There is a lot of things new parents need to know. You can read them in books, guides or attend to birth school. But there are things that you won’t read, and those will bother your mind. As a parent, I remember having doubts and blaming myself sometimes. That is why I wrote down my list of „things new parents need to know”.

There is no master in parenting

Nobody really knows what they are doing as a new parent of the first child. That is a fact. Not depending on age, not education or even how hard you wanted to have a baby. It is something new in our lives, and we’re all just doing our best. And that is just fine.

Nursing requires practice

Nursing is natural and women have been doing that for ages, it is true. It does not mean it comes naturally to every new mom. You can prepare for that (I recommend reading my How to make breastfeeding pleasant and easy guide) but you and the baby will have to learn it. That is right - both of you need practice, and you will get better in time.

It is ok to pee when the baby cries

I am all against cry it out methods (I even wrote a book about no-CIO sleep training method), but there are situations that you need to ignore baby’s cry for a few minutes. It doesn’t mean that you are a bad parent. It is just life! Your baby will be fine.

Focus on the bright side

One of the things new parents need to know and accept is that the old life is gone forever! There is no point in making comparisons. There are hard days while being a parent, but those will be gone as well! Focus on the beauty of being a parent, all „firsts” you’ve seen so far and all the future shared joy.

I think those are significant things new parents need to know. You don’t need to remember every test result or recipe for baby puree - those you can check later. You just need to remember this list to become a good, happy parent.

Susan Urban