We have another guest post today, and this time it’s from my lovely friend Shona over at _homeandfamily on Instagram, with some top tips for expectant parents. Shona and I bonded over our ‘mummies boys’ (she’s mummy to Archie, who is an absolute sweetheart!) and our friendship has grown ever since! She’s an absolute diamond, and amazing at makeup – so give her a follow. We were recently discussing how much pressure new parents can feel under, which led to a discussion on Shona doing a guest post all about this. So without further ado, I’ll leave the rest to Shona!
23 years old, anxious, excited, overwhelmed, knowing we’d be soon to meet our baby boy. I felt all the emotions in those 9 months of pregnancy, what I wanted and how I wanted things changed regularly. Looking back I think that was largely down to what other people wanted me to do, how other people thought things should be done and as a first time mum I was like a sponge, absorbing all the advise and ‘best ways’ to do things, I didn’t really get time to think about what was best for me and my partner Kevin or what we wanted. I have broken down my top 5 tips for any expectant mother or father and the things I’ll take more control of the second time around.
In this Post.....
Pregnancy.
Pregnancy isn’t easy for everyone, I was fortunate in the respect that I had a smooth ride, however not everyone does. Don’t be afraid to say no, you don’t have to attend your friends birthday or your cousins, friends, sisters bbq if you don’t feel able, don’t be so hard on yourself, growing a human is hard work!
Visitors After Birth.
I feel so strongly on this one, I felt forced to have people visit us at the hospital, it made me anxious and I felt under immense pressure. I’d just given birth and a matter of hours later I had a waiting room full of people waiting to see our baby. Don’t feel bad for saying you don’t want visitors, equally don’t feel guilty if you do, everyone is different and everyone has different preferences just do what you feel comfortable with, the world can wait.
Name Choices.
You don’t have to share your potential baby name if you don’t want too, people have opinions on everything and you may not like what they have to say about your favourite name. It doesn’t matter if someone thinks it sounds like a ‘cats name’ or ‘old fashioned’ it’s your baby, it’s your decision & you have a right to keep that to yourself if you want to.
Uploading Photos.
You have every right to say no to people taking photos of your baby, we asked everyone not to post photos of our baby until we had announced his arrival. You are well within your rights to want to keep that moment for you it is not up to anyone else when you share your baby news.
Don’t Feel Guilty.
Finally, don’t feel guilty, everything I have mentioned above comes down to putting other people’s needs before your own. Speak to your partner and find out what it is you want and don’t feel bad about it, if there’s one time in your life to put your own needs first then that time is now.
Thanks for taking the time to read my top tips for expectant parents on this lovely blog. If you have any questions then feel free to send me a message @_homeandfamily
A great post and some amazing tips. I especially like the tips on visitors and photos. It’s a rough ride and even for me been the dad who stood and took it all in while the other half did all the work, I didn’t want visitors. It’s like a respect thing too with pictures nobody should post or share photos until mum and dad have. It’s their place to announce their new additions arrival.
I think some aspects of newborn life are just as hard for the dads, you just want to be able to help. 100% agree on the photos front – you just wouldn’t share photos of other people’s children without asking.