Realizing I Know Nothing
Posts tagged Tips
Tip #12
Nov 14th
Been a while since I let one loose — but since it is tied to my son letting them loose, I think it is fitting. After 18 months of changing diapers and only a single incident of kiddo peeing on me during a diaper change, my tip is this:
Have the next diaper ready to put on. Don’t reach for it after you have removed the first diaper. Have it out — tabs ready — everything. When the time is right, pull off the old and put on the new.
99% effective for this dad.
Tip #11
Sep 4th
If you are parents to be — or even if you have kids — and there are families in your neighborhood with kids the same age as yours, or on the way — make friends.
Going it alone works and having family around works too, but neighborhood friends can be lifesavers, and they can make the ups and downs of parenting all the more tolerable and exciting. Going through ear infections and croup with a commiserating cast seems to make it — for lack of anything better — not as bad as it seems. It keeps you from getting wrapped up More >
Tip #10
Jul 10th
Don’t beat yourself up over past decisions. Hindsight is 20/20, especially when you have more information. We were told our son had an ear infection. Two days later he was still up all night and we were just a hair frustrated with the lack of sleep.
Turns out he had pneumonia.
We had never experienced it before, didn’t know the signs and had just visited the doctor for the ear infection diagnosis. Had we known, of course we would have done all that we could to make him feel better — but we didn’t know at the time. We didn’t More >
Tip #9
May 15th
Talk. Talk. Talk. Tell the kiddo what you’re doing, how you’re doing it and why your doing it. Not IT, it, of course — just all the little things that seem like nothing. I have read this in a lot of places — all about the benefits, etc. — but even without all that support, I have to say one thing that always seems to be missing: it’s just plain fun and it helped me see our little dude as a little person and not just a baby.
Tip #8
Apr 3rd
Don’t sit around wishing for your son/daughter to hit the next phase because you think things will be better. The around the clock feeding schedule will turn into worrying about them choking which will turn into worrying about them losing a finger in the door jamb will turn into worrying they will lose an eye if they fall onto something sharp while they are walking.
It goes fast. Enjoy what you have while you have it.
Tip #7
Mar 11th
Just know that baby germs are like a plague. They will tear through your family faster than a tornado and leave just as much wreckage. Also — if you use daycare — you might as well shake hands with every person you run into that so much as sniffles.
Tip #6
Feb 21st
This is a warning, but could be considered a tip. If you find yourself cleaning up after a Code Brown (definition being a poop that has overflowed the diaper — thanks to the neighbors for the term — although I am sure a lot of parents use it) — know this: If part of the cleaning process involves soaking the pants in a sink — once the affected area hits warm water you will realize that you might as well have gone to a sauna powered by burning human feces. I have no solution other than to warn you in More >
Tip #5
Jan 29th
Another off label use, but this time just as a tip. If you haven’t heard about it yet, you can use these Gerber Flat Fold cloth diapers for multiple things, mainly because they are absorbent and soft. We never used them as diapers — we used them as burp cloths and they worked great. The thinner ones are better since they are a bit bigger and provide more shoulder coverage, which is ideal for newborns. I am fairly confident that if they are used as diapers they would act more like a cheesecloth than an actual diaper.
Tip #4
Jan 25th
This is a simple one — and maybe common sense — but if you can’t get the Little Dude or Dudette to burp — try mixing up your burping methods (up on the shoulder, sitting up,etc.), and keep in mind that it might change. We started with the shoulder burp being the sure fire method and have moved to the sitting up method as it is now the only way he will burp.
Tip #3
Dec 15th
This one is definitely a take it or leave it tip. At night, we wait between 5 and 10 minutes after our son starts to cry before we go in to pick him up. Most times, we have found that he is switching positions and wakes up for a few moments before going back to sleep. We do the same with his naps.
One caveat: Like most parents, we can distinguish between the different cries. I can’t say that I am some sort of baby whisperer — but if it is one of his distress cries, we go get him immediately. More >
