As a mama, do you ever find yourself
wistfully remembering your life P-K (
that's Pre-Kids, yo)?
And when you do, do you ever shake your head and think what an asshat you were? (
No? Me, neither)
So, without further adieu, some sh*t I thought before children...
My child will never sleep with me, ever (
you know they won't leave your bed if you let them in...)
I fought this one for a long time with TT (
like 6mos). He was.not.going.to.get.in.my.bed. No way. No how. And then one night when it was between bringing him to bed or attaching him to the dog
(my go-to-non-human-child-wrangler). I choose bed. And we slept. Like
most of the night. Honest! With C-McC I said "eff that" and he joined me in bed right.away. And you know what - TT sleeps in his own bed now... when he was ready to transition to a 'big boy bed' it.was.a.breeze!
It has been my experience that the term "co-sleeping" can be very polarizing... you either do it (
and swear by it) or don't do it (
and couldn't fathom why you would want to do it). It has also been my experience that most people believe "co-sleeping" means baby in bed with you, this isn't true (
in fact some parents who say they don't get it actually "co-sleep"). Co-sleeping is having your babe room-in with you. Be it in a side-sleeper, a bassinet, a pack & play or in their crib. If they are in.your.room, they are co-sleeping. If they are in.your.bed, they are bed-sharing. This is what we practice (
and is what works for us), although now that C-McC is getting bigger we're tossing around the idea of
sidecarring his crib.
As soon as he's old enough to let me know he wants to nurse, he's off the boob. *sighs* I was an idjit...like seriously. If I were to stop nursing the.exact.moment. my boys let me know that they wanted to nurse... I would have never nursed (
you know when they start rooting... and looking for a nipple *gasp* they're instinctively indicating that they want nourishment).
I'll be honest, I didn't really want to nurse TT. I thought it was weird. I thought it would be too difficult. Basically, I created a lot of obstacles. When we left the hospital with TT he had lost more then 10% of his birth weight... I told the hubs that if had not gained at.least.some of that weight back by our 48hr appointment that we were getting bottles and this baby was getting formula. I didn't need to be worried. He thrived on breast milk! Now, that isn't to say that there weren't issues & difficulties. TT & I both being nursing virgins, didn't have a clue how to get the show on the road (
whodda thunk figuring out a nipple would be such a difficult task), we had issues with thrush from about 2.5mos onwards... but honestly, I wouldn't change it for the world. He nursed until 14mos, the hubs contracted H1N1 and TT was healthy as a horse (
not even a sniffled), I'm totally taking credit for that (
even it's only circumstantial evidence... he was nursing... and didn't get sick... that's enough for me).
C-McC nursed like a champ... I had a little experience up my sleeve and he was a natural. I decided this time around to join
La Leche League - now I know what
you're thinking I thought "they're militant lactivists who will force you to nurse or treat you with contempt and derision if you don't", well they're not. That was a wacked-out-preconceived notion that I had adopted (
I don't know why... it was stupid of me to think that). They're freakin' awesome! I love my group they are so supportive. It is nice to sit down with mom's who are experiencing the same things as you (
i.e. a "chewer"... and how to deal with it). Don't get me wrong, I love my non-nursing friends & I totally go to them for advice all.the.time... but when you have an issue with a baby thinking your nipple is a straw which they can pull every which way, you tend to get more relevant answers when you're asking mom's who have been there.
Wear your child? Nuh-uh that baby needs to learn some independence! I told you, I was an idiot and you would think that I had never been around a child before (
I had... a lot... in fact I babysat some and now that I really think about it... I spent a lot of time holding them... hmmmmm ). I am an avid babywearer. I have a wee collection of carriers (
which I may or may not have added to since I posted my "stash" photo). Babywearing makes
my life easier. Just the other day C-McC had a doctor's appointment (
our doctor is notoriously tardy... good doctor you just have to wait until the second coming for him to get to your appointment), so the first thing we do is measurements... which means he has to be stripped down. And of course they don't really want you dressing him all up again, because the doctor is going to be in soon (
yes... soon). So, I'd brought along
Snicker and after he was weighed, measured and found
not wanting... I popped him up for a great big nursing session (
because being weighed & measured makes for one hungry baby) and wouldn't you know it... he passed right out. That meant I got to spend the remainder of my 2hrs of waiting (
yes... waiting) reading.
Carriers have made my life easier... it means I can get crap done around the house (
if I so choose), it means I can play with TT, it means I can run in to the grocery store and not lug that damn heavy infant seat (
which while it is a necessary evil... because they NEED to be in a car seat... it is HEAVY).
It is funny how many opinions we have regarding parenting prior to having children of our own. I know I may have (
snarkily) thought I'd be doing things differently then so-and-so... but I'm an idiot for being so judgey. So, those of you who are P-K and reading this... just remember, you may think you know everything about parenting... but wait until you have a child of your own (
just saying!)
Feel free to share your P-K faux pas
