Advice

I'm not a big advocate for offering up advice for parenting unless first asked because its super annoying, however I'm going to make an exception today. my best advice for new mothers is this: "IGNORE WHAT EVERYONE ELSE SAYS, INCLUDING YOUR DOCTOR!" Obviously this doesnt apply in EVERY case, but over-all, I stand by it. I'm no pro by any means, i vouge for that... but i have had four babies, and i can say with complete assurance that all kids are DIFFERENT. No one knows their child better than the mother.

You think its necessary to have them sleep on their backs?? the risks are there no matter how you put them to sleep, just monitor them. once my kids could sleep on their tummies, they slept through the night... so this time around i did it right off the bat, and guess what, Hayden sleeps through the night. most adults like to sleep on their bellies, so why wouldnt a baby?? now, there are exceptions, some babies prefer their backs, or their sides.... let your baby choose!

Pacifiers: one of mine hated them, two loved the big fat straight ones, and Hayden loves nuks... again all kids are different.

Swings ( and the like): I stressed and stressed about getting a swing this time around because it was a life saver for my first three...guess what, i now have a swing sitting in my living room that is only used when landon tries to get in it. Hayden hates it!

swaddling:  none of mine liked it! they always fussed until they were free, but some babies do...again, let them "tell" you.

Diapers.... cloth or disposable: personally, im all for convenience, but everyone is different... do what works best for you. The whole saving money thing, im still not so sure i agree... i spend about $410 a YEAR for two kids, it would have cost me about $900 to buy USED cloth diapers to last until potty training...2 years, so in this particular case, i'm spending less for disposable. its all about what YOU want and what works best for you and your baby.

Caffeine: its perfectly FINE.  i drank it a few times a day with all my kids... so much for low birth weight since mine were all over 8lbs.

and most importantly, If your baby is acting like something is wrong, and you feel that they need to be seen, odds are, they do. Im pretty anal about not going to the doc unless absolutely necessary, especially for rashes and stuff because so many things can cause them. But landon had one a few months back that i knew was more than just a typical rash, so i took him in. Before even saying hello, the doctor walks in and says " We dont know what causes them, its hard to tell, theres nothing we can do." I was pretty annoyed, so i lifted up his shirt and said, "well can you tell me what THIS is?" and she immediately shuts her mouth, looks it over, and says, " oh... wow, well that would be a skin infection." I rest my case... I've had this happen on a few different occasions, so go with YOUR gut, not anyone else's.

A few of my friends have asked me for advice on things, and i always tell them what worked for mine, but end it with, " every kid is different, you just have to see what works for yours." seriously, stop stressing, your baby will let you know what he/she wants and how they want it. All you need to do is ignore everyone else, stay in tune with your kiddo, and you'll be just fine! :)