Bringing a new life into this world can be stressful, to say the least. And even more stressful is raising a child! There will become many moments in your life as a new parent that we drive you absolutely crazy and make you want to quit this parenting thing and run away. But as much as you want to, you can’t do that! You’re in this for life, and all you can really do is try and manage things to the best of your abilities.
Time management is one of the most basic things that new parents struggle with. They almost always find themselves swamped with baby-related work, and there seems to be absolutely no time to sleep. This is, however, not true. As overwhelming as everything may seem, there are plenty of things that you can do to make this time easier for you if you’re smart.
“I think that I see something deeper, more infinite, more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs because it sees the sun shining on its cradle.”
Vincent Van Gogh
1. Acceptance
As easy as this may sound, very few people truly accept that the routine tasks in their daily life will now take longer than usual because they have a new living being that is completely dependent on them. While acceptance does not do any of the work, it surely does get your in a better state of mind as now you will try to adjust fewer things in your schedule and therefore accomplish them in a better way. You will not be freaking out about things you had planned but did not get the time to do, and a calm mind means you can enjoy the time with your baby to the utmost.
2. Nap When the Baby Is Napping
This is perhaps the first trick in every new-parenting guidebook. You need to understand that because you cannot leave a newborn alone while he is awake, you cannot sleep while he is awake. Therefore, it is always recommended to catch up on your sleep while your baby is asleep. While you can always do other tasks with the baby in your arms, you cannot sleep. So, as soon as you feed your little one and put him to sleep, you should be getting in bed right next to him.
3. Plan, Plan, and Plan
Let’s face it; the baby did not come into this world as a surprise. You have the prior nine months to prepare yourself for what’s to come. Do your research, decide on what type of lifestyle you want for your child, and then get planning! Keep a diary and write everything down. From daily expenditures on the baby’s needs to how you are going to spend the 24 hours of every day; you should have everything roughly planned out so that whenever you get a little bit of extra time, you use that for relaxing and not try to squeeze in a task that you have been wanting to complete since two weeks. It is also important to note that the schedule should not be so rigid as to cause you additional stress and anxiety.
