Although everyone told my husband and I that we would be up all night, every night, dealing with a newborn, we just assumed they meant that we would have to wake up a few times to change a diaper and feed the baby.
No one told us that being “up all night” literally meant being up perhaps every hour on the hour to deal with various kinds of cries, trial and error of burping techniques, spit ups, and any other discomforts our baby would have. And no one told us that this would happen at night AND in the morning AND in the afternoon AND in the evening AND at night again.
Actually, reflecting back, this wasn’t the only thing people forgot to tell us. After a c-section I knew there would be some pain to deal with, but no one told me I would have bleeding up to 8 weeks after giving birth!
People told us that we should sleep when the baby sleeps, but no one told us that babies sleep less and less as they grow and at some point require you to read their body language and actually anticipate when they need to sleep otherwise they get crabby. People told us we would “go through” a lot of diapers, but no one told us that “go through” meant buying 2 jumbo packs a week!
We all want to believe that we have a guardian angel. Sometimes having this belief alone is enough to make us go through hard times feeling someone is on our side. Because the journey into parenting begins with a lot of emotion, confusion, guesswork, and exhaustion, I would argue that parents need more than just the “belief” that an angel is “watching over them”. In fact, I would say they need to see the hard evidence that angels exists.
Well, you can be that hard evidence that angels really do exist. By following the advice in this article you will be showing off those new angelic wings in no time.
- Everyone crowds around a cute baby who is smiling or sleeping. Everyone runs away when that baby starts crying or has a poopy diaper. Be an angel! Offer to change that diaper and comfort the crying baby.
- Everyone tells a new mom how adorable her baby looks and how cute the outfit she has the baby wearing. But hardly does anyone tell a mom how cute she looks as a mom when she holds her baby and how she has that new “glow” that motherhood brings. Be an angel! Tell mom she looks good in that new outfit or take her shopping to find one.
- Everyone wants to visit the house and bring new clothes and toys for the baby, but no one wants to visit the house and bring something for the new parents. Be an angel! Bring a movie they haven’t seen so that when they do get a moment, they can spend time together when the baby is sleeping and have a date night in the house.
- Everyone wants to take pictures with the new baby. No one thinks of taking pictures of the new mom and dad. Be an angel! Take photos of the mom and dad first before snapping a photo of the newborn baby.This will shock them, but make them feel special.
- Everyone is quick to point out how parents should improve their parenting skills by doing this or that. No one tells the new parents how good their parenting is. Be an angel! Tell mom how incredible it is that she’s learned to comfort her baby so quickly and tell dad how great it is that he can change a diaper in less than a minute.
- Everyone visits the house and comments on how well groomed the baby looks while ignoring the unorganized house mess with a pile of dishes in the sink and trash that hasn’t been taken out in over a week. Be an angel! Offer to let mom or dad sit with the baby while you put the dishes in the dishwasher and take out the trash.
- Everyone wants to take photos of the new baby, but no one helps the new parents who are too busy caring for the new baby to organize them in a scrapbook or photo album. Be an angel! Tell mom you’ll get all those digital photos developed and then you’ll come over sometime to help her organize them all in a scrapbook.
- Everyone wants to come over one evening to have dinner and visit the new baby. Be an angel! Prepare a home cooked meal and then bring it over so the new parents don’t have to cook.
- Everyone wants to talk about “baby this” and “baby that” while ignoring the fact that the new parents have other interests and hobbies. Be an angel! Offer to watch the baby while the parents go out to see a movie or for a walk.
- And most importantly. Everyone asks the new parents if they can help in anyway, ignoring the fact that most new moms and dads will say no due to shyness or the overwhelming cultural feeling that they alone must manage everything. Be an angel! Don’t just offer to do something…surprise them and do it.
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