New or expectant moms always get tons of unsolicited advice. Sometimes the advice is helpful, but most of the times it’s not. In fact, much of the stuff you’ll hear will have you scratching your head and questioning “What the heck does that even mean?” Although they probably mean well with the advice they’re dishing out, some of the things that fly out of their mouths make absolutely no sense. Here’s some realistic advice for new moms that they can actually use.
- Get as much sleep as you possibly can. The popular thing to say is nap when the baby naps. HAHAHA…all I can do is laugh at that. Whoever made up that rule didn’t have more than one child to take care of or a full load of house chores to get done. Realistically, try taking a nap whenever it’s possible. Meaning, if the baby is asleep and you have nothing else holding you back, then take a darn nap. Don’t try to be super mom and stay awake to get a few extra things done. Get your rest! Believe me, you’ll need it.
- Accept help. Everyone isn’t surrounded by family members who can help out in their spare time, but if you are one of the lucky ones, then accept the help! We all want to pretend like we have it all together, but it’s okay to lean on someone else every once in a while. Put your pride to the side and allow someone elses to do a bit of the work.
- Buy a baby swing or some other contraption to keep baby calm and quiet. These things are expensive, but THEY WORK! There will be times when you desperately need to get something done, but the baby won’t sleep or won’t keep quiet long enough for you to get anything accomplished. Most babies love their swings and are very content when in them.
- It’s okay to get frustrated sometimes. Mark my words, you WILL NOT love every second of motherhood. There will be times when you feel completely lost, you’ll need to cry about it, you will feel like you need a break from it all. Guess what…it’s normal. I think I speak for every mom when I say that we’ve all reached this point a few times. Talk to someone about how you’re feeling and you’ll probably feel better after.
- You can not fit the baby into your schedule. You will have to fit into the baby’s schedule, not the other way around. When you have an infant, you simply can’t tell the baby to wait until you’re finished folding clothes so you can feed it. Baby has to eat when baby wants to eat. When baby needs its diaper changed, guess what you have to change it. There’s no way around it unless you want to hear endless crying the entire time.
Another thing you should know is that you’ll probably be unrecognizable for a few weeks. You’ll look in the mirror and wonder “Who is this person and where did the real me go?” Somewhere under the puke, food stains, uncombed hair, and mix-matched clothes is the girl you used to know. The truth is after becoming a mom you’ll never be the same again. Motherhood changes you, but give yourself a little time and that girl that you used to know will slowly start to show herself again. Being a new mommy is hard, but embrace it and in due time you’ll get the hang of it.