By Kylee Harris
Around 25 percent of children globally live in a family with only one parent, according to the UN’s 2016 census – that’s around 28.7 million under 18s in total. Looking after a new baby on your own can be daunting, but you’re certainly not alone, and with some careful planning, you can make your journey into parenthood easier. So if you’re expecting a baby, and you’re doing it alone, here are some of the ways you can make things easier and enjoy the time you spend with your new baby.
Plan ahead
Whilst you’re counting down the months, weeks and days until you meet your new baby, it’s a good time to stock up on supplies.
Making a list of essential items such as nappies, wipes, and other baby essentials, as well as additional supplies for yourself, will mean you won’t run out of items in the middle of the night and have to take your baby out with you to pick them up.
Adding a couple of extra items to your basket each week when you do your shopping will spread the cost, or you could consider signing up for autoship with an online retailer that’ll make regular deliveries without the need for you to think about it.
Find your support
Lining up support ahead of time is a great idea too. Put contact numbers of friends and family who can help somewhere easy to access, ask people in advance whether they have any time they could volunteer, and find someone who can come along with you to appointments, prenatal classes and the labour and delivery itself. Once your new baby has arrived, you could have a sheet of tasks and chores ready to offer anyone who asks what they can do to help.
Having a list means you can note down jobs as they occur to you, and friends and family can choose to do tasks that most appeal to them.
Don’t forget about emotional support, either – life with a new baby can be a rollercoaster of feelings, and you may experience times when you dream about your ex-partner, whether you know the reason for it or not. Thinking about your past relationship can leave you feeling unable to move on, and it’s important to recognise why you are dreaming of your relationship, or why you are thinking about the times your ex could be having now with you and your new baby – is it because you legitimately think that you could reconcile the relationship, or do you miss having an emotional connection with someone, sharing the good times, the smiles and the milestones?
