Top tips/secrets needed for new parents

seatzie

heres one that I hope makes sense, when lifting your sleeping baby from say a buggy or even your arms into their cot or moses basket, keep their head level, don't put them in with their head lower than their feet, they'll feel it as movement and wake up, if you can keep their head level in your arms and let their feet touch down first it won't register as being moved and they should stay asleep, worked for us and the grandparents once they worked out what I meant lol!!!

seatzie

liney makes some very good points I'd highly recommend a changing station, saves a lot of backache

bottle warmers suck big time, plastic (not glass) jug does a better job, glass jug absorbs the heat and takes longer (and gets hot to touch with water in it)

>Lower your housework standards! Your house will never be as clean as it

liney could you speak to my wife? she wants our house tidier than it used to be before DS came along lol!!

Kerry39

honeypop wrote: »

I would like your help fellow MSE'ers...
My sister is due to give birth to first baby in August and has done loads of reading on what to expect etc... but I think there must be lots of things the books/leaflets don't tell you that you do eventually work out for yourself but wish someone had told you beforehand. I am talking about everything after the birth itself, dealing with the baby not the pregnancy.

Instead of buying the parents or baby a gift I am planning to put together a little book of handy tips and hints of how to cope with certain things, little shortcuts that may be taken (if any!!), and general advice really. Something along the lines of the thread "Pregnancy's Best Kept Secrets" would be great. That thread was great for her to hear things about the pregnancy/birth/after birth and to prepare her for a LOT of things she hadn't been told about!

Now, I am at the disadvantage of not yet having children (I am hot on her heels though!) therefore I don't have any tips myself. So could I please tap into your wisdom and get some tips/secrets new parents should know? Ideally things relating from birth to say 2 years old?

Or for a separate section of my handy book, things to get done while baby sleeps or when you get a spare 10 mins? (My ones for this include taking a relaxing bath/having 'mummy' time doing things like facepack, file nails etc).

I know you are all full of great ideas...:j

Invest in Gina Fords contented little baby book, very controversial and I know alot of people have mixed views on her. I was a first time mum and gave it ago and it worked wonders for me. Never worry what anyone elses baby is doing, just enjoy every minute as they grow so quickly.
"settle down cobwebs, dust go to sleep, I m cuddling my baby and babies don't keep". xx;)

Bestthingsinlifearefree

As a newbie dad with a 6 month old. I would say its hard work but very rewarding. Babies development is amazing, one moment they are sleeping 16 hours a day and the next they can sit up, laugh at your attempt to amuse them, pick things up. It is amazing how much they change and develop in such a short space of time.

Top tips. Enjoy your baby. Have / develop a good support network as you can e.g friends / family, mums and baby groups. Try and get out the house at least once a day. Accept it is a steep learning curve and your confidence and experience will grow with time. It takes time to get to know your new baby. Sleep and rest at any opportunity you get. If you have a camcorder / camera or can borrow one try to record a little bit each week and capture those memories

For newbie dads I would say the more you put in and involved you get the more you will get out of it. Be as supportive to your other half as much as possible.

Parenthood is an amazing journey and a bit of roller coaster ride.

Lillibet_2

Learn to live with yoru house being a tip. It isn't going to get any better for about 20 years, Dad's rarely seem to notice the mess (why not?) & visitors are just that...visiting & don't have to make the choice between cleaning up or spending time with your child.

Prepare to buy 4 rolls of kitchen towel a week. Before Spud came along I could make 4 rolls last from one Xmas to the next, now I have no idea what becomes of it all?

Chairty shops are the best treasure troves ever!

If it's breakable & precious put it away NOW!

Prepare to sacrafice all your previosuly held-dear principals & standards for a nights sleep/moments sanity. We all do in the end!

Eating cat or dog food will not do them any harm. Trust me, we've thoroughly tested this one.

Learn to zone out when everyone else is giving you unsolicited advice, especially if they are childless in the first place (Sorry, but it's true).

Don't bother with any books, they will just make you paranoid.

Instinct is natures survival mechanisim, trust it. Do what seems right for you & yours, even if you can't find a single person to back you up (And on this note I'd like to publically say UP YOURS! to the HV who said it wasn't possible to mix breast & bottle feeding ......NINE MONTHS thank you very much!)


HTH;)

vaio

If they get a cold and get stuck to the pillow with snot warm water will dissolve it

Js_Other_Half

Do whatever it takes to keep your sanity! (within reason )
I haven't been well this week, and the minutes DH has been through the front door at teatime he is responsible for DS - and I've gone to bed

tazandtommy

Don't know if someone has already put this, But don't put to much pressure on your self to be the perfect mother, there is no such thing, we all make mistakes don't be afrade to ask for help.

Someone said get a slow cooker, I got one and they are fantasic takes two mins to prepare a meal.

crispeater

with my 1st i used to warm her bottles up and this was such a pain at 3am having to go down 2 flights of stairs, with no2 he had room temp from the start and it was fab!! i did try breastfeeding but it wasnt to be, dont get worked up over it if you cant.
maybe not straight away but when baby is old enough invest in a door bouncer!! keeps them occupied for hours my ds used to bounce for ages while i did some ironing (i ironed back in those days lol)
and i also agree with get a slow cooker!

viticella

If anyone is likely to knit for you, point them towards Debbie Bliss books and yarns (see your local posh yarn shop or John Lewis). Should help avoid a surfeit of acrylic lacy cardigans and you may get something quite cool.

Over-the-shoulder baby slings like a Huggababy are much more comfortable than front-harness ones, and last right up to toddler age, for hands-free cuddles.