Parenting January
Are you a new, first time parent? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Awestruck? Panicky? In shock? And maybe a million other things.... Well, you are perfectly normal. New parents frequently feel all manner of emotions when they meet their new born.
It's not surprising because you have never been (or acted as) a parent before so you are likely to be facing a great many unknowns. You may have felt you prepared yourself well by speaking to friends, relatives and your Doctor about parenting, and of course reading up on all the tasks and problems to expect, but I'm not sure anything can truly, fully prepare you for "the ride".
Every new human being arrives into this world fully of challenges for their parents, and some of these challenges are minor and some are MAJOR.
Typically feeding and sleeping, and trying to settle an unsettled baby take up almost all of the day, at least to begin with.
When the major challenges arrive, you may feel distressed. This is unfortunate because you can reach out for help. There is no point in feeling that you are a "bad" parent or an incompetent parent. Excuse the platitude but none of us are perfect and when faced with new skills to learn, we all need time and support, especially when those skills involves caring for a tiny human being.
There are the Parenting telephone support lines, Maternal and Child Health nurses, and your GP, if family or friends fail to help you solve the major problems, as well as community support groups such as the ABA (Australian Breastfeeding Association) who is 250% in favour of breastfeeding; or private Lactation Consultants (these incur fees). (Your local Pharmacist can assist if you choose to formula feed.) Some organisations are set up to assist with major sleeping problems, but you can always source a "baby whisperer" who will come to your house and "teach" you how to "teach" your baby to settle and sleep at night. Incidentally, on the subject of sleep, I believe getting enough quality sleep as a parent is the crucial factor in surviving parenthood.
So this means sleeping when the baby sleeps, or getting someone to babysit while you have a (big) nap as many days as you can, should keep you feeling human.
Apart from the advice about sleep, my best advice is: Reach out for help, and be gentle with yourself!