Are congratulations in order for Amal and George Clooney?

The gorgeous Amal Clooney is reportedly pregnant. What’s more? Amal and George Clooney are apparently expecting not one, but two bundles of joy this June! Big news, eh?

As per this report, Julie Chen revealed in The Talk that the celebrity couple will soon be first-time parents to twins. “Congratulations are in order for George and Amal Clooney! The Talk has confirmed that the 55-year-old superstar and his highly accomplished 39-year-old attorney wife are expecting twins,” said Chen.

The couple got married in Venice three years ago and incidentally, neither of them have children from their previous relationships. According to this report, surprisingly enough, when asked about parenting in 2006, George Clooney had said, “I think it’s the most responsible thing you can do, to have kids. It’s not something to be taken lightly. I don’t have that gene that people have to replicate.” And now he is going to be a first-time father of twins! Sigh! First-time anything is usually nerve-racking. Need I even say that parenting is going to be especially so?

Photo: Kevin Mazur/ Getty Images

New parents and going-to-be new parents are a bundle of nerves wondering what all to expect, what is normal and what should get their radars up. Are there any gaffes that can be avoided? When is the right time to hit the panic button?

Well, having been there and done that, here is a list of things to be kept in mind for first-time parents:

• Panic for a reason; let that reason be valid: I remember that I panicked and how when I saw that the colour of my 1-day-old baby’s poop was a weird black-brown colour. I don’t know what I expected but I was in tears and had within minutes assumed the worst. Luckily, I was in still in the hospital and had neonatal specialists around to shush me by saying that it’s usually the case with a newborn’s poop. As new parents, we look into everything through a microscope, be it his vomit, poop, or sleeping pattern. Amidst all this worrying we tend to miss out on enjoying our infant’s first year of life. Babies are far stronger than we give them credit for.
• A crying baby doesn’t make you a bad parent: That’s their only mode of communication, apart from smiling. The baby need not even be physically uncomfortable to cry. He could be well-fed and dry and yet cry. That doesn’t mean you need to fix something. Maybe, he just needs to be held, cuddled, or spoken to. However, if the crying is incessant, goes on for more than an hour, he has a fever, rash or is vomiting, take him to the doctor at the earliest. It’s best to check with the doctor if your parental instinct says that something is amiss.
• Let sleeping babies lie: Do not wake up the baby in the middle of the night just to feed him. If he is hungry, he will make sure you find out. People often feel that breastmilk is not heavy enough to keep the baby full, and hence, they wake the baby at regular intervals to feed him. Staying hungry for an infant is usually not natural. If he is sleeping, it means he is full and fine. Let him sleep and you too get that much-needed shut-eye.

As unnerving it is to take care of a little human, and as impossible it is to focus on anything else, take some time out and focus on your marriage as well. There is a high chance that your partner is feeling neglected. However, since he/she is also new to this parenting role, he/she may not express it. Parenting is meant to be enjoyed. Don’t break into a sweat for the smallest of things, and enjoy the little-big joys that your bundle comes with.

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[Images courtesy: Wikipedia]