How Can New Parents Survive The Exhaustion Of Child Care In The First Year? Tips That May Help

Maria RodriguezJanuary 2, 2024

2 2 minutes read

Conceiving a child is the easiest part of reproduction and child rearing. The difficult part comes right after that. It starts from being pregnant, dealing with numerous physical and hormonal changes, giving birth, labour pain and recovery and then the last part of bringing up the new born baby. Most mothers and fathers will agree that caring for a baby is the toughest of all. Parents need to be vigilant; attending to the baby’s every need 24*7. There will be sleepless nights, exhaustion and fatigue. While taking care of the baby, the mother also needs to take as much care of herself during that time. She cannot fall ill, she has to be very careful with medications because she is breastfeeding and she will have to endure the slight discomfort that arises from the breastfeeding process. She cannot let the milk accumulate or it will turn painful and dangerous. So, a new parent has many many responsibilities. Studies conducted by British experts say that it is entirely possible for parents to lose 44 to 50 full nights of sleep in a year right after the baby is born. But, the hard part is that parents NEED to survive this for the sake of their baby. So, how can they survive?

Here’s How New Parents Can Survive The Exhaustion Of Taking Care Of A New Born

Follow these tips during child care:

Take Short Naps AKA Cat Naps Whenever You Can: Short naps might not seem enough but you will notice the difference in your energy level. This is especially necessary if you and your partner are the only two caretakers in the household.

You Have To Trick Your Body And Mind A Little Bit: After waking up in the morning, take a shower, get dressed, open all the curtains and keep your house ventilated. Drink cups of tea be it normal of herbal. Tea can help soothe you. These things will make you feel less sleepy and tired.

Take Short Breaks By Going Outdoors: Take short walks and you can do it with your baby. Spend some time in the sun and nature. Get some work done like grocery shopping or chores.

Take Shifts To Care For Your Baby: In many Indian households, the woman does the major part in taking care of the baby. Starting from changing diapers to midnight feedings, burping, cleaning and bathing. But, as a parent, the father has equal responsibilities and should definitely take turns to do the work. Otherwise, the workload is too much for the mother alone and vice versa.

Sleep When Your Baby Sleeps: It is a known fact that babies do not sleep for very long time throughout the day. They only sleep long once a day. Rest of the day, they will sleep and keeping waking up whenever they are hungry. So, parents can take this opportunity and function just like the baby. Take short naps when your baby is asleep.