Without further adieu and in no particular order:
- Start early with having them hold their own bottle. My sister had her son holding his own bottle by 4 months. N is 9 months and we're struggling. For some reason it didn't occur to me until I wrote my last post about bottle time being snuggle time. That's because I'm still a sucker and "have" to hold his bottle!
- If you use a pacifier, do not use the angled ones. Yes they are easier for newborns to get ahold of, HOWEVER, then you have to transition them to the new ones when you want them to get their own paci at night. Pain.in.the.a$$. Again, the earlier you can start with helping them get their own paci at night, the closer you are to the coveted full night's sleep.
- Don't go by the ages on toy. Obviously you should worry about choking hazards and safety issues. However, I have found that N has always liked the toys that were for the next stage better. Most of his favorite toys are for 1 year. I mean, I know that that just means my kids a genius but maybe your kid could be almost as smart as mine if you give them the right toys.
- I never really believe in the white noise machines because any noise keeps me up at night. Our window A/C unit has made me a believer. On the nights when we have it on in his room he sleeps more soundly. No waking up at all. When it's off he doesn't. My son gets his genius from me, I put 2 and 2 together. I may be buying a white noise machine for when we take out the A/C unit.
- Unless your little one has a problem with diaper rash, you DO NOT need to change them when they wake up at night. When N was really little and A would get up at night to feed him (rare, but it did happen periodically) he would change him. EVERY TIME. Not necessary and it would take 4 times as long to get N back to sleep after because he was more awake. Now if they have a diaper rash issue obviously you need to change them, I'd rather have them a little more awake than in pain. I'm not cruel. Just slightly selfish.
- Don't mix 24 hours of formula ahead of time. I feel like we wasted a ton of formula the first couple weeks because I wasn't sure how much to put in a bottle while we were weaning. If you mix it all ahead of time you will end up throwing out more. So mix like 3 or 4 bottles worth ahead of time but not a whole days. Plus at the end of 24 hours there is just something not right about the formula if you ask me...
- Paper plates are amazing. I know it's not the most green option but I'll tell you this. When you are exhausted because you were up 3 times in the night then up for the day at 5. The last thing you want to do is dishes (and housework in general). Using paper plates takes that one little thing off your plate (so to speak) and any little bit helps.
- Meals can be challenging especially as they get older. Leftovers are awesome if you have them. If not, make your meal during a nap so that you can just heat it up or eat it when the time comes without having to do all the prep. Otherwise if you try to eat during naps you end up eating breakfast at 6am lunch at 10:30 and starving for dinner by 2. Then you stuff your face snacking and that is NOT the way to lost the baby weight.
- Vacuuming is a luxury... until they start crawling then it's an obsession. That's less of a hint and more of a warning.
- Do NOT let your fears hold your child back. I've been around a few people ( no one that reads this ) lately who's fears have totally effected their children. Yes, choking is a hazard as they learn to eat. If you keep an eye on them and make sure you get training on how to handle it, it will be ok. Don't give them a grape and walk away but don't keep the on puree's until they are a year, or 3 (yes, I've met BOTH) because of your fear. **side note** The mother of the 3 year old now has to take her child to the hospital/doctor to feed him meals because he is much more likely to choke. Their bodies are ready to learn certain things at certain times and because he didn't learn to eat at the appropriate time, it's 10 times harder for him to learn this. Don't be that chick!
- Kids are made of rubber. I haven't got the scientific data to back this up, but I swear to god it's true.
- Ok, this one doesn't apply to Shannon but possible to others. Once you make it through the first bloody injury, it's cake after that. Oh, and mouth injuries bleed WAY more than others. Again. A warning.
- For a boy, point it down. Seems obvious but I never would have thought of it unless a nurse, my cousin and my sister didn't all make a point of telling me this.
- All the poop, sleepless nights, puke, spitup, crying (you, not the baby), screaming ( at DH, not the baby), stress (will my MIL EVER LEAVE), more crying (where is MY mommy, I can't raise a kid!) is totally worth. It's been said millions of times I know but it really is.
- You CAN raise a kid. Trust your instincts, not those of random people on the internet, or friends, or family. You know your kid best. A prime example is the fact that EVERYONE has told me since Nathan was 3 weeks old that they think he has an ear infection because he pulls on his ear. The first two times I took it to heart and called the doc and went in. No infection (and we're out $70). Now when people say it I just nod and smile and say thanks for the heads up. I know he doesn't have an infection, it's just something he does when he's tired or eating (like I rub my feet together when I'm tired). I know my kid. I appreciate people wanting to help. I still ignore them and go with my gut. When I doubt my gut, I call the doctor.
- Treat them as you would want to be treated. Babies are people too :-). I was the worst at this when N would get sick. I didn't want to give him Tylenol if I could avoid it. Then I was talking to my mom one day and she said, "but if you were miserable wouldn't you want something that could make you feel better?" I was so worried about giving Tylenol too much, that I wasn't doing it at all and was making N suffer. Not cool. I'm not saying you should give them Tylenol or Motrin every night but if you think they are in pain, show them a little mercy.
