When Grandparents and Parents Aren’t Vibing

This post is more of a pep talk in staying true to yourselves and your beliefs and philosophies over "well in the old school, we..." The best thing I heard while in the hospital after I had my first child was a nurse tell me that people were now going to try to give us all sorts of unsolicited advice and in particular, grandparents. The nurse said to me: "you know what? There's a new school for a reason." And this really stuck with me as we tend to feel so much pressure as new parents. But why!?! Were in the driver's seat now. These are our baby's, and we don't want to look back regretting that we did what every single person told us to do rather than what we felt was best for OUR child.

Don't get me wrong, most people are well intentioned with their beliefs and information they present to you, but they are also going by the time period they used this information and chances are, its outdated. Again, I know it's hard because as new parents were vulnerable to feeling easily judged over our choices but think of it like this: Most of the time things become outdated, it's in reference to safety and those safety standards from then to now have most likely changed dramatically. So, all of that to say, there's feeling pressure and there's taking responsibility for your child's safety which is of the utmost importance.

I think you can anticipate a lot of these potential pressures, by reviewing different parenting philosophies during the expecting time period and see which ones you most align with because then you will feel secure and confident in decisions you've made around your parenting philosophy. This will almost ensure nobody telling you otherwise. Unfamiliar with parenting philosophies and newborn care? Take a newborn care class with me- details on my website at northjerseydoulas.com