No doubt, being a parent is a tremendously hard job. Taking care of a child solo or with a partner when they need your constant attention requires steel nerves and a bunch of confidence in nearly every aspect of life. While getting used to a completely different life takes time, being a parent is truly a blissful experience. No amount of sleepless nights and laundry baskets will ever overweigh the happiness that your child can bring you. Taking care of them and supporting them throughout their milestones is the most rewarding feeling, even if sometimes it feels like you're hanging on by your last thread.
These days, it's easy to find a never-ending amount of support that parents can use to double their inner confidence in childcare: a bunch of forums, countless advice and even video diaries.
Jo and her husband Matt went viral after posting several TikToks regarding things they've personally learned since their daughter's arrival. The family is currently living in Arkansas, enjoying the sweet moments of new parenthood while also sharing those special moments on Jo's account that has 1.2M followers.
Image Credits: Jo Johnson Overby
Here we've gathered a list of things that the Johnson-Overby family learned since becoming new parents, which they've kindly shared with their followers.
Let us know in the comments below what was the best parenthood advice you've ever received?
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Your kid smiling at you is still the best thing in the world. It doesn’t get any less cool - it just keeps getting better.
It doesn’t matter if you have a girl instead of a boy, they’re still going to pee on you.
Nursing may be breastfeeding, but not all breastfeeding is nursing.
Exclusively pumping is totally an option and a great option if you want to feed your baby breast milk and nursing doesn’t feel like a right fit for you.
Lastly, no matter how you’re feeding your child - it’s emotional and it’s hard, and new moms deserve support and not be questioned in their decision.
Remember: it's food, not religion. Wether you breast feed, pump, supplement with formula or use formula exclusively, they will grow up and be healthy toddles. There are some extra benefits in mother's milk, but it's far more important to be a good parents in other ways. Breast feed if you are able to (a few weeks is far more than nothing, once or twice a day is better than nothing), but bottles are better than being worn out.
Husbands who take on all of the night feeds are elite. They’re better than anyone else.
that it is.....but i think it shud b like one week me the other week u kinda thing.......then again what works best for u is ur thing...but not to burden a single person
Friends were constantly checking on me for postpartum depression and that was definitely on my radar, but I was not at all prepared for postpartum anxiety.
It’s intense and it’s real, and I feel like a lot of us don’t bring it to light because we think it’s just a part of the stresses of being a new mom - and it’s not.
please don't ignore mental health....in any case.....v cant always afford therapy but just talking to the right people (friend, the barista, that random person at the subway) might help us realize that it's a bit more than just passing anxiety or smth
Clipping your child’s nails is terrifying and feels like a very high-risk endeavour. Get a clipper with a hole in it, so you can see that you're not chopping off their fingertips.
I will never forget when I accidentally clipped my daughters finger. I cried more than she did.
Sometimes your crying baby may make you want to cry. And in that moment it’s important to have a partner who can talk both of you and the baby down.
Sometimes, my husband would come home to both me and the baby crying. He would calmly take the baby and then send me on some unnecessary errand, just to give me break. I appreciated that.
I was not prepared for how much I would be willing to drop everything to cuddle with my kid all day.
Baby pass outs. 10/10.
Your options aren’t formula feed or breastfeed.
Those are your two options but you don’t have to exclusively formula feed or exclusively breastfeed, you can do a combination of those things and it’s ok.
Laundry’s never ending and no chance you’re going to fold it... or at least no chance I’m going to fold it.
I remember my husband complained once about the clean laundry being in the basket unfolded for a week. Then I went for a family member's funeral and was gone for a week, leaving him with the kids. Haven't heard a peep from him about it since 🤷♀️
When do I feed them? I was so stressed about that and it turns out that you learn it pretty naturally.
But then breastfeeding and how you feed them, I thought “oh, that comes naturally” but it’s really hard.
Moms have moms' backs and I love that part.
Bahaha, your lucky there. Other mums tend to be the most judgemental and critical of other mums. Baby playgroups and mothers groups are commonly known as quite cliquey.
Sleep regression is real and it’s frustrating. It’s as frustrating as people tell you it is.
Spit up is water-soluble, it will come out. And it will also happen.
The first week that I had to spend away from home for work, I didn’t realize that face-timing with my child would put me in an existential crisis. But it did.
It doesn't get any easier when they're older. My first trip out of the country was the farthest we had ever been apart and the longest time. She was a teen but we both had our cry fest moments.
How do you give a newborn a bath? We’re doing it, but are we doing it enough?
Does it smell like vomit and pickles? If yes: wash. If not: just dust it off. Buy a baby bath bucket.
9 times out of 10 you put a diaper on and it goes smoothly. But like one of those times it leaks. I don't know, there is a gap and something happens.
Assembling baby furniture/stroller/anything that comes for a baby is not as intuitive as it looks.
Poop all over you, their cot, their linen, their walls if they can reach them, any toys within reach, and the dogs face.
I didn’t know that baby’s first Halloween was supposed to be an all-out production.
You have to change your baby a lot, so get changing mats.
Meh, I just used a towel unless I was in public or someone else's house.
Every piece of clothing that everyone owns – should be magnetically closed. It’s awesome.
but what if......v are visiting a magnet factory or a huge place with iron around?
Speaking of FaceTime – whenever you FaceTime people with a baby you’re always holding a camera facing the baby, but then you can see the person and the person’s making faces at the baby.
I’m here for that. Matt played peekaboo with me and didn’t even know it.
Newborn insert in the car seat is supposed to come out at 11 pounds.
My daughter as 10lbs 10, she was out of the insert the following week
Get a little mini sound machine, so it can go on your stroller or on your crib. Our kid loves it.
But don't get discouraged if it doesn't work. Some babies prefer a different sound or quiet.
Something I learned...your pediatrician can be wrong. Mine took me to task for allowing my newborn to sleep on her back. Said if she spit up in the night, she could choke on it. (My girl refused to sleep on her tummy.) Years later, it was discovered that sleeping on the tummy can cause SIDS.
Too true! Doctors do not know everything sometimes. It takes years/decades of research/studies to fully understand things. Especially babies because they can’t communicate and ethical study parameters are so stringent for infants (rightfully so).
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Something I learned...your pediatrician can be wrong. Mine took me to task for allowing my newborn to sleep on her back. Said if she spit up in the night, she could choke on it. (My girl refused to sleep on her tummy.) Years later, it was discovered that sleeping on the tummy can cause SIDS.
Too true! Doctors do not know everything sometimes. It takes years/decades of research/studies to fully understand things. Especially babies because they can’t communicate and ethical study parameters are so stringent for infants (rightfully so).
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