A New Stage of Life
You graduate from school, and start at the “bottom level” of college. From college, you jump into a variety of careers, climbing the ladder of success as you go. Parenting is a stage of life much like any of these chapters. You’ll learn, you’ll overcome, but starting out is a challenge. You’ll probably experience the following realities.
1. Sleep…Forget About It
You’re going to lose approximately 109 minutes of sleep a night in the first year you’re a parent. That’s 663+ hours, or 16 work weeks of sleep. It’s nine hours less than 28 straight days of sleep. That’s a lot of fatigue to contend with! You’ve got work duties and parent duties and life duties, but the baby wakes up when the baby wakes up, that’s just how it is.
Until the child matures, the best move is structuring your sleep schedule around the baby’s. The good news is, you won’t need as much sleep as they do, so a few strategic naps in the day and waking up very early as a general rule can help you manage the loss. Much of associated sleep deprivation has to do with the scheduling realities of life.
Where you can, if you can be flexible here, it will help you rest better. Also, be sure to properly feed yourself, and avoid excess obligations as possible. There’s a reason parental social schedules suffer; but over time, you find your rhythm.
2. Issues in Lactation and Breastfeeding are Common
Sometimes the baby won’t latch properly, sometimes you can’t express milk for whatever reason. Mastitis is a possibility, and as you breastfeed your child, nipple injury can happen. A good plan is finding a parental support network you can rely on in advance. Also, lean on what help friends or family offer, and look into lactation consultation.
3. Financial Realities: Turbulent Long-Term Transformation
Strangely, the bigger your family, the less expensive it is to maintain—you’re paying more to run the household, but you’re making more and each child costs less—ideally, of course. Shared costs, children taking parental duties, and necessary career drive to support family expansion feed into this reality.
Yes, parenting is expensive. Knowing that, many parents dial in their focus on earnings. They have to. They become more dedicated and diligent for the sake of their children, and their ability to cope.
Ultimately, this leads to expanded professionalism, and more regular income, but it’s a long journey. Starting out, things tend to be difficult. It’s important to budget, eliminate unnecessary expenditures, and find ways of conserving resources.
Setting Yourself Up For Success as a New Mom
Financial roller coasters, lactation issues, and sleep deprivation tend to be some of the most likely things you’re going to encounter as a new mom. You want to be part of a strong family unit. You want to have a support network on which you can rely, and find good advice.
