Your other relationships can change too, as your parents become grandparents, your siblings become aunts and uncles, and your friends adapt to you becoming parents. After the initial excitement over the new baby, family and friends visit less often. The new parent (most often the mother in the early months) can start to feel lonely and isolated. The same social networks may not be there – work colleagues are still busy at the job, social friends who don’t have children yet may not understand the changes in your life and why you aren’t as available as you used to be.
You may want to look for parent and baby groups in your neighbourhood, so that you can build some friendships with other new parents. You’ll quickly realize that you are not alone with the challenges of being a new parent, and your new peer group may provide you with support and new friendships.
Help! Everyone Tells Me Something Different!
We all want to “get it right” when we have a new baby, and it’s common for new parents to have lots of questions. You’ll get lots of advice – whether or not you want it! Your family, friends, doctor, books, the internet, can provide you a wealth of knowledge, but what do you do when they all something different?
Ask yourself: Is the advice from a reliable source? Does it fit with current recommmended guidelines? Does it fit for you, your baby and your family situation? Trust your own instincts. If you receive some advice that you neither want nor agree with, just say “Thank you – I’ll think about that.” Then do what feels best to you.
If you have any questions, call Health Link Alberta at 811