As a Friends fan from way back, I thought I’d share how the TV show helped us out in the early newborn days.

Seven months ago my daughter was born. Sleep deprived and excited to be parents, we brought our new baby home from the hospital. The first couple of months were filled with a ton of learning… and lots of crying (mostly from the baby but sometimes crying was a family affair). We had a strong itch to experience a little pre-baby normalcy. In an attempt to get back into our routine, we picked up where we left off on our latest addicting TV show, the one and only Game Of Thrones.

The outcome was not good. Between the abrupt sounds in the fight scenes and the introduction of the White Walkers (for those who haven’t yet watched this amazing show, White Walkers are scary sounding dead creatures), it just wasn’t baby friendly. A newfound parental instinct made me cringe as these sounds were heading into my daughter’s ears. A show that was once a thrill to watch was now a painful experience. Another huge downside to watching such an engaging show was the interruptions… newborns come with countless interruptions. We were forced to pause the show so frequently that it would take multiple hours to get through an hour-long show. Does this sound familiar to anyone? We attempted to watch movies but had a similar set of problems.

That is when Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey, and Phoebe stepped in to save the day.

Thanks to Netflix, we had access to every single Friends episode with the click of a button. This show was the perfect solution for us to get our TV fix as brand new parents.

7 Reasons to Watch Friends in a Newborn Household

1. Each episode is under 25 minutes long, this increases the probability of finishing uninterrupted.
2. No need to press pause when the baby is calling (screaming). Most people have seen all the episodes before (right?) and if not, it isn’t vital to catch every single scene or episode to enjoy the series.
3. The sound and tone of the show is consistent and upbeat. Good for the baby’s soul.
4. The show has a fairly consistent laugh track and will not startle a baby.
5. As background noise, Friends is a perfect show to send a tired parent into dreamland.
6. Every single episode is sure to make you laugh at least once (go ahead, try to prove me wrong), and every new parent needs laughter in their lives.
7. Three separate characters have babies over the 10 seasons. Having just been through the real life experience this is timely entertainment.

Now that our precious baby girl sleeps in her own room, we get a few hours to ourselves each evening. I am happy to say we are now completely caught up on Game of Thrones.

I would love to hear from you, how has having children changed your TV habits?