Are you pregnant and caught between wanting everyone to feel involved and feeling suffocated with all the attention. This article by Nancy Corrigan would be a great read for you. Nancy is about to have her third baby and offers her advice to mothers new and old.
When you finally fall pregnant after trying for a baby, it’s natural that your family will be excited and keen to play a role. While it may sometimes feel like interfering, it’s unlikely that this is really the case, and it’s much more likely that they just want to help and share their advice and tips to make your pregnancy go as smoothly as possible. So, what can you do to help your family feel involved without feeling suffocated by all the attention?
Firstly, remember that you don’t have to hand over all control just for an easy life. Whether it’s an older sibling who had a baby recently and feels like they’re an expert or a parent who wants to be there every step of the way, this is your pregnancy, not theirs. However, there are some smaller tasks you can hand over, and some activities in which everyone can get involved.
A 4D scan could be one fantastic way to get the entire family involved. The nurse performing the scan won’t be especially happy when your entire family traipse into the room, so this is the perfect way to make everyone feel like they were there. A 4D scan is a video-style real time scan where you can see your baby in great detail moving in the womb. You can then transfer this video recording onto a DVD to take away with you to play to your family over and over again.
There are some forms of help which might actually benefit you greatly. If there are any skills that neither of the parents to be have, such as DIY, you can take this opportunity to draft in help. You can get both sets of grandparents involved doing what they do best to take some of the stress away from you and to help keep them busy and in the loop. Now is a good time to get that nursery painted or the cot built!
One of the times you might need some help is the big shopping trip. Unfortunately, it’s not all about buying cute little outfits. There are lots of things you’d probably never think to buy without having someone in tow who’s done it all before. This means you can take care of all the fun things while your voice of reason reminds you to pick up all the things the baby will actually need. Plus, you get someone to help you carry all the bags – bonus!
I could really relate on this. When I conceived our first little bundle of joy, naku everyone celebrated with us with the big news.
Even the Filipino online community that I was a member of, talaga namang updated lahat haha! Nakakatuwa coz hindi lang family ko ang nainvolved. Pati ibang tao who eventually became my friends and Godparents of my girls.