- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- pregnancy today articles
- pregnancy today q&a
- message boards
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
 |
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
The First Day Home with Baby
How to Make Things Less Stressful for Everyone
By Renee Roberson
There are often expectations on the part of many during the first day home with a new baby. Mom may be exhausted from the hospital stay, Dad may be trying to figure out the best way to help, relatives might be arriving for a visit and any siblings in the home are probably looking for extra attention. With all the different possible scenarios, it's no wonder a day that should be a joyous occasion for most families has the potential to turn into chaos.
So what's the best way to go about handling that first day home? Like most aspects of parenthood, there's no magic formula, but there are things you can do ahead of time to make the transition easier.
"The arrival of a new baby, whether it is the first or fifth, marks an enormous transition in the family unit, but also in each individual's life," says Michelle Branco, owner of doudoubebe.com, a boutique specializing in unique items for new moms, babies and siblings. "Mom has gone through a major physical event and Baby is learning about a whole new reality. The best advice for everyone is to keep in mind how enormous this transition really is and go easy on themselves and each other in the early weeks."
"I got more relaxed with each time," says Kathryn Sansone, a St. Louis, Mo., mother of 10 biological children and creator of www.shapeupmom.com. "I knew what to expect and what worked and what didn't work. For example, with the other siblings at home I needed more sleep to have energy for them."
"I took a week off work when each of our kids were born," says Tim O'Brien, a Pittsburgh, Pa., native and father of two. "This made the adjustment easier on all of us and prevented the need for my mother-in-law to try to jump into the day-to-day stuff."
Want to see more?
Comments
There are no comments for this article yet.Be the first to 
|
Post As:
|
||
| Enter your comment below: | ||
| Title | ||
| Comment Text | ||
| CAPTCHA | ||
| Please note that any comments submitted become the property of Disney Family / iParenting and can be edited and posted at our discrection. | ||
