Wow I can't believe I"ve been a mommy for a year now!
I've been thinking back over the past year, and here are the things that I have learned:
1) Call your mom. When your baby wont stop screaming, wont eat, wont sleep, don't hesitate to call her. She will know just what to do!
2) Trust your "Mother's Instinct". If something doesn't seem right, it probably isn't.
3) Don't think there is only 1 right way to do something. For example fixing the bathwater. We got one of those rubber ducky bath temperature toys that will tell you if the bathwater is too hot.I was constantly cooling down the water until the ducky told us the water was safe for a baby. Bryce screamed through every single bath for about 4 months. One day I had a thought that the water must just be too cold for him, so I filled the tub up with hot water (go ahead and call DHS on me). Since that day he has loved his bath. I blame this on the fact that he has .009% body fat.
4) Your baby doesn't have to wear pants. If it is 108 degrees outside, and you just want your baby to sport the onesie, go for it! Don't let anyone make you feel like a bad mom for not putting pants on your baby. Lets just be honest, if it is literally hot as hell outside, would you want pants on?
5) Don't let that "opinionated" mom get to you. "You know, you are not supposed to co-sleep with an infant" "You shouldn't let him lay on his back to drink his bottle, he will get pneumonia" "He is not supposed to ride forward facing in a car seat until he is 1." You think I don't know these things? I can do whats I think is best for my baby and my family, and if you don't like it, then just shut up.
6) Expect to spend some major cash at the after hour clinic. Because a baby can't get sick on a Wednesday morning. It will always be 11 pm on a Friday night and it will be something that needs antibiotics and can't wait until Monday.
7) Don't feel guilty about not breastfeeding.
8) Don't feel guilty about being a working mother. He needs that time away from me just as much as I need that time away from him. Even babies learn social skills from being at school. He has never cried when I drop him off and I know it is because we have been doing it everyday since he was 6 weeks old.
9) Men do not make good mothers. God knew that, that's why he gave the responsibility to women. When leaving a baby with a man, you need to explain even the most obvious things. Do not assume they know anything about how to operate a baby.
10) Hold your baby. Some of the most precious memories I've had as a mother have come from rocking my child to sleep in a dark quiet room and just staring at him as he sleeps. What is he dreaming about? Does he know I love him? Slowly I noticed he took up more and more and more of my arms. When I start thinking things like "I need to go do the laundry" I just stop and think "Katee, he wont fit in your arms forever, just stay."
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