Preparing for Parenthood

I find it kind of funny when people ask my husband and I if we’re “ready” to be parents. I don’t understand why they look so appalled when we answer, “No.” Any expectant parent will tell you that there is no way to adequately prepare yourself to be a parent. Even when we were registering, we were overwhelmed by all of the items we had to register for. We were thinking the necessities such as diapers, clothing, bottles, nursery furniture, car seats, high chairs and other similar items. Then we received a check list from the place where we were registering and realized how many things we had simply not thought of. Such items included baby powder, bath items, health and safety, and other similar items. Does this make us bad expectant parents? Not at all. It makes us new. We’re unfamiliar with this entire process and we’re learning as we go. I was so thankful for the mother who helped walk me through which bottles to register for. She recommended a starter bottle kit that had everything already in the box. She told me it really helped her learn the differences between bottles and bottle nipples. She realized I I was new to motherhood, yet she was compassionate and never made me feel small. I thanked her profusely for her guidance. There is nothing more frustrating to expectant parents than when we’re asking questions and someone speaks to us in a “know-it-all” voice or even in a manner that makes us feel dumb. Their arrogance is astounding especially those treating us poorly who are already parents. I guarantee that EVERY expectant parent were in our shoes at some point. Even if they had some guidance from parent friends or maybe family members, that advice never really prepares someone or makes them 100% confident in being a parent. Any expectant parent who claims that they are fully prepared for parenthood are liars. It’s unfortunate, because the more they try to convince themselves that they’re ready, the more likely they will be of receiving a rude awakening when their bundle of joy arrives. My husband and I are taking this all in in stride. We’re both constantly learning things and we will continue to learn things well into parenthood, and we are totally content with that. Parenthood is a continuous process. It’s comparable to the constant growth in technology or medical advances in the sense that there are constantly new items coming out on the market and similarly there are always new things coming out on parenting. It’s truly an on-going process, and the sooner expectant parents realize that, the better off they’ll be. All we ask as expectant parents is a little bit of patience and respect. We’re never going to be fully prepared to be parents, but we’re prepared to learn for the rest of our lives how to be the absolute best parents we are capable of being for our son.

And here is some humor for expectant parents. Haha!