For me, becoming a parent for the first time and even the second time, was such an exciting but nerve-racking time. As a pregnant first time Mum to be I knew that people had said life would change, but I wondered and sometimes even worried about just how much it would change.
I was so excited for the new chapter in our lives and to start a family with the person I'd met and fallen in love with at school, but there was also a slight worry in the back of my mind about how much having a baby, a third person in our relationship, would affect the close relationship Adam and I had always had.
Having been together since we were 14, Adam and I have always been best friends and we'd pretty much always done everything possible that we could together. I knew that having a baby together meant that we would be forced to do more things separately to fit around looking after our child. Not having as much one-on-one time with my Husband was something I'd thought about a lot. I remember one time being on a walk together and we were going over how we could make it work financially to allow us to still have a day off together after our baby was born. We were determined to keep our close connection.
Five and a half years later and the reality is is that we’re actually closer than ever - the bond we share as parents has brought us together even more. We adore our children and the family that we have created together, becoming parents together has strengthened our bond.
I mean don't get me wrong, Adam and I squabble like any normal couple, but I think communication and honesty has always been key. And of course like most parents will already know, parenting can make you squabble a bit more at times as you wing your way through your new responsibilities. It’s not always plain sailing, but we’ve learnt not to take things as personally especially when we're having the more challenging parenting days. Letting go and forgiving small stresses quickly is important.
We've also found that regular couple-time is just as important, be that when the Grandparents offer to babysit or even when our boys go to bed - making time to just be together doing something we both enjoy has helped us to stay close. I also think it's super important to laugh every day, I'm a Mum of two now and the boys are 5 and nearly 3, but that hasn't stopped me being my silly self - I didn't become super serious just because my responsibilities increased when I became a Mum.
Post Office recently conducted a survey around the top worries of new parents and the most popular were around freak accidents happening (I know this is something I actually worry about more now that the boys are more independent). As well as worries about new parents not knowing how to 'parent' their baby, worries about them dropping their baby and around childproofing their home correctly. Other new parents worried about what would happen if their partner died or even how they would be able to afford to raise their baby.
FREE parent cover
Following the results of their survey, Post Office have been working hard to give new parents some peace of mind and draw their attention to their Free parent cover which gives parents Life Insurance to the value of £15,000 per child for one year absolutely free.Many parents are unaware of this product and the fact that it won't cost them anything so Post Office want to raise awareness so that as many parents as possible can take advantage of it. Both parents can use the product each time they have a child up to a limit of 8 children and can take advantage of the offer up until their child’s 4th birthday. So, for example, if you've three children under four and two parents take out a policy, you'll get £45,000 of cover each free for a year. And if two parents have the maximum eight children and each take out a policy, that's £120,000 of cover each!
It's so natural to have worries as a new parent or soon to be new parent, parenting is without a doubt the toughest 'hood you'll ever walk through, but it's also the most magical and most rewarding.
- What was/is your biggest worry around becoming a new parent?
- Don't forget to take advantage of your free parent cover with Post Office by visiting postoffice.co.uk/life-cover/free-parent-life-cover.
Thank you for reading. Alex xo