11 Things First-Time Parents Do That Make Their Closest Friends Cringe
By Amy Williams,
2024-08-23
There’s nothing more beautiful and overwhelming than being a first-time parent. Having your first child completely changes how you view the world around you. Even though it can be a welcome time of transition, there’s no doubt having a baby for the first time changes your relationships with your spouse, family, and even your closest friends.
Although it’s the hope of every new parent that their closest friends will be supportive, there are some things that your friends may not understand. Especially if they’re not parents themselves, there are some things you might do as a new parent that will make them cringe, even if they would never say so. Here are 11 things first-time parents do that make their closest friends cringe.
It’s not surprising that first-time parents talk about their babies so much. Even though your love for your baby builds during the nine months of pregnancy, nothing can compare to the love you feel once your baby is born. However, when you’re finally able to get together with a friend after having the baby, it might make your friend cringe when you talk for over an hour about your baby without even asking how your friend is doing. Those who are parents themselves will understand, but friends who haven’t had kids of their own may feel a little left out.
Your friends likely know your baby is cute and that in your eyes, no baby in the world is cuter than yours. Even still, your closest friends may get tired of seeing a million pictures of your baby every day. Sending a picture of your baby in every single outfit they own is something you can reserve for your spouse and family members. There’s certainly no one stopping you from taking as many pictures as you want and when your friends do ask for an updated picture, you’ll have plenty to send over.
Thinking you know everything is something many new parents are guilty of. When your baby is first born , everything feels new but once you start to get the hang of being a parent, it’s easy to think, at least briefly, that you know it all. This one can be particularly cringe for friends who are more experienced parents, especially if you feel the need to make comments about their parenting choices. If they’re gracious enough, they’ll likely nod and smile because they remember what it was like when they thought they knew it all too.
Even if this one is a necessity for your baby to get the sleep they need (and possibly to maintain your own sanity) it can still be frustrating for those you’re making plans with. If a friend wants you to hang out in the morning, afternoon, or any time of day, you’ll likely comment as a new parent about your baby’s nap time. However, since young babies sleep a good portion of the day, it can start to feel like you’re not able to leave the house at all. Nap-time and bedtime routines are important, but more experienced parents may be more flexible than new parents when it comes to these routines.
Every parent knows that the reason you use months instead of years to tell someone how old your baby is is that there’s a drastic difference between a 12-month-old and an 18-month-old. Still, some new parents take this too far by continuing to use months well after their toddler is two. It makes sense to say your baby is 18 months old, but don’t expect anything other than an eye roll if you tell your friends that your child just turned 36 months.
When you’re a new parent, everything is sentimental. Your first child is the one most likely to have a plethora of keepsakes, including a baby book. There are certain items you’re expected to keep, but your closest friends may cringe when you keep strange things as a new parent. From your baby’s first lock of hair to their umbilical cord stump, your friends likely won’t understand why these things are sentimental to you.
It’s not uncommon for new parents and even some experienced parents to use their own spit to clean their baby’s face, especially when they don’t have a wipe handy. This is one of the things that seems pretty gross until you become a parent yourself. Once you do become a parent, nothing is off limits, whether you’re wiping your baby’s nose without a tissue or you’re cleaning their face with your saliva.
When your baby is dealing with a health issue, there are a lot of things that you’ll need to document to report back to your pediatrician . It can seem pretty unnecessary though when a new parent documents every single thing their child does. From documenting every dirty diaper to documenting every single time they fall asleep, it may make your closest friends cringe when you have a record of these things that’s longer than a child’s diary.
If a close friend watches your baby, it can seem over-the-top to be handed lengthy instructions for caring for your little one, especially if it’s longer than the instruction manual for a car. Other parents will understand the worry and anxiety that comes with leaving their baby when they’re little, but it’s also not always necessary to write such detailed instructions unless you’ll be away for a long time.
When a baby is born, their immune system isn’t fully developed so it’s not surprising that new parents feel the need to sanitize everything. New parents sometimes take this to extreme lengths when they won’t let their baby touch anything without them sanitizing it first. Being exposed to some germs is going to happen at some point and while there’s nothing wrong with being careful while your baby is very little, it’s not realistic to sanitize everything around them at all times.
Once you become a parent, changing diapers becomes a normal part of your day. It’s also common for parents to smell their baby’s diaper when they’re not sure if it’s dirty or not. This kind of behavior is one of the things your friends may think is disgusting, especially if they’re not parents themselves. They might wonder why you don’t just look in their diaper instead of smelling it, but there are some things parents do that friends without children simply won’t understand.
Nothing wrong with having a baby on a schedule including regular nap times, the worst is when parents let babies stay up all day and they fall asleep at dinner and then stay up til midnight.
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