Birth & Parenting, Podcasting & Retreats
  • A. Swift Welcome
  • Podcast
  • Blog
  • Contact

Tradition...gulp.

9/19/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
You may not have noticed, but the holidays are coming.  The pumpkin lattes are flowing.  Costumes are on the shelves, and recipes for soups and baked treats are popping out of the woodwork. 

You may be  freaking out about how to make baby's first Christmas (or Halloween, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah) absolutely perfect.  You may be stressed out, already, about starting new family traditions or keeping up with well established roles. 

Lets open ourselves to an idea:  becoming a parent gives us the opportunity to experience joy, belonging, and love, but there is no guarantee it will be done perfectly.  We may try to keep the idea of perfection that comes with each new baby alive along as possible, but if you let go of your idea of what should happen, you open up to the possibility of what could happen.  And that may be 100 times better than you imagined.

So a few things...

All your baby wants is...YOU

Sure, being around family and sparkly decorations will be exciting for your little one, but all your baby really wants this holiday season is you.  Don't worry about what to buy or what clothes to put her in, your wee one will be perfectly content to hang with you and watch all the commotion.  If you have a traditional schedule of where to be, realize that your baby doesn't know the schedule.  Your baby doesn't realize that your family has had this meal at Aunt Rose's house for the last 15 years and there is no place to change a diaper.  Your baby still has to poop.  (There might be a metaphor in there.)  

You Don't Have to Do it all

It is very hard to be a part of the New Mommy Club, especially with the added stress of holidays.  Not only is your life totally different now that you have a baby, but there is little conversation that shares the fact that YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT ALL.  Families are living farther apart, social expectations are shouting at you to do it all, be perfect, bounce back from pregnancy, feel fantastic, and SMILE!  Meanwhile, you feel like the living embodiment of your junk drawer.  So I say to you, Exhausted New Mom, you have never been through this, so you don't need to pretend that you have.  Asking for help when you need it will keep you sane.

And to help, some tools...

1) It's okay to say no.
Your family is your family.  It's perfectly fine to decline an invitation so you can have a less stressful holiday.

2) Simplify gift giving.
Think of setting limits on spending so you aren't stressed about finances instead of enjoying the time with your family. 

3)
Give freely the things you can.
Kind words, gratitude, a hug, or a smile will go a long way.  If you are focused on the positives in this season, you will help yourself, and leave warm feelings in your wake.

4)  Enjoy yourself. 
Being able to create new memories filled with laughter and fun is a wonderful introduction for your new baby at the holidays.  Find ways to laugh, even if it's at yourself. 

I hope with all the coming holidays you are able to start the traditions of gratitude and joy with your new baby.  And sleep, or a steady supply of pumpkin lattes.



0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Archives

    October 2018
    September 2017
    May 2017
    August 2016
    January 2016
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    August 2013

    Categories

    All
    Baby
    Babywearing
    Birth
    Birth Annoucement
    Birth Doula
    Books
    Breastfeeding
    Chicago
    Courage
    Dads
    Decisions
    Depression
    Doula
    Due Dates
    Events
    Fathers
    Food
    Get Connected
    Get Out
    Holidays
    Instagram
    Internet
    IVF
    Jill Of All Trades
    Labor
    Legacy
    Lets Talk About It
    Littles
    Magic
    Mommy Wars
    Motherhood
    Mother's
    Not Alone
    Parenting
    Penny Simkin
    Placenta
    Postdate
    Postpartum Doula
    Prodoula
    Real Life
    Sleep
    TLDG
    Todder
    Tools
    Video
    Weaning
    Wee Ones
    Where To Go
    Writing



    RSS Feed

CONTACT

HOME