While bringing home a newborn is an exciting time in a parent’s life, it also comes with its fair share of challenges. If your friends have recently welcomed a new bundle of joy, you may wonder how you can help. Parents of newborns need the support of others to help ease the stress that comes with this joyful yet busy time. Following are a few simple and thoughtful actions to consider if you’d like to help out a new parent.
Arrange a Meal Train
Regardless of how busy the first few weeks of life with a newborn is, the family still needs to eat. Being up all night with the baby makes it difficult to prepare a homecooked meal, so organize a meal train with a few friends and family members. Casseroles are simple to create and keep well in the freezer. If you aren’t able to cook from scratch, sending them a few gift cards to their favorite restaurants is a wonderful alternative.
Book a Cleaning Service
Clutter can become a great source of stress for new parents who are already running on little sleep, and a clean and healthy home is more important than ever once a newborn has arrived. Help them restore balance to their space without lifting a finger by booking a professional cleaning service. You can tailor cleaning services to fit your friend’s household needs and schedule them to arrive at a convenient time.
Help Out With Older Children
If your friend is already a parent to older children, they are contending with a new set of stressors. It is very challenging to juggle the needs of a newborn and those of older kids, especially if there is more than one sibling. Offer to take them out for a fun afternoon exploring the local park or to the theater to see a movie. If outings aren’t possible, offer to watch them at home instead. The siblings will enjoy the extra attention, and your friends will appreciate the help.
Be There for Them
Many new parents struggle with the isolation that caring for a newborn can bring. Life drastically changes once you have a baby, and your friend likely doesn’t have the time they used to have to do the things they enjoy. Lots of new parents need to talk to process their feelings about parenthood and the fears or feelings they may be experiencing. Take the time out of your schedule to drop them a text or call to check how they are doing. Knowing someone cares can be all they need to get through the challenging first few weeks.
Regardless of how you decide to help, know there are plenty of different ways you can choose to show how much you care. Whether you offer a few afternoons of free babysitting or surprise them by hiring a house cleaning service to ease the pressure of new parenthood, your friends will surely appreciate your kind gesture as they navigate their new life with their baby.
