When you are expecting your first child, there are so many friends, family, and even strangers giving you advice. Some of it is good advice and other things you wonder about. All I can say is, do what works best for you all of you first time parents. Here is a list of what I've learned or what has worked for me.
1. Diapers: I think this, like so many other items, is just a matter of preference. Personally, I like Pampers. Yeah, they are a little more expensive. I feel like they last or hold longer than some of the other brands that we've used. Whenever you buy a package or box of Pampers, there is a code inside of the package you can enter for a reward. I've utilized this and has made buying this brand of diapers worthwhile for me. We have used Huggies and store brand diapers. Store brand is great when you don't have a lot of extra cash. If you want a step up from the store brand, I've used Luvs. These are ones we do use quite a bit and they are reasonably priced. We've also used coupons to help save a few bucks.
2. Sleep Schedule/Arrangements: When we brought our son home from the hospital, we never had him sleep in our bedroom. His room was all ready to go anyways, so I wasn't about to set up a small crib next to my bed. I know there are some people who let their baby sleep in bed with them. I personally am not comfortable doing that. Some, not all, of these parents later have to break the habit of letting their child sleep with them. I've read articles saying to start your baby early on a sleep schedule. Being a stay-at-home mom, I really don't have Lane on any certain sleep schedule. I do try getting him to bed between 7:30 pm and 8:00 pm. That's the only set time I have. For his naps, I let him sleep whenever I know he's tired. Sometimes he'll take two naps a day; sometimes it's only one. There are times he'll only sleep for 45 minutes. Once in a great while, he'll sleep for 3 hours. I'm fine with either.
3. Formula: We mainly used Similac Advance. This is what was used in the hospital and what they recommended when we were sent home. We did use Enfamil every so often, but I would get coupons in the mail from them. I'm pretty sure you can sign up through either formula companies website for coupons. Again with formula like the diapers, it's a matter of preference and what works best for you and your baby. Some babies have had allergic reactions to different formulas and diapers.
4. Succeed/Fail: There are days I feel like Super Mom and I can conquer the world. Other days, I feel like I have failed miserably and I'm the worst parent ever. If Lane is playing well or takes an extremely long nap, then I can get a little work done on my crafts that I sell for extra money or I can get some dishes or laundry done. There are days I'm trying to load or unload the dishwasher and he's trying to climb on top of the dishwasher door. Those days, I don't even bother and will wait until he's asleep to finish. Once a week, I take Lane to story time at the local library. This is a mostly a success for me because it gets us both out of the house and socialize a little bit. It also is great because the lady teaches sign language and a little bit of Spanish.
Then there are the days that I feel like I've failed as a parent. The house is a disaster. Toys are all over the living room floor. Dishes are piling up in the sink and the counter to either be washed or put away. Lane is extra fussy that day and I can feel myself getting frustrated because I feel like I'm at the end of my rope and don't know what else to do. When he wakes up 3-4 times a night for two weeks straight, all I want to do is sleep, I feel myself getting upset. I know he can't help it. These are only small things I know that make me feel like a failure as a parent.
5. Gift: Every day with my son is a gift. Even on the days that I'm frustrated and just want to run away and hide. Even stay-at-home parents need a day or at least a little time for themselves from time to time. It's exciting to see him learn new things or hit his milestones. There are things he does that are just absolutely funny. For instance, the other night at supper, I had put some cut up veggies on his tray. I took a bite of food off of my plate and I looked over to check on him and I just sat there and watched. He was doing a hum or little da ta da ta da sound while picking up a veggie. He'd look at it for a bit, then I'd see him slide it under the tray onto his lap. I watched as he did this several times trying to hold in my laughter. I soon said his name, he looked up at me, and then started smiling. He realized he'd been caught. Yesterday afternoon, we were playing in the living room. He has this thing where he likes opening the cabinet doors where the movies are. There is a glass panel on the door. It so happened that I was on one side of the door and he was on the other. He looked at me and then put his face against the glass, smashing his features to make funny faces. I started to laugh. He sees and hears me laughing so he starts laughing too. This went on for several minutes. It's the times like these that I'm glad that even though he's only one, we can share a laugh together.
There's so much more that I've experienced and felt in this first year of being a mom than this list. I've been peed on, pooped on, spit up all over me. My glasses have been knocked off of my face more times than I can count. Lane has pulled tiny fistfuls of my hair out. I've laughed at silly things he does and have cried because I've been tired, frustrated, don't know what else to do. It can be the toughest job in the world to raise a child, but it is so rewarding.
Between the laughter and the tears that have past and that are still to come, I hope I can raise my children to be the best they can be. I hope they have a faith in God and Jesus that is strong. I want them to do what they enjoy doing in life, whether its sports, or the arts, etc. I hope they are smart. If they have to work for their intelligence and everything in life, I hope they appreciate it all more.
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