How to prepare for Parenthood?

Photo by Katie Emslie on Unsplash

So, you've decided to become a parent, congratulations! Becoming a parent is a huge responsibility, and it's something that you'll have to get used to over time. The good news is that there are a lot of different ways that you can prepare for parenthood before actually becoming a parent. Read on to find out how. Parenthood is something that you will, most likely, have to deal with at some point in your life. That's why you should prepare to become a good parent before you're actually a parent. There are a number of different things that you need to do in order to get ready for parenthood.

Here are a few things that you should try to do:

1. Become as healthy as possible: The healthier you are, the easier it will be for you to have children. Eat a balanced diet and get plenty of exercise on a regular basis. This will help keep you healthy and allow you to have a happy and positive lifestyle. You should try to avoid smoking and drinking too, as these things can have a negative effect on your health.

2. Find a good doctor: Find a doctor that you like and have confidence in so that you can feel comfortable talking to them when you have questions about parenting. This will make it much easier for you to get through pregnancy. Make sure that you choose a doctor that you trust.

3. Take childbirth classes: These are usually available at your local hospital and are a good way to prepare for childbirth. Or you can join online groups also where people gather together and share their childbirth experiences. This will give you a realistic picture and can help you to prepare, physically and emotionally, for what lies ahead.

4. Make some lifestyle changes: If you want to make some changes to your life in preparation for parenthood, now is a good time to do it. Start by changing your diet and exercise routine so that you have healthy habits that you will continue to practice once you have children. You need to get your life in order before having a child.

5. Get your finances in order: Start making plans to take care of any debts that you have and make sure that your money is set aside in a savings account. After having children your household expenses are bound to increase. You need to save for emergency medical crises and other unforeseen expenses.

6. Get good Health and medical insurance: Before planning to be a parent you first need to research good health & medical insurance to cover those hospital bills. Also, medical insurance doesn’t cover the pregnancy costs if you have conceived before taking the plan, So discuss it well with your agent and read the terms & conditions carefully.

7. Emotional preparation: Every parent has a different experience with their kids. So before preparing yourself physically you need to mentally get ready to be a parent because being a parent is a full-time role and there is no backing out from this job.

8. Gaining knowledge about taking care of newborns: Until your baby is 6 months or above you have to deal with a lot of things that you may not know about. Babies only show crying signs for everything like hunger, pain, sleep, cuddling, etc. So you have to understand what they want by the type of crying and signs they are showing. Learning these things needs prior exposure to small babies and interaction with other mothers who can share some meaningful tips for the same.

9. Sharing responsibilities: Have a brief discussion with your partner regarding their expectations and responsibility sharing. After the baby comes mother has to sacrifice a lot for her sleep, and comfort, and change her routine entirely for the baby. Sometimes fathers do back out from child duties thinking it's only the mother’s responsibility. So sort this out with your partner about sharing the roles and responsibilities.

10. Adjusting Career: If you are a working mother you also need to balance your career expectations. You need to have clarity about the duration of your maternity break and after that who is going to take care of the child. If you are dependent on house help you need to make sure that they are a reliable person for attending to a small child.
 
Bringing a new life into this world is no less than a miracle and this experience should be good for every mother. Parenthood will change your life entirely. There will be many things that you have to include or exclude from your routine to cater to the baby’s needs. Unless you are a millionaire with people running around you for your orders.

About The Author:

Ruchi has done MBA and apart from her full-time job and a two-year-old baby she is also following her passion for writing. Her pregnancy gave her a lot of experiences to write about and with this opportunity, she wants to share her little knowledge of parenthood with the world.