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Preparing for Postpartum Life
The Joys and Challenges of Life After Delivery
By Dorothy Nelson
For most people, relatives play a special role in your child's life. They will be involved in your child's life in varying degrees. If they live within close proximity, you'll want to understand how involved they hope to be. Some grandparents, for example, watch their grandchildren once a week, while others may not be comfortable with that commitment.
Whether or not you plan to work outside the home, it is also helpful to discuss responsibilities for household management before Baby is born. The amount of laundry you clean, dirty dishes you wash, groceries you buy and trash you take out will definitely increase, so you and your partner may wish to mutually agree to divide these responsibilities or discuss having someone come to your home to help with its upkeep.
If you know you don't function well during the day when you're sleep deprived, you can plan ahead to have help with the baby for late-night or early-morning feedings. Often, husbands don't mind taking a late-night or early-morning shift, as it allows them time to bond with the baby. Eric Nelson, father to Andrew and Virginia, says, "Before Virginia was born, I realized I wasn't going to be able to participate in assisting with feedings as I had with our son due to increased responsibilities at work. I was concerned, because I knew of my wife's needs for sleep. By discussing the situation in advance, we were able to arrange for a woman to help out in the evenings with feedings for the first few months after the baby was born."
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