Follow the doctor’s advice on breastfeeding and go slow on losing baby weight.
8. Ignoring The Oral Hygiene Of The Baby
No teeth, no cavities, hence no germs. Makes sense, though! But the truth is, your baby is growing teeth and therefore care should be taken. As soon as the baby starts to take in food, there is every chance that the baby can develop oral problems.
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You may wipe the gums of your baby simply using wet gauze. To ensure strong teeth, let your baby sip on water post-feeding. Fluoride, which is a component in water is essential for this.
9. Not Trusting Others For Help
It is quite likely to be obsessed with your newborn baby and letting him out of your site can make you really restless. But you need to realize that your body has already been traumatized due to labor and delivery. You need rest too. When your parents or sister-in-law offer to take care of the baby while you want to go to a relaxing spa at noon.
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Just say yes! They are experienced and as human nature permits, they are likely to be more attentive to others’ assets.
10. Not Differentiating Between Warm Baby And Feverish Baby
An infant who is under 3 months must be taken to a doctor if the body temperature shoots up above 100.4 degrees. You might feel that the baby is just warm, and will advocate self-medication, but actually, this calls for an emergency. An infant’s immune system just cannot handle any infection on its own.
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If you feel that the baby is warm, take the rectal temperature. If it reads above 100.4 degrees, call your pediatrician immediately.
It’s not necessary to labor around your baby all the time. Slowly, entrust others with baby care. Take time to steal a nap. Best, to sleep with the baby. As you seriously take the daunting task of parenting, do not forget to cherish those happy moments. Celebrate birthdays, your baby’s first step, first words, etc.
The mantra is a happy mother, happy baby! Parenting is a demanding task and requires new parents to be on their heels all the time. The key is to be informed, less fussy, and trust your senses in raising your baby!
