What advice do you have for new parents?
Looking back do you wish you had done anything differently, if yes what and why?
2007-02-12 14:39:32 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
I have become a lot less self-centered and have learned that if my kitchen is not spotless clean before I go to bed, I won't die!
2007-02-12 15:07:13 · answer #1 · answered by Elliem 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My free time is no longer "free". I am doing something....thats the biggest change.
As a new parent it was learning that if I needed to be somewhere at a certain time--- start getting ready much earlier than I would have normally. It was realizing that life no longer revolved around me or my husband but around this miracle....who would spit up on me, cry and even poop on me. It was realizing that you actually can love someone more than you could ever love yourself.
If I could do anything different, it would be dont sweat the small stuff... who cares if an outfit gets a stain (they outgrow them anyways), to let my hubby do more of the baby stuff and not hover over him while he tried (and realizing he didnt have to do things ie chg diaper, burp, etc EXACTLY like I did it), it would have been to relax and try to nap if possible when the baby napped....and I would have taken the binky away from my baby around 6 mo because at 2 yr it was MUCH harder!
I would suggest reading to your baby very young....hold the baby...cuddle them.... and write a letter to give them when they are older when they hit milestones (6 mo/1 yr/18 mo, etc). Take the time in the middle of the night and you are feeding them and you are EXHAUSTED to count your blessings - reflect on your day--pray if so inclined.
But basically - dont wish time away - they grow and change so fast, dont constantly be watching for the next big thing or you may miss the little great gifts a baby does everyday.
2007-02-12 15:08:39 · answer #2 · answered by Char C 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nothing really has changed. I mean I have someone else to care for now, other than myself. I love being a mom! I love watching my daughter learn something new everyday. My daughter is 8 months and has just learned to crawl and pull up all in one week. I love it! But nothing really has changed. If my husband and I want to go out. We get a babysitter and go out. You are not nailed to the floor and anything after you have a baby and become a mother.
It does also depend on the person. I don't know what I would do differently. Maybe I would have waited a little while longer to have a baby. But I love my baby so I don't think I would.
2007-02-12 14:52:18 · answer #3 · answered by Brittany Davis 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
One thing I've found out about myself that I didn't know was that I am a paitent person. It used to be that I couldn't stand to hear kids crying in public places. Now, i'm the one who's got that embarasing moment when my kid is crying and everyone is glaring at me. lol!!
Also, I had no idea that my heart could hold so much love in it.
I never knew before becoming a mother how scary it is to be a parent. I have a new respect for my own parents and God too.
2007-02-12 14:49:41 · answer #4 · answered by bluegrass 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have learned to be more patient, I've found this incredible love you can have for your children and I feel like I understand my parents more. My advice would be, have fun, enjoy the cute faces and cuddle them when they are sad. Have date nights! The only thing I wish I would of done differently is, when I had my daughter, I wish I would of not "forgotten" my husband. But we made it, realized it and now go on regular date nights!
2007-02-12 14:50:12 · answer #5 · answered by Roxy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the thing that has changed the most is that personal time is very precious now. i don't get a lot of it with my son being 11 months old and my husband being deployed for this year. i wouldn't say i'd do anything different, but i do wish i had more time to myself.
2007-02-12 14:44:10 · answer #6 · answered by d4cav_dragoons_wife84 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
relax, have patience, fly more kites keep less house, parent with love, never discipline while angry, say i love you in 100 different ways a hundred times everyday, take parenting classes, read books, take what you can from them and disregard the rest, admit that you will always be learning no parent is perfect you will make mistakes don't beat yourself up about them, dance , play, be silly, discipline with consistency, there is no need for a pacifier ever, enjoy your children, you don't own them they are a gift for a very short time, listen to there dreams
2007-02-12 14:48:54 · answer #7 · answered by melissa s 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I have become so much less judgemental of other people, especially other mothers, since becoming a parent.
2007-02-15 15:13:42 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I wish I hadn't been so freaked out about nursing. I did nurse for years, but the social pressure at that time was against nursing, certainly extended nursing. When I was working as a counselor, we actually reported a woman to CPS because she was nursing her 4 year old!!! Oh my god, how awfully ignorant and dangerous we were...
I wish I had known how sad babies are away from their moms and how bad day care is for their development; I wish I had known about the sling for my first born, I wish I never ever yelled (we don't hit) because the yelling is scary and hurtful, too, I wish I had known about co-sleeping when we brought our first born home (I figured it out after a few nights of waking up, going to a chair to nurse, and falling asleep on my baby! - family bed much safer and really helps nursing. I wish my first born had never seen my eating MnMs - his nutrition took a dive when he wanted to eat like me rather than just the health foods I gave him.
I wish I hadn't been so shy when my first born was born; being a mom certainly cured me of that.
What part of my life has changed? Every single part. Far less time for myself in those early years, far more self-confidence now, far greater expectations of my husband.
advice - nurse on demand for at least two years, avoid any separations of more than 10 hours a week from your infant/toddler, co-sleep, get a sling, never ever ever let a baby cry without holding him/her, don't hit, don't yell, talk to your infant in baby talk and adult talk. pass on a great vocabulary by using big words and lots of synonyms. Read to your child for at least an hour every day. Play on the floor with your infant/toddler for 15 minutes out of every waking hour - that's called floor time and Dr. Greenspan and Dr. Brazelton says it's essential to your child's development - letting them choose the activity and directing you. Everytime you want to say - later, soon, next time - bite your tongue and say OKAY!
2007-02-12 15:03:24 · answer #9 · answered by cassandra 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I never knew before becoming a mother that it was possible to have your heart smile. :)
2007-02-12 16:57:13 · answer #10 · answered by angel21781 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋