Claire
For many first-time parents, life after baby can bring about many changes and challenges to the relationship. And they can catch you quite off-guard.
Things like:
- Postpartum mental health effects (for either mom or dad), that can include things like irritability, anxiety, baby blues, or even depression.
- Unrealistic expectations or pressure set on the mother to be perfect, keep a spotless house and just get everything right.
- Sleep deprivation that comes with the territory of having a newborn baby and can lead to crankiness and arguments about who’s turn it is to get up.
- Parenting styles that you weren’t aware of previously, whether it’s due to personality issues or basic baby care philosophies like sleep-training or breastfeeding.
- The division of household chores that can cause issues if both parents are not equally involved.
- Finding time for just the two of you when a sitter isn’t possible
- Less time or interest in being intimate due to all the physical and hormonal changes.
- And increased expenses that inevitably comes with adding another member to the family.
So What Can You Do To Manage?
- With any relationship issue, but especially for those affecting new parents, communication is KEY. Discuss your postpartum plan in advance to help get each other on the same page and set expectations better.
- Understand that no parent is perfect, no matter how it may seem. Everyone is doing the best they can. Knowing this will help you keep things in perspective.
- Give each other grace, those early days may be testing and require lots of patience. Choose your battles carefully and support each other along the way.
- Schedule time for just the two of you — if you aren’t able to hire a sitter, plan a simple date night at home while baby is sleeping. It doesn’t have to be fancy to get started.
Do you have your own tips or suggestions?
Let us know in our comments below. – Image Credit @mommysbundle
Originally posted 2021-02-17 10:04:31.
Parenting styles is the hardest. Lol
Postpartum effects, unrealistic expectations and household chores. 🙋🏻♀️
🎂🎂🎂🎂🙌🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂🎂
Finding tome alone 😂
How my husband and I could talk all day but would realize at the end of the day all we talked about was our son. Once we realized this we started shifting our conversations to include one another more.
They say hormones will be out of wack for just two weeks, instead give yourself two months!
Deprivation.
Finding alone time
That we promised each other we’d stick the hard/big shift out (knowing that most couples break up within a year in my country after the baby arrives) didn’t even take 5 months after my son came and we didn’t make it. Instead I’m raising him alone, fighting in court and having my name smeared to every one that want to listen to his story.