re: OT Parents: Best Advice/Things You Wish You Had Known

Get a nice recliner, sleep with the baby when necessary.

The whole myth we try to emulate of putting the baby in their own bed just creates a vicious cycle. You put the baby down, then baby cries, you rock the baby, go back to bed. Repeat Repeat Repeat and everyone loses sleep.

Put the baby down ONE time. When it cries, just sleep with them in the recliner. We did this for baby 3 & 4.

Baby will sleep all night when it's ready and every kid is different.

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Whereas my sister has a 2 year old that has to fall asleep with them every night in bed, then they move him to the crib. Only way he sleeps because they never forced it. My good friend has a 4 year old that still sleeps in the bed with them, because she refuses to sleep on her own. It can easily cause problems

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yep

if you don't want your kid to sleep with you, don't ever start

some people like their kids sleeping with them (or at least they say they do), but we never wanted that and have never allowed my daughter to sleep in our bed

3 nights of "crying it out" at about 9 months old (when she learned to pull herself up in the crib) and she has slept through the night ever since

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What advice would you give to OTers becoming parents for the first time?

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Depends on how soon you're going to become parents.

If you aren't pregnant yet, then enjoy life as much as you can. Travel to places you really want to go to that children would never appreciate. Few kids really care about going to Washington DC to see everything there, so do it now or you won't get the chance to for another 15-20 years. Take the wife on long weekend getaways out of the blue, Vegas, Miami, San Fran, New York, Boston, Niagara Falls, The Biltmore, etc. Do things you're 25 year old body will handle much better than your 50 year old body, like skiing and hiking, and drinking.

If you're pregnant, you can never have enough bibs. infants drool worse than dogs. You probably don't need the big expensive stroller. Something that can simply hold the car seat and easily fold up is more than enough. Most places you will go will have something to put a car seat in anyway, and when they are big enough to get out the car seat, they can fit in the umbrella strollers.
Only let the kid sleep in the bed with you on very rare occasions, like when they are sick.
Keep to a schedule. You'll notice your kid is a lot less moody, and i don't mean just for infants, this is for up to age 4 or 5.
Save your vacation days as much as you can, b/c you're going to get sick, and if you don't have a parent to watch the kid when they can't go to daycare, you'll be staying home for that too, b/c they'll miss at least a day a month from daycare since they send them home anytime they have diarrhea.
keep their sinus's clean. i know they hate it, but suck that nose out as much as you can, and make sure you take the old fashioned brown/orange nose sucker from the hospital, b/c it's the best one. It can help prevent unnecessary ear infections from the mucus backing up into the ear canal.


When you have the second kid, try your best to do a lot of the things you did for the first kid for the second. No kid wants to look back at everything you saved for them and you have a shite ton of stuff for the first kid and half of that for the second kid.

Oh, and quit cursing. You need to practice not cursing at home for the next two years are you going to have that kid that introduces curse words to the others at school. kids are smart, and they hear, understand and remember a lot more than you probably think they do.

if you have a girl, don't pierce her ears or the OT will label you as trashy.

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Rice in the formula

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Please don't give out such retarded and dangerous advice

Op, start putting the baby in its bed to sleep as soon as possible and stick to a schedule. Also I recommend the book what to expect the first year

Don't listen to anyone that tells you "you need to do _______" You'll figure it out as you go.

But you need to make sure that you and your wife swap nights instead of you both getting up every night. This way all 3 of you aren't miserable just two of you are.













I contradicted myself on purpose

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What does rice do?

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Ups the arsenic dose for the baby so they can sleep. Only 1/4 kidding.

It's not what I'm afraid of. It's science

LINK

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But you need to make sure that you and your wife swap nights instead of you both getting up every night.

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Good advice. This or have each "on duty" for certain times of the night. My wife and I split up the night in half. I cannot tell you how annoying it is to have a baby cry and you both sit there hoping the other moves.