Top tips/secrets needed for new parents

Sarahsaver

Babies will not notice if their room is not decorated freshly for their arrival, or even care if they HAVE their own room DS2 slept in my room, then DDs room than a box room until he was big enough for a bed.

WestonDave

Be wary of books - while they contain a lot of helpful info, your baby hasn't read it so doesn't know that's how he/she is supposed to behave!

If you use muslins on the changing table as above, Mothercare do a set with some green and some yellow - we used the yellow for changing and the green to take out so they didn't get mixed up with everyone elses.

If the baby is being breastfed, Dad might be a better bet at getting it to sleep as he won't smell of milk.

If you regularly travel somewhere (e.g. your parents) get them a secondhand travel cot and pram/buggy to keep as it saves vast amounts of space in the car.

Not relevant to everyone but if you end up with a bad back/shoulder etc after giving birth get it fixed - pay an osteopath or chiropractor if you have to - long term pain on top of sleep deprivation will really get you down.

To a child a new toy is one he hasn't played with before - it takes time to get it out of the box and kids aren't patient - secondhand stuff is fine and often has been barely touched.

You can never have too many books for bedtime - beleive me even the best written books get on your nerves when read every night for weeks on end!

Try to avoid their "vital" sleep aid being something irreplaceable. DS1 has to have two boots baby flannels (the ones with the green edging) to sleep with - which is fine as we have a stack of them and just swap them when they need washing or one falls down the back of the cot in the night!

Finally a dad one - bathtime is about getting wet and making lots of mess - getting clean is purely a sideeffect!

clutterbunny

When DS was born I could never have a bath. No time.
When DD was born Our baby bath was broken so I had slightly cooler baths and DD came in too. That way I could breast feed and clean baby at the same time. When DD was clean I sliped her into a bouncy chair that I had laid a towel into and wraped her up. Baby was safe, warm and clean and I got a longer bath because she had just been fed.

Talk to baby from birth. It doesnt matter about what. It all helps them with thier language skills and they love to hear the sound of your voice.

If you need extra help with baby try phoning local colleges and seeing if they need any childcare placements for thier students. You get free help and they get to learn about babys from the real experts and not the books. (they will all have been police checked!)

CB

bloomin_freezing

from the day my dd was born, before she was put into bed for the night I would always lay down my top that i'd been wearing that day around the matress of the moses baskey (as if it were a 2nd sheet) and then put her on top of it so she would always have my scent near her. I don't know if this was a great help to her or not but she will be 2 in July and since the day she was born we have only had 4 nights when she has not slept solid for 13 hours or so!

It's worth a go!

Ishtar

My little one is now 2.5 years old, and so into the terrible two's that it's hard to remember what it was like when she was born, but I've listed a couple of things that I think are useful (apologies if they've already been mentioned):

Try not to do everything...when the baby sleeps, you sleep - the housework will still be there tomorrow.

It's not an admission of failure if you need help - whether practical, or emotional - people are offering because they care, not because they are judging your parenting skills.

Books are useful for reference - every baby is different and if you try to follow what the books say, then it might create more problems than it solves.

Enjoy every minute of it, they're not tiny forever.

Cheers
D.

i_am_really_rich!!

Don't try and be supermum, especially in those 1st few weeks when you will get loads of visitors and you think they expect you to be sitting looking radiant in a perfecly tidy house holding a peacefully sleeping baby. It doesn't work like that. Enjoy those 1st weeks, they are the best (and the easiest, believe me I have teenagers now).
Don't panic the 1st time you wake up and realise that its morning and baby hasn't woken you. Congratuations, it slept through the night (I remember that feeling well).
Sleep when the baby sleeps. That's not the time to catch up on housework, its for you.

Oh and get a copy of 'Toddler Taming' Fantastic Book.

honeypop

Brilliant guys, hopefully she will be really pleased to get such great tips!

Any more?

liney

I changing table is worth the money, whatever anyone tells you. Especially after a difficult labour. Getting up and down from the floor is not want you want to be doing. Of course the kitchen table would be fine too, but i liked to take Baby to his room to change him.

Have dad take over bath time so you can have 1/2 peace and quiet of an evening. It will help him bond with baby and feel useful too.

Dont buy clothes that pull over babys head; it distresses them.

Muslim squares are magic.

Bottle warmers are CrXp. Use a jug, or learn to make bottles with a fresh boiled kettle added to cooled previously boiled water by adding the powder to cold, then topping up. Takes practice for the quantities but loads quicker and no milk standing around.

Start as you mean to go on with bedtime, by putting baby down to sleep when they are still awake. This will save you no end of tears in the long run.

Lower your housework standards! Your house will never be as clean as it was previously so stop killing yourself trying to make it so. Enjoy having a little one who can't answer back... yet.

Crispy_Ambulance

main tip - enjoy your baby. They are tiny for such a short time and when you look back, you will be amazed at how quickly it all went.

don't spend your time fretting about routines etc. - you can't spoil a baby with too many cuddles etc. Little babies can't manipulate their parents - they want what they need and they need what they want.

Accept that your life will be very different when you have a young baby and you will all be a lot happier than if you try to fit a newborn into your previous life.

And have fun - before you know it, they will be off to school and you will have to ask them for a kiss

purplepatch

Here's a tip I was given and I never got around to doing it properly, really wish I had.

Keep a journal of memories of your child's development - not one that you have to write all the time, just to put little quirky things in, first noises (for instance my dd used to say gronda gronda all the time before she could talk which we are sure was her attempt to say grandma), also funny things they say and do when they get a bit older. I've an aunt who I see quite regularly and when I'd see her, I'd tell her our news and a few anecdotes about what dd had been up to and she'd say 'make sure you write it down otherwise you'll forget all this stuff' and she's right.

I thought I'd just be able to remember it all, but I really struggle - having kids definitely does something to the brain and memory. And now I've had my second dd the memory is even more hopeless ... and I still haven't started the journal!!