Feb 24 2009
My Advice for New Parents
When a couple is expecting their first child, people are full of advice. Oh, law… many of them know what they can do with that advice. So here, I will list my advice for new or expecting parents. Take what you want from the list.
1. This is the BEST piece of advice we received. Seriously. NEVER whisper around the baby. That way the child can sleep through anything when they get older. My eldest can sleep through a monsoon and the youngest is getting there.
2. Formula is not the “F” word. Breast is best. I breastfed both my children, the eldest until 20 months and the youngest until 18 months. But not all women can handle the demand of breastfeeding, cannot make milk, or are on medication that does not allow for breastfeeding. I admit, I used to look down on formula mommies until I could not pump enough milk with DS and had to supplement at day care with formula. I cried about it.
3. For you breastfeeding mommies. You can do it. DO NOT let anyone make you feel bad for your decision. Go to La Leche League meetings. Get support. Most of all, you wean when you and your child are ready and not when others around you think you should wean. Adopt the bobble head approach - nod and smile when people say to you in public that there are bathrooms near by where you can nurse your child. Resist the urge to say, “Would YOU eat in a bathroom?” Also, if you are snarky, like me, if you nurse in a mall, do it in front of Victoria’s Secret, Abercrombie & Fitch, or any other store with scantily clad models. 
4. Make time for you. Daddy needs Daddy time and Mommy needs Mommy time. And you both need time away from the baby.
5. Do not use your child as an excuse for unhealthy eating habits. I am still using nursing as an excuse to eat more, but I have stopped nursing a couple of months ago.
6. Let people help. Don’t be stubborn.
7. Babies do not need brand new clothes. Yard sales and consignment shops are your friends.
Any other advice you found helpful when you had children?
