Tuesday, September 8, 2015
PARENTING ADVICE
Your advice can regard pregnancy, labor, parenting, etc. To do so, please post a comment on this post, listing any words of wisdom you have. Also, this activity is not restricted to parents! Even if you don't have children, we'd love for you to comment about how you've been raised. Tell us about things your parents did that you appreciated, or even the things they did that you didn't appreciate! To comment, click on the comment section below.
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For babies, my advice is start reading to them that first week. They really do begin to focus on favorite pictures and words that early! For older kids, I think I would emphasize independence and resiliency more than I did. Also, Grandma Allison was always terrific with kids! A legendary babysitter with great imagination at making up games (i.e. "Dead, not Dead" "The Round the Block Game" "Perry Mason" etc. ). So, you've got someone great on whom you can rely.
ReplyDeleteI was never great at filling in those baby books, but I tried really hard to keep a journal for each of our babies, starting with the first day at the hospital, and I am still occasionally adding entries to all their journals - most recently last Spring break. The journals are very precious to me and it's been fun to share with the kids as they get older.
ReplyDeleteI was never great at filling in those baby books, but I tried really hard to keep a journal for each of our babies, starting with the first day at the hospital, and I am still occasionally adding entries to all their journals - most recently last Spring break. The journals are very precious to me and it's been fun to share with the kids as they get older.
ReplyDeleteI was never great at filling in those baby books, but I tried really hard to keep a journal for each of our babies, starting with the first day at the hospital, and I am still occasionally adding entries to all their journals - most recently last Spring break. The journals are very precious to me and it's been fun to share with the kids as they get older.
ReplyDeleteSome of the best advice we received was to remember to be kind and patient with each other. All three of you will be learning so much!
ReplyDeleteIn terms of practical advice, there are some great breastfeeding resources on the Stanford website. I found them to be the most helpful, would be happy to send you the link if you're interested. Also, Oxyclean is great for stains!
I appreciated that my mom read to me a lot. There are so many great children's books - if I, as a non-parent, were to give any advice, it would be to start building a good library!
ReplyDeleteYou look like you are having a lot of fun being pregnant and really enjoying it so my advice Would be to keep on rocking motherhood the way you already are!
ReplyDeleteIf you don't have friends that are mothers yet I'd make a few additional ones through mother networks or I bet New York has some fun classes like baby/mother yoga etc.
I Think it's great to expose them to another language and culture from a young age and I bet that's easy to do in NY as well. What a fun place to raise a baby.
During the hard, frustrating, tiresome times of having a newborn, remember those stages pass and it gets easier! a lot of things just work themselves out as your baby gets a little older. You guys will do great!
ReplyDeleteI agree with that. It's like what Mo said at Maria's shower. Dont stress over a problem too much because by the time you figure out what to do, the baby has grown and moved on to something else new and challenging.
ReplyDeleteMy mother in law always told me that with a newborn, things would get easier at the three week old mark and again at the 5 week mark and I thought that was true with the two week mark being the peak of exhaustion. So just hang in there for those milestones!
ReplyDeleteI bonded best with my babies when they were 3-4 months old. I was too overwhelmed before then...and I read somewhere that that can be common so don't feel badly if you feel the same way.
First babies are hard as everything is new. Be Gentle with yourself, and trust your instincts. Get a lactation specialist to help with breastfeeding, as they REALLY help. It is a learned skill. Safeguard your sleep as much as you can When breastfeeding is happily established( 3-5 weeks), introduce bottle feeding, so others can help you. Baby can take breast milk from a bottle. The baby's first growth spurt is at 3 weeks, so be prepared for a hard week with more frequent feedings, then baby will settle in again. Once you are over that hard third week, things will ease a bit for you and you'll know you make it through the newborn stage.
ReplyDeleteI remember with Oscar I had a big stack of parenting books on our living room coffee table. They were all helpful in their own way, but I remember the day I took them all and put them away and decided to go with my instincts. Trust yourself!
ReplyDeleteHard to say, as I'm not a mother. I appreciated being taken to cultural events like symphonies, ballets, art exhibits, etc. My parents allowed me to be who I am without forcing me to fit a mold, and I've been really grateful for that.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a mother, but I think good parenting advice is to learn to be able to give up control and see your baby as a separate person from you.
ReplyDeleteMy mother is a nurse. The best advice she gave me is to always shower with my babies. I would put their baby carrier next to the shower, shower with my kids pass them off to John, or just wrap them in a warm towel and let them sit a few minutes in the carrier. It was a wonderful bonding time, and babies love the warm water all over their bodies.
ReplyDeleteIt's Jessie again. Thanks for the help! Fred and I have been reading the books, but its still quite an intimidating venture for us..
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