Parenting 101 - Tips For Pregnant And New Mums

As first time parents, you’ll quickly find out that the moment news of your pregnancy reaches everyone, or that baby bump becomes obvious, everyone will want to share everything they know about parenting with you. Don’t worry; it’s okay to feel snowed under by all the well-meaning advice – all new parents do! There is a lot to think about when you’re about to create a new family. One challenge is choosing a name for your child.

At Huggies.com.au we have a great baby names tool to help. It has access to a large and comprehensive list of baby names from different cultures and walks of life.

Your parents influence your parenting

Your parenting style will be influenced by your parents; no matter of the methods we hear, read or know about. In the end, we tend to subconsciously look back to our own youth for our fundamental parenting ideas. We tend to recreate all the things we liked about it and put right all the things that we hated as we bring up our own children.

Prepare your finances for a new addition

Of course having children will change your lifestyle and household resources. Think about every stage of your child’s life – from newborn until the day they leave home – and try plan for any expenses.
Don’t overspend on your newborn
The excitement of bringing home a baby for the first time will drive you a little crazy about what to buy for your baby. Remember that your child will quickly outgrow the things you purchase for them in the first few years of their life so consider each item carefully.

Learn from your child

Being a parent is not always about what you can teach your bub, but also about what your child can teach you. Some parents say that the most prized thing about parenthood is how much they constantly discover about themselves vicariously through their children.
Your child’s health care plan

Have a health care plan for your child.

There will always be immunisation and vaccination milestones which your baby will need from newborn to adolescence. Refer to the immunisation chart and organise a time with your GP for your child to get the necessary immunisations and vaccinations. Also, you may want to consider private health insurance for your child.

Child safety

Think about your baby’s safety for when she starts crawling or walking, you may want to start baby proofing your house ASAP.

Balance time with your partner

If you’re not a single parent, you will also need to juggle the wishes of your partner as well as your bub’s. Maintaining a relationship while trying to adapt to having a newborn at home will seem like a struggle at first. Yet, trying to create a equilibrium between the two will benefit the three of you tremendously. Especially on days when you’re too exhausted to spend time with your bub and need some time out.

Trust your intuition

In spite of the fact that this is your first time raising a child, you’ll soon discover that lots of aspects of parenting will come automatically to you – if you listen to your heart.

By: Sarah Pietrzak

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Sarah Pietrzak is a freelance writer and one of Australia’s best known parenting bloggers. She regularly blogs for Huggies.com.au – a first class pregnancy and baby information resource that includes a great baby names tool as well. She is a mother to three small and extremely noisy children, and wife to a tragically neglected husband