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?
#1
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.
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81points
#2
It doesn’t matter if you have a girl instead of a boy, they’re still going to pee on you.
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74points
#3
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.
73points
#4
Husbands who take on all of the night feeds are elite. They’re better than anyone else.
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71points
#6
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.
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64points
#8
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.
60points
#9
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.
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59points
#10
I was not prepared for how much I would be willing to drop everything to cuddle with my kid all day.
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56points
#12
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.
49points
#14
Laundry’s never ending and no chance you’re going to fold it... or at least no chance I’m going to fold it.
42points
#15
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.
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41points
#17
Sleep regression is real and it’s frustrating. It’s as frustrating as people tell you it is.
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37points
#18
Spit up is water-soluble, it will come out. And it will also happen.
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36points
#19
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.
35points
#20
How do you give a newborn a bath? We’re doing it, but are we doing it enough?
30points