You’ll go through several trials and tribulations as a new parent, although the most difficult thing about being a first-time parent really test your limits. Here are 4 of the most difficult things about being a first-time parent.
Most Difficult Things About Being a First-Time Parent
You can read the books, take all the notes, and be as prepared as possible for this new and exciting part of your life as a new parent. But even with all those efforts, the fear of something new and unknown can be terrifying.
You’re not the first parent to feel this way, nor will you be the last. But there have been millions of people who have succeeded in overcoming the most difficult things about being a first-time parent en route to building a beautiful and loving family.
Strange is the most accurate word that best describes how your body feels after giving birth to your first child. Trying to figure out who you are behind the new you that stares back at you in the mirror is confusing.
Most Difficult Things About Being a First-Time Parent – Your Body Feels Off
You recently gave birth, but it still looks like you’re pregnant. You’re stretched, bruised, and stitched all over, and you’re leaking from any or all possible orifices.
Then, there are the invisible aspects of childbirth, like hormonal changes and uterine contractions, that continue for days after delivery. More importantly, the part attached to you for months is now gone. Although they are here, live in the flesh, it can still feel like a piece of you is missing.
I remember the empty feeling I felt after I had my daughter. I was so used to her movement and kicking that, when she was born, I actually felt sad about not having that happiness inside of me anymore.
Most Difficult Things About Being a First-Time Parent – The Microanalyses of Every Decision
Even the most self-assured mother will doubt her judgment. It’s not simple since you’ve only ever cared about your well-being. Now you must consider the consequences of your actions and how they affect another human being—your child.
However, the anxiousness and constant second-guessing prove that you’re doing a wonderful job at this parenting gig. Furthermore, the perceived significance of your decisions is often far higher than the results.
Most Difficult Things About Being a First-Time Parent – Time Is a Flat Circle
Humans are creatures of habit. Once we set a routine, following that regimen each day becomes second nature. When there’s a disruption in that rhythm, it’s easy for someone to lose track of time in a big way.
New parents may lose all semblance of time throughout the first few weeks of parenthood; frequent early-morning feedings and sleepless nights tend to have that effect. Each day will blend into the next, and your typical seven-day week will feel more like an amoeba that moves at a sloth-like pace. Luckily, once you start building routines with your baby, such as starting a bedtime routine with their security blanket, things will start to get easier.
My daughter (and she doesn’t mind that I’m telling you this) has a blanket from her infancy that’s now in teeny pieces. But, she still sleeps with it and takes it everywhere we travel, even on big girls getaways!
Most Difficult Things About Being a First-Time Parent – What Is Love?
As much as you adore your new little bundle of joy, there is another love in your life that you may unknowingly neglect—your partner. Every relationship evolves, but that doesn’t mean you can’t miss the way things were before.
Although you will adore every second you see them enjoy parenthood, there may still be a void. Do your best to set aside a special time each night when there’s no baby discussion or gripes about their job. Instead, it’s just you and them, like it always was.
Overcoming the most difficult things about being a first-time parent is an uphill battle that will take time. But as prefaced before, centuries of other parents have done it before you, and you’ll be another positive tally to the total for the generation after you.