Welcoming a new baby is one of the greatest joys of family life! Nothing is sweeter than watching your older children marvel over their new sibling. There is so much joy, learning, and unity to be enjoyed during this season.
A new baby also arrives with fresh changes and challenges to navigate as your family expands for this new soul. Schedules shift (or cease), routines are disrupted, sleep is sparse, and attitudes may arise.
If your bundle of joy arrives in the middle of the homeschooling year, you may be wondering how to tend to your other children's educational needs well while also nurturing and relishing the newborn baby.
4 Anchors for Homeschooling with a New Baby
In spite of our best efforts and planning, interruptions arrive as invitations to greater trust and clearer perspective.
Personally, pregnancy and postpartum are incredibly difficult seasons for me, and I take some time to really recover. In terms of justice for my family and my own dignity, we don't pretend that having a new baby will be business-as-usual, and we put some planning into how to adjust our sails during that season.
Here are four anchors that we utilize while homeschooling with a new baby.
1. Pray and Rest
A lot of normalcy may fall by the wayside, but make sure prayer remains. Read the Gospels while you nurse in the morning, pray a daily offering, and ask the Lord for help and wisdom throughout the day. Your prayer time may not be as extensive as usual, and you may be half-asleep, but the consistent commitment to communion with Christ will carry you through the transition.
Additionally, seek rest when you can throughout the day. Of course, this applies to physical rest. Also consider your mental and emotional rest. Can you listen to a lovely novel on audio while you nurse? Can you take a walk outside and admire the flowers or changing leaves? Can you dance to your favorite music while you cook dinner? These soul-filling activities can help you "feel like a person" which affects everything else.
2. Consider Expectations
When it comes to schooling specifically, really consider where you want to place your expectations. Identify the academic necessities. Make your aim progress, not perfection.
Even with this whittling down, some days will go off the rails. Remember to breathe, offer it to the Lord, and begin again tomorrow without placing sweeping judgment on your ability as a mother.
3. Outsource Where You Can
In order to keep the main things the main things, you may need additional help that you don't typically need. Perhaps this is relying on family more to help with childcare, errands, or meals. Perhaps you reallocate some of the budget to hire a house cleaner for a few months.
You're likely very good at managing many things in the home and family. During this transition, it might be worth letting some of that go into other hands so you can focus on family bonding, recovery, and schooling.
4. Focus on Delight
When considering educational focus, incorporate as much delight as possible! Enjoy fantastic picture books, rely on whole-family, open-and-go resources, and let this be a year where learning is fun and the baby is the main lesson.
What have you found to be helpful when homeschooling with a new baby? Share your advice in the comments below! Let's help each other!
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