Letter To The New Parents

I am officially an Aunt now!

My brother and sister-in-law have been blessed with a baby boy recently. Throughout the nine months, one is superstitious and cautious in embracing the happiness too soon. There is a lot of anxiety about things working out well. So, it is a beautiful moment filled with relief and bliss in our lives.

The deluge of congratulatory messages also triggered the memories of the birth of my own son, who is 20 months old now (already!). If someone would ask me now whether it was difficult to handle a newborn or a curious and hyperactive toddler, I would say both are different and can be overwhelming in their own ways.

The memory of the craziness that followed my son’s birth brought a smile on my lips. Those were the times when the nights became days and the days merged into nights, and sometimes both ceased to exist. The physical exertion would overwhelm me; waking up at nights to attend to my son would feel surreal. It would feel as if I were in a different world. The challenges of new parenthood and the emotional roller coaster of having a new baby in life can be extremely overwhelming.

So, here’s my open letter to the new parents, where I pour in wisdom from my own experience. I write this with good intentions of extending my support for the challenging times ahead.

Dear New Parents,

Congratulations!

I would not say that your life is full now, because your life may have been full even earlier but this experience of joy and love is unparalleled to what you may have felt ever before.

This is a new life, which may not look like anything that existed earlier but things will be better soon.

There will be millions of decisions to make every single day. If you have the best interests of your baby at heart, you will always make the right one.

There will be hundreds of books and loads of advices; evaluate each one of them with an open mind but trust your own instincts and your baby more than anything else.

It might be physically exhausting to care for a new baby, but don’t lose your patience. This too shall pass. You would want to have happy memories of these times and not regret later that you did not handle the situation well. Many new parents lose their patience and get overwhelmed but regret later.

May be the days would seem longer and physically taxing, but remember, a baby is going to be a baby for a really short time. You would not even realise how soon he would grow up!

You will have to make some changes in your lifestyle but it is not forever. This transition will also help you discover many things about yourself.

Your own relationship will evolve as you journey on this path together. Give each other support and empathise.

You will have to invent new ways of connecting with each other; going for movies or eating out may have to wait for a while.

And finally, take zillions of pictures and videos. They will never seem to be enough when your baby grows up.

I wish you all the best in this new phase of your life, where the only things you will ever need to sail through are lots of patience and a good sense of humour.

With lots of Love.

I remember I was always eager for the wise words from parents who had been through the grind. Got any advice for the New Parents? Say it here.

Reema Sahay is a Stay-At-Home-Mom, Freelance Writer, Voracious Reader, Passionate Blogger, Social Media Enthusiast, Internet Junkie and Ex-Marketing Communication Professional. She spends her days running after her very curious toddler, ‘the star’, and catching up on books when he naps. She writes about charms and challenges of life at Pen Paper and shares her passion for books at Recommend Books. She sometimes feels that her 5.5 years stint in Marketing Communication was in another life.