How to Manage Baby Development Milestones the Right Way
Every parent stresses about baby development milestones. Why are baby milestones so stressful? You aren’t born knowing what to do with your baby. The confidence that you see parents have comes over time.
Don’t feel bad if you have no idea what you are doing or feel insecure. As a new parent of a two-month-old, the “being a mommy” thing is still taking some time to get used to it.
Baby milestones are something that has always stressed me out. It’s stressful because I don’t know what to expect and why hitting certain milestones for babies is so important. If you are out of the newborn stage and looking for mom ways to handle your stress, I have seven more ways to do that. You can read that post here.
This post is about baby development milestones.
Why are baby development milestones stressful?
There are so many milestones that your pediatricians tell you your baby must hit by certain times. Honestly, it’s a lot of work to make sure you are hitting these milestones with your baby and your postpartum recovery.
Now that you think about it, it’s hard work being a baby. In the first year alone, it’s more complicated than being a parent. It’s not until after you become a parent that you start to have more empathy for kids today. And sympathy for our parents. There must be thoughts that go through your mind like, “I think to myself, damn, I must have given my parents grief because sheesh!” My newborn is no joke.
By the time your baby is one month old, babies begin feeding about 2-4oz every 2 hours. He was up to 4-6 oz for my newborn by then. Even with the whole tummy time, motor skills, hearing, and seeing, can we keep up?
When moms first go on maternity leave, you think, “I thought this was maternity leave, not maternity work. Who came up with baby milestones anyway? Why are they so important, and why do they make parents feel like crap when it is not hit?”
Of course, no mother wouldn’t trade this experience for the world. Some women would give everything to be able to have a child in their life, so being grateful is always first and foremost. But that doesn’t mean you can’t express how hard it is to keep up with the early stages of parenthood.
Ways to manage parent stress
You will freak out about every little thing your baby does, but you will learn that it’s expected over time. For the small stuff, you will try to use Google to answer, and for the most part, that will help keep your stress down. Other times you will have to call the doctors, which will also help you keep the pressure down.
Having a great pediatrician who understands where you are in your parenting journey also helps with stress. The pediatrician we have has a 24/7 nurse helpline that answers our questions whenever we need it. The pediatrician also has multiple locations and is connected to the best pediatric hospitals in the area.
If you can be a part of mom groups, you can find some on sites like Parents.com. This can help. Being in a community of others who are going through the same things that you are can be helpful and confidence-building.
Parenting is an ongoing process, so what you learn with your baby will also give you experience, and you will feel more confident in parenting. Knowing that it’s a journey with no destination also keeps you knowing that you have time to get it right and not stress about the small things. It takes 10,000 hours to be an expert. Then by the time your baby is 18 months old, you will be a parenting master.
Fun Stress Relieving Activities
When you’re in the thick of a new parent’s life, you can lose sight of finding the fun and enjoyment in it. As an experienced new mom, here are four ways that I have practical to keep the stress away when I notice I feel overwhelmed.
Breathing Exercises
You might hear about the late nights and early mornings of parenting. Still, until that newborn comes home, and you must really develop a schedule of managing the feedings, it doesn’t seem real. When I get moments of silence, usually when the baby is napping, I take a few minutes and do some breathing exercises. Sometimes letting a good cry out helps but doing this a few times a day has helped me know that while it might be hard, YOU are doing it and doing a great job.
Journaling
One of the reasons I started blogging was to find an outlet for what I was going through as a new mom. It turned into a resource for other moms who are going through the same thing. Its been wonderful and therapeutic sharing my motherhood journey and allowing myself to relax. I have many blog posts about my new mom’s postpartum journey that you can read here.
Stress Relieving Activities To Incorarpate Early On
Movement
Getting up and getting out of the house helps. From personal experience, it can be daunting getting the baby together to go for a walk. Still, the sun helps you can the baby. My son was born in January, so waiting to go outside until April and May were hard, but having the summer and early fall months to take a walk helped so much. Not only does walking help with postpartum recovery, but you will be amazed at what a 10–15-minute walk can do for your mood. Getting active releases so many endorphins that help you and the baby in the long run.
TLC
You will need some time. There is no way around it. In the early months, you will have a lot of help. But that will eventually taper off, and you will see that the stress will get overwhelming. Asking for a spa day, mom pamper day will help with anxiety.
You might tense up after a baby doctor’s appointment since they often go in the early weeks. So asking for a few hours will help with stress. Never get to the point that you can’t ask for help. You are a woman first before a mom, so self-care is the only way to be the best mom for you and your baby.
