What Over-the-Top-Precautions Did You Take as a New Parent?

The other day, I was texting a friend who’s also a new mom, and she confessed something that made me want to reach out and hug her…

“It’s much easier to do activities with our baby when my husband is with me because I feel supported and secure. But when it’s just me and my husband, I can barely even leave the house. I keep telling myself, “When he gets older, he’ll be able to do xyz,” but he keeps getting bigger and the worries of being a mom never end.”

Reading her message, I was reminded of a time three years ago when my daughter Ella was just a baby. My husband, Max, and I had just moved to a new town, an hour’s drive from friends and family. As we worked to make our home feel comfortable, I was also trying to navigate my own path as a new mom. Before Ella was born, I zero Baby experience. I had never babysat a child under 8, and the thought of holding a fussy newborn made me shudder. I’ll never forget the look of shock in the nurse’s eyes when I asked her to show me how to change their diapers on Max and Ella’s first night in the hospital. For some reason, I had never changed a diaper until I was 28.

By the end of my eight-week paternity leave with Max, I was good enough at the basics (feeding, diaper changing, Ella napping) that I could spend whole days alone with her, but there was one activity that made me dread and sweat: strollers.

Have you ever had a baby start crying while out walking? The first time Ella started crying, I grimaced 10 minutes into the house. I prayed. God, please don’t do that… My mind went blank before I heard her let out a loud scream. The (quick) walk home was a blur, but I remember my cheeks turning red as my car passengers and fellow walkers looked at Ella and me with concerned looks.

For the next few weeks, the stroller gathered dust in the guest room. I was eager to take Ella to explore our new neighborhood, but I shivered at the thought of her melting again. Until I found a solution. Practice Walking with a stroller.

know.

For an entire week, we spent mornings and afternoons pushing Ella in her stroller out the kitchen sliding door and around the backyard. It makes me laugh just writing this because it seems so silly, but these extra precautions were exactly what I needed as a new mom. By the end of the week, after pushing the stroller many times, it felt so much more comfortable. And before we knew it, we were stroller pros.

Here are some snapshots from our first year.

Ella is 5 months old and is finally going for walks around the neighborhood!

Relax in a stroller at a local car show.

Explore the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Relaxing on the Monterey Pier.

Now it’s your turn: What are some interesting precautions you’ve taken as a new parent? I’d love to hear about them!

PS: Joanna shares 15 things she’d like to share with new parents, plus tips for raising your first and second child.

(Photo credit: Janelle Sanchez.