Babies!!
If I’m perfectly honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of babies! Except mine, of course. Since I had literally no experience with them before I had one, and mostly thought that they were smelly, loud, and fragile, I really hoped that when I had one, I would magically fall in love with it. Luckily, that’s what happened, but despite taking new-parent-education classes, reading some books, doing my best, and listening to my partner, I still had no idea what I was doing in most situations. I don’t have any “parenting advice” here, but I do have some tips that I picked up along the way that helped me manage the baby days more peacefully.
GENERAL
As soon as you figure out how to make things run smoothly with your baby, they enter a new phase and require something to be different. Embrace the struggle.
Bluetooth headphones are your friend. You’ll be spending a lot of time sitting with a baby, trying not to move too much. Music, audiobooks and podcasts have gotten me through such times.
Use the snot sucker, and yes, the kid will freak out, but it’s worth it most of the time.
Your baby’s screaming is louder to you and your partner than it is to other people, so try to relax about it (unless you’re at a concert or lecture, in which case it’s loud for everyone, so just leave the room thank you very much).
One piece of advice that I got before we had kids that has come in handy is “breathe through your mouth.” It’s useful sometimes. You’ll know when.
When your baby won’t fall asleep and you’re REALLY wanting them to, and you just don’t know why they haven’t fallen asleep yet, take some deep breaths and try to chill. Babies pick up on our vibes, and when we’re stressed, they cry.
CLOTHES
Learn how to swaddle very well (ideally, get a swaddler with sturdy velcos, or a zipper).
Have a bin or something for clothes that they have grown out of (it happens so fast), and unless you’re planning on having more kids soon, get rid of them ASAP, before they somehow find their way back into rotation.
Don’t bother with folding baby clothes.
Avoid baby clothes that have a ton of buttons.
MILK
There are upsides and downsides to bottles of breastmilk and formula, but whatever you’re doing, if you’re not personally breastfeeding your baby, you need to be an expert on bottle feeding your baby.
If your baby doesn’t need milk bottles to be warmed up, that’s great. Enjoy. This blissful period can abruptly end when they have warm milk and suddenly become snobs.
Bottle warmers aren’t necessary if you have an electric tea kettle or something like that. You can pour the hot water in a pint glass and set a glass milk bottle in for a bit. Shake it around and you’re good to go.
If you’re out and about and your baby only takes warm bottles of milk, carry along a thermos of hot water (for breastmilk) or warm water (for formula) to warm up the milk.
If you’re out of the house for a full day with the baby, and said baby is exclusively imbibing breastmilk, bring a little cooler or insulated pouch along for the milk that needs to stay cold for later in the day.
When your baby’s old enough (≈2 months?) they can drink a bottle in a baby carrier (facing in) which is a pretty easy way to get them to sleep, and when they’re a bit older and are out-facing, they can take a bottle that way too. For that matter, they can take a bottle in a backpack if you hold it with your hand behind your head ;)
Formula is awesome because you just mix it with warm water and you instantly have a warm bottle of milk. Also, unmixed formula is very easy to take with you on the go, as it’s not on a timer like breastmilk is when it’s off refrigeration.
STROLLERS
Strollers are good for naps for babies of all ages, long days out when the kids are older than 18 months, and shopping trips when you can walk or take stroller-accessible public transit to the store (strollers can carry things and you can hang bags from them)
Up until and just after the kid learns how to walk, strollers are often inferior to carriers and backpacks (for strapping, semi-recently-young lads). Our 1st kid loved carriers, and when she was 13 months old, we accompanied my partner on a month long work trip to London. We brought along the stroller in the picture below, and literally only used it for that one walk in the entire month, which is all to say that sometimes, less is more, so maybe don’t pull out all the stops to bring a stroller somewhere.
CARRIERS
Different carriers for different times. For all three of our kids, what worked was a wrap (Moby for the first 3 or so months), then Ergo (facing in, and then out, until they were too much for our backs), and then a hiking backpack (our 3rd kid isn’t so into the backpack though).
Having a baby in a carrier facing out while you’re cooking can really buy you some time, and they often find it interesting because you’re doing stuff with your hands that they can watch and they can also smell/see the ingredients.
Electric baby swings are incredibly useful, and then they are suddenly just giant, useless objects that take up too much space. If you have space for one, try to get one used, and then sell it or give it away when it’s no longer useful.
Do you have any practical tips for babies? Let me know below!