When you first take your infant home from the hospital, the number of tasks that seem foreign to you as a new parent can be overwhelming. From figuring out the schedule for your baby’s needs to understanding how to work effectively as parents with your spouse, there are many skills you’ll develop on your journey. However, new parents often fall into mistakes that are easily avoidable if you know them ahead of time. To ensure you’re able to raise your child with all the knowledge you need, here are ten mistakes that new parents should avoid: 

1. Not Sharing Your Work Load

Finding a way to split parenting work between your spouse in a fair way is perhaps the most important responsibility you’ll have during the first few months of your child’s life. Those who fail to do so will cause immense stress for the partner who is overloaded with parenting work. Additionally, your child needs equal attention from both parents to feel a strong connection with them, and for their emotional development to stay effective. 

2. Panicking Every Time Your Child Gets Sick

Understandably, you’ll be upset and worried when your child gets sick, especially the first time. However, it’s important to avoid how often you let yourself get too worked up, as occasional fevers are not uncommon. To help you from going crazy as you learn to be a new parent, this step is incredibly essential. 

3. Seeking Out Information Sources that Might be Unreliable

The internet is full of options and “facts,” especially when it comes to parenting techniques. While it’s not bad to seek out fellow parents’ experiences, be sure to never overvalue them, especially over the advice of medical doctors. Doing so will help keep your infant safer and healthier while saving you lots of stress in the meantime. 

4. Buying the Wrong Formula 

One of the most important things you’ll do while raising your baby is making sure they are fed both enough, and in a healthy manner that will boost their development. Avoid palm oil, soybean oil, and aluminum-containing formulas, and instead go with non-GMO organic baby formulas, iron-packed products and you will be good to go. Never buy formula just because it’s cheap, as there are frequent lawsuits that arise from complications caused by incompetently made baby formulas. NEC (Necrotizing Enterocolitis) can be caused by these ineffective, unsafe formulas, and if you ever run into this tragic situation, you can receive help from Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers LLC (https://www.rosenfeldinjurylawyers.com/news/nec-baby-formula-lawsuit-value/).

5. Comparing Your Infant to Another

All infants are incredibly different from one another. From behavior to sleep patterns, to feeding habits and personality, you could probably find a thousand differences between your infant and another. By avoiding obsessing about these differences, or which infant is behaving more “appropriately,” be sure to focus more on finding out what’s right for your child in particular. 

6. Neglecting Personal Time with Your Spouse

The amount of work it takes to raise an infant is insane. However, making time not only for yourself but for personal time with your spouse is essential to keeping your mental health strong. Doing so will allow you to be a better, more functional parent, so never let yourself feel guilty about taking some time for yourself. Mental afflictions in parents are common during the early months and years of your infant’s life, so preparing to support yourself or your spouse with their emotional needs is essential. 

7. Not Letting Your Infant Express their Emotions

Whether they are crying a lot, acting a bit bullish, or are simply being unaffectionate, it’s important not to overreact and try to correct your child’s behavior when they are an infant. At this stage, they simply need your support. By allowing them to express their emotions openly, they’ll keep developing emotionally in a way that’s natural and healthy for them. 

8. Feeding Your Infant too Often

Your child is likely to want to be fed around the clock. However, you must keep to the suggested feeding schedule and amount given to you by a medical professional. If shifts are needed, apply them slowly, and always avoid overfeeding your child. Doing so will keep their physical and mental development on the right track. 

9. Fighting in Front of the Infant

Not only will this stress you and your partner out, making you less effective at parenting tasks, but it can cause major emotional stress for your child. During these early months, avoiding these stressors that come from you and your partner is essential. If you need to talk it out and know the conversation may get intense, it’s best to take your conversation to a room where the child will not hear or see you. 

10. Taking Your Infant to Crowded Places

This may seem like an obvious piece of advice, but everyone’s level of understanding in terms of child care is the same. Especially since the Covid-19 pandemic is still widespread, knowing how to avoid taking your infant to a crowded place is crucial. Doing so will not only protect them from Covid-19, but other diseases and viruses that can make your infant’s development significantly damaged. Additionally, it will help ease your mind to know your infant is not being exposed to environments that could upset or hurt them, and this peace of mind will keep you focused on your parenting duties more efficiently. 

Being a New Parent is Never Easy

But it is worth it. You will bond with your child in a way that is indescribable, and which will give you a constant source of joy for the rest of your life. By avoiding these pitfalls we’ve discussed, you’ll create a loving, supportive environment to raise your infant in while staying as comfortable and confident with your parenting abilities as possible.