Baby Facts and Tips

I thought it might be fun to gather a little list of things I've learned in my time with Baby Girl.

1) FACT: at some point, someone will pee your pants. (when Baby Girl was a couple weeks old, she repeatedly peed out her diaper on to me during early evening nursing sessions. Now it's an occasional surprise)

2) TIP: when you buy something labeled as a crib sheet, before you wash it, check that it will fit your crib.

3)FACT: at some point, you will try to reason with your baby even though they are much to young to understand and cooperate.

4) TIP: if people offer to help, be clear about what kind of help you want or they'll just do what's in their nature. Not many people's default setting is "I'll change that diaper, you go take a nap"

5) FACT: your baby will do things that hurt you (biting, pinching, scratching, hair pulling) often and you will, at some point have a moment of anger about it. At the end of a long day you'll scoop them up, only to yelp in pain and scowl for a moment when they grab your lip and dig their nails in to your gums, or bite you with their sharp little baby teeth. Go ahead and chide them, that's ok to do. You may need to remind yourself that they don't know any better yet; they're a baby. You're scolding them is helping them learn.

6) TIP: guard against crazy things a baby could do, because they have a knack for the unexpected. (I was recently on a ladder, and Baby Girl crawled over and started fondly patting the bottom step, making it so I couldn't climb down without stepping on her. Now I don't climb a ladder without someone on baby duty)