5 ways to prepare your relationship for a baby
Becoming new parents can be one of the most exciting times in your life, knowing that you are soon to share a child with your partner and experience what it is to be a parent can bring the warmest and fuzziest of feelings to both of you. However, it can also be a little daunting, and focus on your relationship can take a back seat as things start to get hectic in preparation for baby’s arrival.
To help prepare your relationship for the roller-coaster that becoming a parent for the first time is, we’ve got 5 ways to prepare you.
Talk it out: Amidst all the madness, doctors visits, baby clothes buying, doing up the baby room and generally preparing for the little one’s arrival, take the time to talk any worries or stresses out with your partner if you notice them seeming a bit overwhelmed. Set a time in the evening each night after work and your busy day’s to chat about the great change that is going to happen to you both. Communication is the absolute key to remaining on the same level of understanding, and at a time when everything is up in the air, communication will be your grounding tool.
Learn to enjoy simple times together: When baby arrives, a date night a week may become a date night every three months, or even longer. Try and change the notion of ‘date night’ for the both of you. When baby arrives, what previously may have been dinner and drinks or a movie may become sitting for dinner at the table! Try and change the term date, and come to know it as time simply spent together. Watch the movie at home, make dinner for your partner and light the candles on the table when the day has ended. Learning to appreciate the simple times will make it easier when baby arrives.
Respect hormones and each other’s worries: Sometimes, us humans can be impatient! It’s just our nature, and after a long busy day we can tend to think no other person on Earth’s day could have been as tough as ours! Try as much as possible to respect any worry or little insecurity your partner may have, and don’t compare it against what you are feeling. If your partner is feeling insecure or worried, know that you may feel this way tomorrow. Patience is a virtue, but it truly makes you feel respected and loved, and will create an awareness of how you both are feeling in preparation for baby.
Make time for the two of you: When baby comes this can be hard, we’re not going to lie, but even setting aside a night a week where the two of you can focus on your relationship, by eating a meal together, watching a film or simply sitting down and having a chat, try to make this happen so you both don’t forget that amidst parenthood, you are also a couple.
Set priorities: There are going to be days when the dishes may lie in the sink, when the laundry is not done or the beds remain the way they were slept in the night before. Sometimes, amidst the tiredness and stress, these little things can cause big arguments. Come to an understanding with your partner of the things that you would like done daily, and the things that can wait. Maybe the beds can lie unmade for a few days, if the dishes aren’t left piled in the sink. Making each other aware of what the other feels is important in the running of the house and will make for a smoother run for the day, and remove the little arguments that don’t need to happen.
maternity & infant
Originally posted 2015-05-12 09:35:27.