Don’t Worry: There Is A Learning Curve—It’s Alright
You may have heard this before, and it’s worth remembering: there’s no way to prepare for being a parent; you have to experience it. You can and should study, you should ask advice, you should find a support network. But no matter how much preparation you make, things are still going to manifest out of left-field and upend your equilibrium.
If you know that going in, it makes it easier for you to have the right attitude when difficult times come—and they will definitely come. Following we’re going to briefly explore a few tips you might want to take into consideration as you go through this transition in life.
1. Support Networks Are Essential
Parenting is as old as mankind. Support networks have always been there in one form or another, and in the modern world, finding them can be a more official undertaking than you may expect. When you’re plugged into the network, people help you, and incidentally you help other people. Often your help may be collateral, and you may well want to help.
Once you’ve become a mother, you can help others who were confused in the middle of their pregnancy as you were. You’ll want to do that, because you remember what it was like. So there’s an upward spiral feedback loop of positivity that support networks plug you into, and you’ll want that as a parent.
2. OB/GYNs Help You Avoid Dangers
A gynecologist can help you be more healthy before, during, and after pregnancy, and they can also monitor you as your baby develops. This can identify issues you may need to address, and avoid poor activity that may compromise you. Here’s a link to an OB/GYN at WHS Dallas who might be able to help you.
3. Get Advice From Friends And Family
Families are like the original support network, and friends can become family over time. People who are close to you, who you trust, who have been through parenthood before—or are in the midst of it—know what will help you, how to get it, where to get it, and when to use it. Consult them for advice before, during, and after pregnancy; as well as into motherhood.
4. Know It Will Take A Few Months To Shift
Some mothers seem to take to being moms like a duck dropped in a pond. Others take to it like somebody chucked a giraffe on a trampoline. Here’s the point: you may or may not be “good” at mothering right off the bat.
So understand you’re going to have to work at it. It’s going to take some time. Just remember it’s an uphill battle, one way or another, for everyone—it’s just some parents encounter hills at different times during parenthood.
5. Lactation Consultants Provide Solutions
Breastfeeding is good for you, it’s good for the baby, it should be easy, and sometimes it’s surprisingly challenging for unexpected reasons. Working with an IBCLC-credited lactation consultant can help you more efficiently manage your milk supply, overcome discomfort, and most effectively nourish your newborn.
Being Strong For Your Child
Lactation issues happen to new moms, it can take months to shift from being pregnant to a mother, advice from friends and family is absolutely integral, OB/GYNs are excellent guides throughout the process, and finding support networks is a smart move. These things ease your transition and make you a stronger parent. Your child will need that strength going forward.
