Baby Advice

[deafnva77]

I have a nephew who definitely rules the roost at his house and has from day one. He's five now and He will wake him mom up at all hours of the night for a drink' date=' he wets the bed (wonder why ) and has two false front teeth because his baby teeth rotted out from drinking pop and eating popsicles all the time. He refuses to eat anything except chicken nuggets and junk food. And Mama complains she can't do a thing with him. The really weird thing about all of this is that the Mama was raised in a well-structured home.[/quote']

just to let young mothers know that spoiling them have nothing to do with feeding on cues.

[Anon]

Ohhh okay...yeah I know some ppl with babies like that, that's cool! I guess the refluxy colicky ones don't work that way. But hopefully she will have a baby that she can get to that schedule!

[Pastorj]

Every parent has to decide how they want to raise their children, I am a firm believer of a schedule.

[joyfulpraise93]

Year 0-5: They're cute and adorable, but totally dependant on you, and before long you look forward to when they will be able to do more for themselves.

Year 6-10: They've learned to take more care of themselves, but you long for when they'll be able to take better care of their surroundings.

Year 11-15: They not only can take care of themselves, much better but have learned to take care of their envrionment. Unfortunately they are no longer your baby and you miss taking care of them

Year 16-20: They are like an adult, grown, big, and those times when they were your baby to take care of are long gone, and you cry when you think of it.

Cherish those years when you have the priviledge of taking care of them--they pass way too quickly.

Awww kinda makes me think of my parents. SInce I got married and I'm not at home anymore...

[HappyChristian]

Year 0-5: They're cute and adorable, but totally dependant on you, and before long you look forward to when they will be able to do more for themselves.

Year 6-10: They've learned to take more care of themselves, but you long for when they'll be able to take better care of their surroundings.

Year 11-15: They not only can take care of themselves, much better but have learned to take care of their envrionment. Unfortunately they are no longer your baby and you miss taking care of them

Year 16-20: They are like an adult, grown, big, and those times when they were your baby to take care of are long gone, and you cry when you think of it.

Cherish those years when you have the priviledge of taking care of them--they pass way too quickly.

Oh, man, is this ever true!!! The song by Ron Hamilton, "Cherish the Moment," is a heartwrenching, beautiful song that caused me to cry when I first heard it (and my son was still not yet a teen!!), and still does. I know you and Samer will cherish your baby and any other that comes along. It doesn't seem like it's going to go fast, especially when you're in the middle of it, and there are more kids, etc., etc. But truly, when they get to the point where they are leaving the nest, you look back and say, "Where did the years go?"

Per the schedule - my son had colic for the first 6 months of his life and kept me up for quite a bit at night (try that and teaching school, too....talk about worn out - - something that, if I had ever had another child would never have been done, church school or not!!). But once he was over the colic, he was the happiest little guy you'd meet. And I believe it was due in large part to the fact that he and I bonded very well while he was hurting and I was holding him (many were the nights that I fell asleep sitting up, with him held to my heart sleeping peacefully).

He put himself on a schedule as he was able to hold more and more food down. By the time he was over the colic (literally 6 months to the day he was born - it was like a switch was thrown!!), he was on a schedule for eating and sleeping. He still woke up once a night for quite a while after that, but he would go right back to sleep.

As Jess and others have said - find what works for your family and go for it! :thumb

[Salyan]

Samer and I will be first-time parents in January (as long as everything goes okay) and it will be nice to hear what some parents have to say about raising children.

Aren't you already first-time parents?

...sorry, couldn't resist. :Bleh

[joyfulpraise93]

Aren't you already first-time parents?

...sorry, couldn't resist. :Bleh

Not much 'parenting' to do as of yet, though! I don't need advice on how to be a mother while my baby is still in the womb. :P

[deafnva77]

Every new mothers in their last trimester need to hear "did you have your baby yet" from 20 people per day.

[Invicta]

My eldest daughter who is an experienced children's nanny, flew to her brother in Henderson, Las Vegas, when his wife had a new baby.

When she arrived home, she said, "I soon got her off demand feeding." When I answered "Don't you agree with demand feeding?" she said, "No I don't, if you give in to demand feeding you have lost control of the baby, they will be demanding all their lives."

We have some friends in France, who have a very nervous teenager. They put that down to the fact that when they were living in Corsica while the wife was pregnant, Corsican separatists set off a bomb near their front door.

[Lee-Anne]

Hi. My children; ( four in total ) were all demand fed. The eldest three have never been demanding. My youngest has a very strong willed personality. This was evident from the day she was born. With persistent training she has learnt to practice more self control and consequently is not as demanding. I am not against schedules. I use one everyday as I school my children. However; using the generalisation that all demand fed babies are demanding is not quite accurate. I believe that a demanding child is the result of a strong willed personality that has not been taught constraint and self control. This training process takes persistent training and an unction from God. For it is only He that transform the heart and temperament.

I believe that a parent should be able to choose which method they are comfortable with. DEmand feeding was the most natural thing in the world to me. My eldest babies were all happy and content. Our home was relaxed and it was ordered. Our youngest had extreeme colic and is also very strong willed. Demand feeding gave her comfort and helped me relax and enjoy her. She is now a happy out going little 5 year old who loves the Lord and is growing and developing in leaps and bounds.

When I was demand feeding our children I was criticised by certain family members They said our children would be clingy etc. This has never been the case. It takes a childhood to train a child to be a fully functioning Godly adult. It is a continual training process.

[Guest Guest]

I am scheduling my newborn for the sanity of the entire family. But really, neither method is right or wrong, you have to figure out what works for you.

[Lee-Anne]

I'm not against scheduling either. I know a dear young lady who has had all her babies on a super tight schedule and that has worked great for her. I just don't believe that one size fits all in this case. I hope it all works out for you and that you are feeling a bit better now.

[CJP56]

If you don't already have one, buy a comfortable rocking chair for rocking and-or feeding the baby. Love and cuddle the baby and talk to the baby a lot. Read to your children a lot. An older baby who is eating foods should be fed a balanced meal at each meal. For instance, baby cereal with strained fruit in it for breakfast and juice. Lunch, a veggie, a meat, and a fruit, or a meat-veggie mixture and a fruit; supper, a meat, a veggie or a veggiemix and a fruit. I am talking about jars of baby food, or you can make your own. That is much cheaper. I would give my girls part of a jar for lunch and give them the rest for supper. I developed a great way to hold a baby who can't sit in a high chair yet. You put the food on the table, sit in a chair by the food, put baby on your lap, on your left with baby facing towards your right hand. Put baby's right arm behind you, put your arm around baby's back and hold baby's left arm. Use your right hand to spoon in the food. The baby cannot grab or hit the spoon when held that way. (Reverse this if you are a lefty.)I would give them a spoonful of a meat, then a veggie, then fruit, back to meat, or what ever way I wanted to do it. After each meal I offered a bottle to top off the food. When they could sit in the high chair and could feed themselves, I usually got them to eat a few more bites by helping them finish up. By then they had a cup of milk or whatever to drink with their meal. Be matter of fact about food. Don't start any wars over food. Don't beg them to eat and don't nag at them during a meal. Insist they try one tiny bite of a new food and let it go at that. Meal time should be a happy time. They won't die of starvation. Don't come unglued if they don't want to eat. They will eat when they are hungry. Growing babies eat. Babies who are not growing for a time will stop eating as much. Also, small children will be more willing to eat meals if they aren't full of snacks or liquids. I recommend no pop or candy or gum while your children are small. You will thank yourself a million times over for not giving them that stuff. Pop and chocolate are stimulants, and they don't need it!!!
I fed my girls on demand which worked for me. They soon put themselves on a schedule.
Oh, please don't let your child become glued to a sippy cup!!! When my girls wanted a drink, they got a drink in a regular plastic cup. They didn't walk around with them. They drank the drink and I put the cup on the counter. If your baby needs a pacifier, I recommend a Nuk. If you will be breastfeeding, great, but if bottle feeding, I recommend a playtex nurser. A little more pricey, but much easier for baby to drink from.
I recommend Mennen's Baby Magic Bath for bathing a baby. Also Baby Magic lotion. Do not use baby oil or talcum powder. I used the 'football hold' to bathe my babies' scalps. It works great! Put baby on one arm so your arm is under the baby longways supporting baby's back and your hand is supporting the head. Baby's rump should be by your elbow. Hold baby over a basin and use other hand to soap and rinse baby's scalp. Dry with towel. Well, I could go on, but I will stop now. CJP56.

[Trish]

As far as baby carriers go, I loved my sling. I used it all the time, then I didn't need to use the grocery carts and didn't have people touching all the time too. I second , or is it third :lol the platex bottles. That is all I used for mine and the babies feed much easier. If you are storing breast milk the bags are easy to freeze too. Very easy to wash as well. :thumb My first stroller was the kind that when you laid the seat back it became a pram, and the handle could easily switch from back to front ways. I think it was a costco, but it was great and lightweight too.

[Guest Guest]

Those Playtex Vent Aire bottles leak like crazy, but my friend loves the disposable Playtex bottles.