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

miracle blanket for swaddling



changed our lives for those first couple of months once we started using it

Sleep as much as you can before the kid gets here. My daughter is almost six months old and I have lost more sleep in the last six months than I did in the first 28 years of my life

She is awesome though and the best thing that has ever happened to me

Most of that stuff that Babies-r-us makes you think you need to raise a kid, you don't. Babies are only as expensive as you make them out to be. You will be given so much stuff, that the only thing needed is a car seat, a pack and play, diapers, wipes, formula and bottles. You will be given so many clothes that some of them will never be worn.

Find a wife that can handle stress.

Ignore all the "expert moms" that'll tell you everything they think you should know about vaccinations, co-sleeping, not letting your baby cry, car seats, breastfeeding, etc. They all think they are experts because they follow a moms blog or read an article. Listen to your pediatrician, talk with your significant other, and do what y'all think is best for your child.

DO NOT be afraid to tell people to leave or not come over in the first few days/weeks. When that baby is sleeping, your wife needs to sleep. Tell maw-maw and Na-nan, they can come over later, your wife and baby are sleeping.

It's very easy, "Ok, baby needs to sleep, so mama is going to bed too. Thanks for coming everybody, we will see y'all later." Walk away with the baby, grab your wife and put her in bed too. Turn the lights off. "Bye, thanks for coming." Do it Day 1! they will learn to frick off and that you are the Dad and make the decisions about the child. = establish dominance early or you mother in law will never leave and try to run your life until she is dead.

I did it, and my wife and I are much happier than other couples we know.

quote:

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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.

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

You won't necessarily form an instant bond with your baby. It can take some time. Don't be discouraged, give it a week or two, maybe even a month.

above all, enjoy it:




its hard to believe our 3 year old is already as big as he is

it moves quick