Parents’ Best Chance

Parenting Can Be Frustrating

Bringing home a baby is not easy. Your family has changed, your schedule will change, and you will be more tired than you have ever been in your life. This is normal!

Here are a few frustrations mothers have expressed:

  • I don’t feel as though I have the same body I had before pregnancy.
  • I have never been so tired in my life.
  • I get so frustrated when the baby cries and I can’t soothe her or him, and the crying seems endless.
  • I can’t do the same activities I did before having the baby.
  • I was so tired, and there I was acting like a happy hostess to all these visitors who wanted to see the baby.
  • Everyone has an opinion on how we should take care of our baby.

A few frustrations partners have expressed:

  • I didn’t seem to have any time for myself. I was either working or taking care of the baby.
  • I couldn’t seem to find a way to comfort my baby that would make him or her stop crying.
  • I have never been so sleep starved in my life. I just wanted one complete night’s rest.
  • It seemed like we never left the house.
  • I really miss having sex and my partner isn’t as close as she used to be.
Hints from Other Parents on How to Stay Calm:

  • Anytime I started to lose my temper I put the baby down somewhere safe and left the room.
  • I realized how much I needed my sleep. I got my family to help by taking the baby out for a walk every day so I had time to nap and catch up.
  • I’d plan a nap for the late afternoon. That gave me more strength to handle my baby’s nighttime needs.
  • I talked to my partner about what the baby and I might need. He used to wait until I told him what to do. Now he just does what needs to be done.
  • We would talk about how we felt. We became very good at being frank about our needs.
  • We would plan to spend time together, just the two of us, at least once a week. Even if it was to just go for a walk. We would ask a friend or family member to help out by watching the baby.
  • We found it really helped to talk to a group of new parents. We got together with our prenatal group to swap stories and advice. It was reassuring to find out that most of them felt the same way we did.
  • When we found things were getting too difficult with the baby, we talked with the public health nurse. She told us about a parenting group that was really helpful.