If I could look back at my biggest mistakes of parenting from my first two children it would be swaddling. I stopped after the first week. My reason for doing so? I didn’t have a big enough receiving blanket. Those things never seem to get the job done. Especially if you have a long baby! My babies tend to have the body type of gumby. Long and lanky with crooked heads. Hey you try looking alright after living inside total darkness for months. If anyone tried to do this after they were born we would put them in a home. With baby Charlotte I was fully prepared to a fussy baby, hey, I had two in the past. This time I made sure to use my miracle blanket and follow through with swaddling. In the past, after I swaddled, I would loosen them up when the became too fussy. Rookie mistake. You swaddle to help calm them and to keep them calm. Many babies startle themselves away. Hence hold their arms at their sides like a baby straight jacket. Here we are six months later and my baby is sleeping light years better than her old siblings. If she is able to sleep better than Aiden and Madeleine there is no telling what else she will be able to accomplish; cleaning her room, speaking in an indoor voice, eating her dinner without complaining, endless possibilities.
January, 2009
Another Awkward Experience
I have been making goals for myself. The most important one is this site. It scares me. I have so many ideas for it including allowing me to write honestly what is on my mind. Do you have any idea how hard it is for me to be honest with myself? A struggle I face daily because I am my own worst enemy (who isn’t). Avoiding this site is an option for me, instead of doing something with it I can pretend it is not here. The issue with that? This site is always on my mind. I really want to review products and write helpful information for other moms. I also want to tell people what to do with their lives. I mean in this era of loss and confusion someone needs to have their act together. Why not me?
To start myself out I think it’s best to refer to my last posting. Remember that mom who wanted to send her daughter to Aiden’s school again? The one that could not afford it and let me know all about ? I saw her right before Christmas while I was at Target (My new home away from home, which was having a fire issues last Sunday when I needed something from there. You better believe there is going to be a complaint filed). Again, she started in with her daughter having a hard time in school. I truly wanted to stay away from giving advice but I could not help it. She was contemplating pulling her daughter from school. Instead of exchanging pleasantries I was doling out advice I most definitly did not have business doing. But I did it. And I will do it again because it’s me and I tend to stick my nose where it is not needed. Except it was needed and I stand behind what I said. There, that wasn’t too bad. I wrote a whole post and was completely honest. Win Win.