First Time Parents: Dos and Donts
I’ll never forget buckling my teeny tiny newborn son into his car seat for the very first time. As we secured his car seat into聽the backseat of our car, my husband and I turned to each other and said, “Now what? What in the world are we doing?” And the truth is, as first time parents, we had NO idea what we were doing. But through trial and error, we quickly figured a few things out. Are you about to welcome a new little one into your family? These dos and don’ts for first time parents are life savers!
I received samples and compensation in exchange for this post. All opinions are my own.聽
First Time Parents: Dos and Don’ts
Dos:
- Take lots of pictures. I can promise you that no parent has ever regretted taking too many pictures of their children growing up.
- Keep a journal. Time passes by SO quickly. At the end of each day, document daily happenings, funny quotes, milestones, etc.
- Take parenthood one day at a time. Bringing a child into this world can be crazy and overwhelming. However, focus on living in the moment and not stressing about the little things.
- Accept help. If someone offers to help watch your child, bring you dinner, let you take a nap, take them up on it!
- Start a routine as early as day one. Notice I didn’t say a schedule. Newborns can be difficult to gauge sometimes. Instead of scheduling times and events, outline a routine for your day. Get up, get dressed, feed baby, go on a walk, nap time, etc.
- Stock up on plenty of diapers and wipes. Trust me, you don’t want to be running to the store in the middle of the night because you ran out of diapers. Free from fragrances, Seventh Generation’s Free & Clear Diapers provide the perfect hypoallergenic diaper for every baby. Created from unbleached brown core fibers, these diapers provide babies with premium absorbency. Completely free from chlorine processing, Seventh Generation’s Free & Clear Diapers make a perfect choice for your gentle little newborn’s skin!
Don’ts:
- Don’t buy every single baby gadget on the market. If I were you, I’d start with the basics (diapers, wipes, clothes, a bassinet, blankets, etc) and then see what you actually need.
- Don’t give yourself high expectations for the first few weeks of your baby’s life. Give your new little family time to adjust and accept the fact that the house is going to be messy, the laundry pile will grow exponentially, and sleep may not happen. It takes time before you will feel like you get the hang of things. To be honest, it took me about 5 months with both of my kids before I thought to myself “I got this.”
- Don’t forget to take time for yourself. In order to properly take care of your family, you need to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself.
- Don’t forget that parenthood is one of the hardest yet rewarding adventures you’ll ever experience. And yes, it’s SO worth it!
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I love your advice and blog! I remember when we had our son (our first baby), it was like we were in shock for the first few days! We made this beautiful baby and had no clue if everything we were doing was right but we made it through and even decided to have number 2!
I wish I would have kept a journal for my kids. Even to document the tiny things. My kids have been asking me questions, silly little things and I cannot believe that I don’t have an answer. Things I thought I would always remember but I don’t anymore 馃檨
I think it is great to keep a baby journal even though I did not for my three kids. I wish I had though to savor the memories.
What great tips. I especially like the one about too high of standards to live up to. I just expected I would be great at being a mom and it took so much work, I felt like I was failing.
Great post for first-time parents. I couldn’t agree more about all your tips. Especially, I can’t stress enough that you should take as many photos as possible because babies growing into kids too quickly and in a blink of an eye they’ll be off to college.
I only am a vicarious parent,but I see how difficult a job it is…I have 11 nieces and nephews, one of whom I have dinner every Mon to Thr. I see how much my sister works for single daughter.
I like that you also take time to take pictures of yourself – I do see parents getting so wrapped up with their children,they neglect getting themselves into the picture!
I wish I would have followed the advice of accepting help with my first one. I lost many hours of sleep because I thought I had to be the one to do it all.
Great tips!! The first baby can be such a crazy time, also great reminders for parents of multiples.
Those are great do’s and don’ts! It is so important to not hold very high expectations and to not buy everything that is out there for your baby.
Aww these are really good tips to keep in mind. I remember being constantly tempted with he latest gadgets!
This is a great list of do’s and dont’s. I think keeping a journal is a great idea. I will have to share this with my friend that is expecting.
This is a great guide. I have always taken a ton of photos of the kids growing up. I wish i had kept a journal.
Love that you added not to give high expectations. It can be hard to do, but makes those first weeks so much more enjoyable!
Accepting help was hard for me because I wanted to do it all myself. I had to let go and ask for some much needed assistance with my babies!
We have to make the most of these times – our kids are only little for so long. These Do’s and Don’ts are perfect.
Agree with not buying all the baby gadgets. I didn’t for my last 2 because after the first 4 we didn’t use hardly any of it!
These are all great tips. I have a friend who’s a new mom, and her house is absolutely stuffed with baby gadgets.
With my first child I thought we needed to have all the cool baby gear and gadgets, and boy was I wrong. Some things we bought we never even used, or only used a few times. Now with baby #2, we know exactly what we need and things are so much easier.
I wish I had this list when my daughter was born. Being a first time parent can be so overwhelming.
These are some great advice that are gonna come in handy. It can be tough with kids, as they don’t come with a manual and can be hard to understand sometimes.
Those are great reminders of what it was like to be a first-time parent. I think the most important thing is that you cut yourself slack and understand that your baby loves you no matter what.
It’s so hard not to have expectations the first few weeks, but great advice because it will definitely not go the way you plan.