Living alone as a new parent
If you are a new parent, and you find yourself living on your own for the first time, managing bills, money, household tasks, whilst settling into your new role as a parent, you may find this to be an overwhelming and scary experience. It is so important to be kind and patient with yourself. Set yourself little goals every-day, whether this is to wash or clean one room each day as opposed to a long list of tasks every-day. Give yourself time and believe in yourself and your own abilities. Financial pressures may be a big part of your life now too, you will have to ensure that there is enough money to pay all your bills, rent, supplies for you and your baby. Do not hesitate to ask for help to get settled into your new home and all that goes with this process, mabs.ie are a good money advice group for you to look into. Look out for supports in the local community for managing your house and your new role as a parent.
Take time to visit with others and if you have a good relationship with family there is no harm is sleeping over a night a week at family. See it as a time for them to get to know your baby and at the same time allow you gain some additional support. Explore what opportunities exist for sharing parenting with the baby’s dad. It may be hard to engage with them but getting into the business of sharing parenting from the start can be beneficial to your baby as well as to you and Dad. Start with sharing daytime hours until your baby is older, and you are both more confident around your role as parents. It is often better for babies to sleep in the same cot each night with the same person attending to their needs. Cognitively babies can find it hard to bounce between two homes/cots until they really develop attachments. Day time parenting can create wonderful opportunities to support parent child attachment and should not be overlooked for infants.