Need some space from visitors during postnatal?
If you’re an overwhelmed mom or dad with too many visitors, don’t panic.
Here’s our top five tips on how to handle visitors, giving you time to bond with your little one.
- In terms of managing visitors during your postnatal, set some ground rules before your little one arrives to manage well-wishers’ expectations. You’ll need time to adjust to becoming new parents and get to know your new arrival. Say you won’t be wanting visitors for a set period of time—whatever period works with you and your partner. People can then come to terms with that and respect your wishes.
- Make it clear to family and friends that you want no surprise home visitors after your child is born. Everyone can plan with you when they come, or give you a call first. That way, you’re not feeling stressed or overwhelmed and you can plan visitors around times that work for you.
- You’re going to be feeling overwhelmed by all the changes of becoming a new mom or dad. What you don’t need is any negativity, so don’t be afraid to be selective in who you have round to visit your child. You don’t want to be feeling judged as a parent, so make sure you veto any trips from people who may make you feel bad. Nobody needs unwanted, unhelpful comments that the house is a mess!
- Here’s how to help a new mom or dad! If family and friends are desperate to help you out, don’t refuse their kind offers. Use it to your advantage and delegate tasks you just simply don’t have time for at the moment. Ask them to clean your house, cook some meals, or even run to the grocery store for you.
- Along with unwanted visitors, unwanted parenting advice—whether that’s from strangers in public, friends, or family—can be frustrating and confusing when you’re a new mom or dad. While everyone believes their advice and opinions are helpful, you may end up feeling judged as a parent, criticized and like you’re doing the wrong thing for your child. The best response? “That may have been right for you, but we’re doing it like this.”
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