Caring For Each Other Once Baby Arrives
By Jana Angeles
Having a baby is a beautiful time to share with your partner but it’s also tests your patience in your relationship. You haven’t had a date night in a while, sex may be out of the question and you find yourself growing more grey hairs by the day. It’s important to find couple time whenever you can but it’s also equally important to show a bit of love and support to your partner every now and then.
Though this is the period where your new baby is a priority, it’s also a time where you and your partner need to be honest with things and be open to communication when need be. So how do you take care of each other when raising a newborn? How can you regain that spark you once had with each other?
Share Details of Your Day and Your Feelings To Your Partner
Talking about your day and how you’re feeling is always a good start. Open communication is important in a relationship because it allows you and your partner to reach compromises, talk through your problems while also challenging you to be a better person.
Being honest with your thoughts and feelings can be a way of checking in with each other. If you’re feeling down, this could be an encouraging time for your partner to find ways to make you happy again. Instead of bottling up your feelings and showing resentment later on, letting any negative feelings out can be beneficial for your relationship as parents too.
Be Supportive When Things Get Tough
You’ll go through hurdles but that doesn’t mean you should stop being supportive. Being there when things can get tough is a true way to test your relationship with your partner. You need to be reliable and trustworthy, especially if either of you fall into postpartum depression and need all the help you can get. Once you go through a hurdle within your relationship, you’ll find that you won’t take each other for granted and it will even strengthen your bond with each other.
Find Time To Relax
Being in a committed relationship is one of the most rewarding things you can do in life. From it, you learn cool stuff about each other and also your flaws too. When it comes to finding time to unwind, it can be tough juggling things with a newborn. You and your partner should know each other well enough to give each other space, especially if you’re both introverts and need a little down time. Understand that your partner may not want to talk to you for a few hours because they need to recharge. Don’t feel the need to spend every waking minute you have with each other if you’re not in the mood. It’s completely understandable if having a little ‘me’ time is your form of relaxation.
Have Patience
You’ll find days where you’re completely moody, you snap way too easily before – some may say you have lost your ‘chill’. It’s normal to have mood swings right after having a baby but that doesn’t mean it should put a dent in your relationship. Empathise with each other and nurture the moments you have with your baby. It’s important to have patience and be completely understanding.
If you need to work on your relationship and need to organise a date night, don’t hesitate to ring up a close friend or an immediate family member to take care of your little one for a couple of hours. It takes two to tango so spend a few hours a week working on your relationship if you feel it’s necessary.
You’re in this together so why give up now? Your relationship with your partner is beyond important and it especially helps if they’re your best friend. Be open, have honesty and trust each other to be the best version of yourselves while raising your child together. The romance doesn’t have to stop once you have children. If you truly care about each other, things will work out naturally if you both work hard within the relationship.