10 Things I Should Have Done When I Brought My Baby Home
I have two kids. They are 12 and 5 now. But you would think by the time the second one arrived I would know what to do, well I was wrong. Here is my list of the things I should have done…
1) When people came to my door I should have accepted the food. I should have pretended my stitches hurt really bad so I could have got cupcakes.
2) When people offered to clean my house, I should have accepted. I never liked cleaning the bathroom anyways.
3) When people offered to babysit so I could sleep, I should have accepted. There’s nothing like sleeping the afternoon away.
4) When my husband offered to feed the baby during the night, I should have accepted. Then he could hear me snoring while he’s up with the baby.
5) When people offered to change the baby for me, I should have accepted. Why not, that will be one less poopy diaper on my grand total of the million I would have changed in the years ahead.
6) I should have never used the change table. They are useless. You can’t keep them unsupervised for one second. That’s what they made floors for…and they are free.
7) I should have let my baby use the pacifier. There is nothing like waiting in a Boxing Day line only to have to leave it because your baby will only nurse.
8 ) I should have bought more than one bouncy chair. Those chairs are multi-purpose. If the baby is fussy you can throw him in it. If he’s hungry, throw him in there and feed him. If you want to watch Ellen, throw him in there and let him watch too.
9) I should have taught my dog to babysit. There’s nothing like making your dog watch the baby. Teach him to bark when he thinks something wrong. That way you will be able to get in that time to email your friend.
10) The thing that I should have listened to is…”Sleep when your baby sleeps.” They say this for a reason. Mom’s aren’t supposed to be awake for 24 hours. We are not doctors. We need sleep. I need sleep. I should have relaxed more and did that. The housework will be there tomorrow, but will your sanity be?
Photo Source: lil Sugar
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October 12th, 2008 at 10:28 am
This is great! Thumbs up, and a review. All of these points are very true, especially number 10!
October 12th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Funny list. But…why leave the line just because you have to nurse? There’s nothing shameful about nursing.
October 12th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
I have always had problems nursing in public. That’s why I never went out. I think it would be great if people were more open about it…
October 16th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Interesting list, but you seem very down on your nursing experience and I think some of your “things you should have done” would have compromised your ability to nurse successfully, e.g. getting your spouse to do night feedings, using a pacifier, etc.
I never gave up opportunities because I “had to nurse”. Instead I learned to nurse discreetly in a sling. That allowed me to go wherever I wanted to go and to have fun with my toddler while caring for my newborn.
Here is a pic for anyone wanting to learn to nurse in a sling:
http://phdinparenting.wordpress.com/2008/08/13/wordless-wednesday-how-to-chase-a-toddler-while-breastfeeding/
October 16th, 2008 at 11:45 am
Good post and on another point, I remember reading this some place on the web:
First child: watch everywhere he goes, every little noise you investigate and you are afraid to do anything in case you hurt him – changing nappies, wiping his face, etc
Secind child: you hear noises and you go investigate or send first child (if responsible enough) to see what is happening
Third child: You hear a noise and assume the child can deal with it, accidents are bound to happen and they are opportunites to learn. So what if his leg is stuck between the cot and radiator either the first one can get him out or the silly bugger shouldn’t have got into that place.
I’m NOT saying that we don’t love our kids our don’t look afer them, it’s just that after the first one a lot of the fear (mothers and fathers) goes away – you’ve learnt to bring up kids, getting poo under your finger nail no longer freaks you out, the “nappy off for a change and NOW he wants to pee” incidents no longer bother you.
Last thing to mention to any new mum’s is don’t worry about anything, seriously. Unless you see blood or worse it is probably nothing, secondly there is nothing wrong with your child if he is not keeping up with the other kids (kids develop differently), thirdly all the advice above is sound advice.
October 19th, 2008 at 11:23 am
I never could nurse standing up. I needed perfect comfort! But I’ll tell you what, all these are what a sixth baby is for. By then, you do all those things you “should have done” with the first two.