Mommy 101

I may turn this into an ongoing topic...who knows with me lol. The point of this post is to talk about all the things I've learned about being a mom. The most shocking thing I learned about being mommy is the amount of opinions that are thrown my way. I guess whenever kids are involved people think they have the right to tell you what you should or should not do for your child. I've had complete strangers come up to me and tell me I should have socks on Maddy's feet or I don't have her warm enough and this and that. It really blew my mind that these people honestly thought they knew what is best for Maddy...that I would just let my child freeze or whatever the case may be. I haven't exactly mastered the art of just letting these things roll off my back, but I can at least say to myself that I know I am a good mom despite what anybody may think or feel and I love Maddy very much. I have her best interest at heart in everything I do. Another thing I've learned is that you expect to teach your child this and that, but your child also teaches you things. Maddy has shown me what love is all about. She showed me things in my relationship with the Lord before she was every born that I probably never would figured out or understood. Something I've learned that actually deals with parenting I guess is the word I'm looking for is this...I used to have a lot of problems with Maddy waking up a whole bunch in the middle of the night when I was trying to get her to sleep in her crib. I started leaving a bottle in her crib so when she would wake up she would drink her bottle and go back to sleep. To this day I keep a bottle in her crib for when she wakes up. I also have one of those crib toys that plays music that has really helped. Brand new they run around $40 which I thought was ridiculous. Thanks to the Just Between Friends sale I got one for $10. Maddy absolutely LOVES this thing. She knows how to operate it all by herself. She can change the sounds and she knows how to turn it on and off. She seems quite proud of herself that she can do this lol. Something else I've learned is if baby starts out not liking the swing...DON'T force them lol. Force is actually the wrong word, we just helped her to like it. The first day home from the hospital I used her swing and for the most part she didn't mind. I was was either using her swing or I'd lay her in her bassinet. At some point soon after her first day home she decided she didn't like the swing for some reason, so I quite using it for a while. My mom and I were talking about her swing issue, so my mom showed me what she did with my sister, who in turn ended up loving the swing. I was wanting Maddy to use her swing at night for her bed and after my mom worked with her one night Maddy came to love her swing. I was so happy, but little did I know the consequences of this. Some people start out using the crib right off the bat. I am/was terrified to do this because I've heard and read all about the babies who suffocated and I wanted Maddy to be safe. My plan was throughout the day use her swing and bouncy seat and then at night use her bassinet. I wanted to put Maddy in her crib around 4 months because she would have better control over her muscles and could roll over if need be. I believe Maddy was around 2.5 months when she got ok with the swing again. Soon after she turned 4 months I tried putting her in her crib. It was a no go. I couldn't keep her asleep when I put her down and if I could then she was up within an hour or so and there was no getting her back to sleep after that. I was still sleep deprived so I just said forget it and put her back in her swing. This was the wrong thing to do lol. I periodically tried getting her into her crib and for the record yes I did master the art of getting her in her crib while she was asleep haha...but I could never get her to sleep all night while in her crib. Once she would wake up she just cried and cried so I always would end up putting her in her swing. I went through 3 swings because apparently if you use them for 12 hours at a time every night plus naps the motor just goes kaput lol. I decided after the last swing died on me that I would just have to get her in her crib. She was I believe 10 months when this happened. The first night it took over an hour to get her to fall asleep in my arms. The whole week that week took a good hour to get her to fall asleep so I could then lay her in her crib, but after that it got better. Now, Maddy goes to sleep on her own. I rock her and let her drink her bottle and then I spend some time with her, but once she starts trying to play or she looks like she is about to fall asleep, I then put her in her crib and say goodnight. There are some nights she stays up a good bit after I lay her down, but she'll just lay there and play with her crib toy or finish drinking her bottle and talk to herself and then she will drift off to sleep. I know every baby is different, but this was just my experience with the whole crib/swing thing. If I have another baby..and I am really hoping I do...I will not be so big on the swing. I have also decided that I will let him or her nap in her crib while I am awake and then use the bassinet at night until I feel comfortable letting them sleep all night in the crib.