Baby's First Year

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Sunday, November 12, 2006

Baby's First Year

The Value of Family: Before the Baby Arrives


You are going to be a mom! It does not matter whether it is your first baby or your tenth baby, you still need to consider and plan the following items.

 Do you have your birth-plan detailed out and have you discussed it with your doctor or midwife?

 Is your suitcase ready to go or do you have the supplies that are need for a homebirth organized?

 Is your emergency contact list ready just in case you go into labor unexpectedly and at a time that your spouse or partner is not available?

 Is the nursery ready for the baby?

 Does your baby have a family?

That last question may seem a little strange, but we plan so many other parts of our baby’s lives that sometimes we overlook the basic thing that your baby needs a family. I am not going to even get into the political battle of single moms having children, I am simply going to advocate for a family for your baby.

Your parenting goal is to build strong relationships for your child so that you will give them confidence in themselves. A weak marriage does not do this and it does not give children confidence. Good parenting flows out of a stable and good marriage. If you protect your relationship with your spouse, then your children will be happy and healthy too!

Many times when a new baby joins a family (remember that you and your husband are a family before children), the marriage is not taken care of. Many times this is because of exhaustion, lack of time, lack of energy, etc., but you need to keep your first love healthy. Didn’t you get married because you love each other?

Before you bring this little one home, take the time to consider your marriage. If you need to work on your marriage, do it now. Babies respond to stress so you want to keep your home life as stress free as possible. Besides, you don’t want your baby to start out life being stressed, now do you? Keep your marriage healthy so that your family will be healthy as well. You will never regret the time that you put into it!

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