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Home › Articles › Fatherhood › Resolving to Help

Resolving to Help

6 Tips to Make Mom's Life Easier in the New Year

By I.J. Schecter

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Before, your New Year's resolutions had to do with betting more cleverly on NFL games. These days, things are different. Not only are you a responsible adult, but there's also a new person in the picture who perhaps has already arrived or is getting ready to make his entrance. Your focus needs to shift – in part to the baby, but, even more crucially, to Mom.

Here are 6 resolutions you can make in the New Year to make her life easier.

Force Some "Me" Time
"With my second pregnancy, when there was very little, if any, time for myself, my husband Andrew would take Josh out of the house regularly so I could rest, which was a huge help," says Jennifer Ansley, mother of 3-year-old Josh and 1-year-old Carly from Toronto, Canada.

This is helpful in particular because Mom, as much as she suggests she'd like time to herself, isn't likely to initiate it. "Moms are professional multi-taskers," says Dr. Lillian Beard, associate clinical professor of pediatrics at George Washington University. "But too often they put off scheduling time for themselves. Put some pamper time on the monthly calendar."

It matters little what form the down time takes. What matters is that it's enforced. "Take the baby out for a while and insist I put my legs up and rest," says Andrea Hetherington, mother of 1-year-old Jack. "Do not let me come with you, no matter how much I beg."

Be a Rock
"It isn't that we're upset with you, it's that we're just dealing with so much," says Cheryl Klaiman, mother of 4-month-old Emma from New Haven, Conn. "Knowing we're emotional doesn't make it any easier to control. Try not to take things personally."


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