7 Excellent Reasons to Relax about having Your First baby (or another baby)

I was nervous about having my first baby…

Would I be a good mom?

Even though I grew up in a large family and had lots of experience with kids and babies,

I still felt that way. I wish that I hadn’t been afraid of how I would be, though!

It made it harder to enjoy my first baby and I wish that I could do it over again and not be so uptight about it.

I feel like I was able to relax a whole lot more with my 2nd…so I hope you can learn from my mistakes and have a glorious and wonderful first experience!

There are so many reasons to not be worried!

1. YOU were given this baby. You can do it!!

I fully believe that God knows exactly who He wants for the parents of each and every baby, and even though we cannot understand why sometimes, we need to trust that His ultimate plan is always better than we could ever imagine.

He knows you are the best mother for this baby and you can relax, knowing that He has your back and will give you what you need to do the best job that you can!

God built the correct instincts into you for caring for and loving your baby. You will naturally step up and learn how.

And a quick tip from an experienced mom…Don’t compare yourself to other moms. This can often lead to feeling like you are not doing a good job and will never be able to handle it all. But you can and will!

2. When you are in public, you are surrounded by parents who used to have kids, still do and totally get it!

They will understand when your baby cries, feel for you, not judge, and when they offer to help, they aren’t thinking that you can’t handle it, they are thinking that it would have been nice to have someone help or offer their support in a similar situation that they may have found themselves in when they were young parents.

And those people that don’t get it, just might someday! I’m hoping that you won’t ever run into a negative Nancy, who makes your day harder with her comments, but if you do…shake it off, maybe they’re just having a bad day themselves.

3. Babies are quite content to be cuddled, fed and loved.

You don’t need as much stuff as everyone leads you to believe.

Your little one doesn’t need a whole lot of expensive clothing, accessories or do-dads to keep them happy.

I have always kept my baby accessories to a minimal amount and never felt like I was missing out or that there was a lack of items for caring for my babies.

Marketing and peer pressure would lead you to believe that you must have all the latest and greatest and top quality items available on the market for your baby, but you really don’t…trust me!

4. You are the most important thing in their world and they want you to just hold and love them.

The baby clothing and accessories market is crazy and pushes hard, making you think that each and every new invention will be the answer to your sleepless nights, rough days and adjusting to being a parent.

My personal opinion, is that though the promises sound great and like an answer to your prayers, the overwhelm of having that much stuff to manage and try to keep clean and store, is not worth the energy, time and loads of money that you have to put into it to have it.

So relax, be there for your cutie pie and don’t feel like you need to have every last thing that you’re told you absolutely need.

5. The hard nights WILL pass.

I had to remind myself of that, even with my 6^th. She would cry for the first couple of hours of each night, the week after she was born and I had such a hard time with that.

Even though I knew for a certainty that it would not last, it still took me by surprise. You’re most likely not doing anything wrong, just be patient and it will pass.

The hardest part here, will be keeping your patience, even though you never expect to lose it, it does happen sometimes. And tears can happen too.

It’s okay, there’s nothing wrong with you. You are adjusting and hormones and a lack of sleep are most likely playing on your emotions.

And hey, don’t be like me with my first and not ask for help from someone. Asking for and receiving help is really good for you and baby!

Let someone else step in and give you a break. There’s nothing like feeling like you’re the only one taking care of the baby, and having resentment towards your spouse creep in.

You and your spouse should figure out how you can both balance time with each taking turns and caring for your little one.

6. Joy, pure joy, will enter your heart at times, giving you a very sweet reason to relax and enjoy these unrepeatable moments.

They only happen once, so don’t rush to have them over. Relax and enter into the moment, when your baby smiles at you for the first time, reaches for your face, says mama and claps their little hands in delight.

If you are in a rush, or uptight and stressed, you might miss these and you don’t want to do that!

There are always people willing to help you if you ask. You don’t have to do all of it on your own. Give yourself the space and grace to let others come into the picture.

It does not make you look like a bad mom, it makes you look like a strong one, who lets others come alongside and give you a break so that you can be fully present and at your best for your little one.

7. You will always have enough love to go around, no matter how many children you have or add to your family.

When you have your first baby, your love for that child seems to be the largest and deepest thing we have ever experienced in your life.

I know that many of us have wondered if we have already given all of our love and don’t have any or enough to give to another child.

Could we possibly have more love to give?

Ask any mother of multiple children and she will tell you, that your love only grows. Wider and deeper, and farther and stronger and bigger to cover each and every child that you have or ever will have.

Your love and capacity to love, is and never will be unlimited. God made you this way. And it. Is. AMAZING!!!!!

I cannot finish, without giving you the following thought which is etched on my heart and must be shared.

As we are meant to give over all parts and areas of our life to God, we should also give our wombs to Him…surrendering control and the choice of being able to plan or limit the number of children that He can bless us with.

I am the mother of 6 children under 12 right now…I know how hard it is and how much work and overwhelm can happen on a daily basis.

I know that the temptation to feel like I cannot handle or won’t be able to take care of any more little ones, is hovering in the back of my mind.

But I choose to give this all to God. He knows what is best for me, and that might mean another baby, another blessing, and He WILL provide and care for me and you and our little ones if we accept His gifts and trust in His Love.

In conclusion, YOU were meant for this! God knew what He was doing and you will be the best mom that your little one could ever hope for or want. You’ve got this, Mama!

Please share your thoughts and experiences with me in the comments below, so that we can all receive inspiration and encouragement from you!