Thursday, 28 February 2013

The BEST Advice for Life with a Newborn

I was SO blessed to have many Titus 2 women in my life when we had our first child.  Those first few days and weeks are tough.  And there is a lot of advice that can be very helpful, so don't be afraid to ask wise women in your life for their tips!


But the BEST advice was given to me by a dear friend, and mother of eight, and it made a WORLD of difference.  It is this:

  • Don't dread the nighttime wake-ups.  Use that time to pray and be thankful!  These are weapons against the enemy.  Satan wants us to live in fear and grumbling.  Instead we can redeem that time by enjoying our little one, because that time will be over sooner than we expect! 

  • Use that time to pray:
    • for their salvation and their future spouse, 
    • for wisdom in parenting, 
    • for our husbands,
    • that God would help us be better wives, mothers, friends and daughters! 
  • Say prayers of thankfulness 
    • thanking God that you are awake at that moment, 
    • that you are tired because you have this child,
    • that you are in a warm home with breakfast awaiting you in the morning.  

When I went to bed at night with this frame of mind, instead of fearing the nighttime wake-ups, it made those middle-of-the-night times blessed, instead of miserable.  I was usually still tired, but I chose to be thankful.  And I have had to reset my thinking a number of times. Sometimes our little guy will sleep through the night for a while but then start waking up again and I'll have to remind myself all over again of my friend's wise advice. And it always makes the whole situation much better.

Do you have a best piece of advice for those with newborns? 







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13 comments:

  1. sydney ellen28 February 2013 at 16:02

    i'm going to have to save this for when i need it one day... :)

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  2. Suanna4 March 2013 at 15:00

    I often pray during the nighttime feedings. I find that the quiet is good for the soul.

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    1. Unknown6 March 2013 at 09:45

      That is wonderful to hear Suanna! Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Jess6 March 2013 at 09:52

    I stumbled upon this post from the Encourage One Another link-up. Great advice. I have a friend at home with a new little one, so I sent it her way.

    I hope that you have a lovely day!

    Jess

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  4. KT @ OneOrganicMama7 March 2013 at 02:54

    Love this post. Such a wonderful way of looking at things <3

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    1. Unknown7 March 2013 at 06:34

      Thanks KT! Hopped on over to your blog - looks like you have some super yummy recipes up there!

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  5. Becca @ The Earthlings Handbook7 March 2013 at 13:37

    Absolutely! I found that singing hymns to my baby helped me to remember my priorities and cherish the gift God gave me.

    The best parenting advice anyone gave me, which applies to older kids as well as newborns, is: When you are angry at your child, stop and see how SMALL he is.

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  6. Anonymous10 March 2013 at 09:23

    My girls are bigger now, but when they were babies and would wake to feed at night, I would also pray for the other moms who were awake right then with their babies. I would pray for them to have enough food and shelter for their babies, and that God would strengthen them in their parenting.

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    1. Unknown11 March 2013 at 07:32

      That is also a great idea! Thanks for sharing!

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  7. Unknown13 March 2013 at 20:41

    This is beautiful, and an always needed reminder. Thank you for leaving me the link to this when you commented on my post about babies not staying little. :)

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