Tips For New Parents To Be ? ......... Post Your Experiences

J

JAM007

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Mar 17, 2011
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633
Hi There All

Im soon to be a Father and being our 1st child its truly an exciting time esp when you see you small 1 in the scans.
What tips / advice you guys can give from your experiences about new borns and what will we need (essentials) immediately.

Thanks a mill.
 
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Crowley

Crowley

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Jun 9, 2006
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1. Sleep when the child sleeps. You are going to miss a full nights sleep.
2. Wet wipes. Lots and lots of wet wipes.
3. Buy lots of disposable nappies in different sizes. Also lots of nappy bags to throw them away in since they can stink you out of the room.
4. Get a camera with a big memory card and take lots of photos (also does a good job of blackmailing them when they are teenagers).
 
blunomore

blunomore

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Apart from what the other posters said:

You will be tired ALL of the time. I mean ALL of the time.

Despite your lofty ideals of how to raise them, when they reach the approximate age of 2, you will start resorting to blackmailing them in order to do things they do not want to :)
 
F

Fuma

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Also take care of your wife. She'll need your support. But make sure you work together.
 
G

GreyBush

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Ours is 5 months.

Tickle their necks if you want them to laugh.
Keep a wet wipe over the willy area when changing, something about the cold air makes them wee... more than a few times I've stood there with a pool full of wee in my hands.
When changing pooh nappies don't leave him on the change mat without a nappy, there are often second winds.
We bought a diaper champ nappy disposal bin, it doesn't stink and it can take any packets.
Buy a microwave steamer, we have an avent one which takes 6 bottles.
When you've made bottles, fill up the kettle and boil it again... this way you have cool, boiled water when you want to make bottles again... not sure what other people do, box says you must boil water in a pot but nobody has time for that.
Push the tummy time... it helps a lot, if your lightie doesn't dig it then lay him on your chest. while you lie down.
Work out rules on who wakes up, can be some pretty heated arguments at like 2 in the morning, our rule is if it's before 3 I'll take it, if it's after my wife takes it.
 
Lupus

Lupus

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Don't be afraid to buy other nappies, you don't have to stick to pampers, cuddles, huggies. You are going to use a lot of them, and a lot of people will swear blue murder that this brand is gods gift to your baby's bum. But at the end of the day get the best for your wallet and the baby's bum.
Get an Angelcare dustbin or something like it, it can hold a lot of dirty nappies, you can tie it up at the end and chuck it, it has a seal that keeps the stink in it. Nappy bags don't always work so well and end up clogging your dustbin. Get a microwave steriliser for the bottles now, it will save a lot of time.
Speaking of bottles, don't always go for avent, nuk etc bottles, a good bpa free one will do. You will end up going through bottles too and having to fork out a lot for them starts to hurt. Cold water is great for washing the milk out of bottles for a pre-rinse.
Wet wipes, if your baby's bum is sensitive to wet wipes, you can use cotton wool dipped in cooled rooibos tea, or try find a more gentle wet wipe, some of them are harsh.
Clothes also don't go for pricey brands, go for what's practical, babies outgrow clothes quickly, you won't understand how quickly until you see.
Take everyone's advice, listen to them, you don't have to follow them, but at least you've listened and can make up your own mind, a lot of people have a lot of advice, but a lot of the time it won't work for you. It's best to take little bits from everyone and make your own. Every child is different so is every parent :)
 
C

Cool E

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JAM007 said:
Hi There All

Im soon to be a Father and being our 1st child its truly an exciting time esp when you see you small 1 in the scans.
What tips / advice you guys can give from your experiences about new borns and what will we need (essentials) immediately.

Thanks a mill.
Click to expand...

get a nanny to assist you.
 
blunomore

blunomore

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Lupus said:
Don't be afraid to buy other nappies, you don't have to stick to pampers, cuddles, huggies. You are going to use a lot of them, and a lot of people will swear blue murder that this brand is gods gift to your baby's bum. But at the end of the day get the best for your wallet and the baby's bum.
Get an Angelcare dustbin or something like it, it can hold a lot of dirty nappies, you can tie it up at the end and chuck it, it has a seal that keeps the stink in it. Nappy bags don't always work so well and end up clogging your dustbin. Get a microwave steriliser for the bottles now, it will save a lot of time.
Speaking of bottles, don't always go for avent, nuk etc bottles, a good bpa free one will do. You will end up going through bottles too and having to fork out a lot for them starts to hurt. Cold water is great for washing the milk out of bottles for a pre-rinse.
Wet wipes, if your baby's bum is sensitive to wet wipes, you can use cotton wool dipped in cooled rooibos tea, or try find a more gentle wet wipe, some of them are harsh.
Clothes also don't go for pricey brands, go for what's practical, babies outgrow clothes quickly, you won't understand how quickly until you see.
Take everyone's advice, listen to them, you don't have to follow them, but at least you've listened and can make up your own mind, a lot of people have a lot of advice, but a lot of the time it won't work for you. It's best to take little bits from everyone and make your own. Every child is different so is every parent :)
Click to expand...

I have seen some mothers hysterically insisting that it must be this brand of nappies or that brand of bottles. I have never understood why. Maybe I just had a very easy, non-fussy baby.
 
Lupus

Lupus

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blunomore said:
I have seen some mothers hysterically insisting that it must be this brand of nappies or that brand of bottles. I have never understood why. Maybe I just had a very easy, non-fussy baby.
Click to expand...

Yup saw the same thing, so I told my wife, we will be test out the brands and see which one works for us, and if we swap and change eh.
 
M

Ms_S

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Sep 5, 2012
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413
GreyBush said:
Strengthen's their back and helps with crawling and sitting etc.
Click to expand...

Didn't realize tummy time was important. Just put my son on he's tummy now and he doesn't seem to like it very much! Will keep on trying tho :)
 
Crowley

Crowley

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Jun 9, 2006
Messages
7,716
Our chemist mixes a champion bum cream. Soothes the rash and takes it away in a few hours.
Try to get unscented everything. Your baby will already smell like baby powder so lilly of the valley wet wipes can only end up irritating him/her.
 
RiaX

RiaX

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Jul 2, 2012
Messages
7,217
Breast Feed, vacinate and dont leave baby unattended, talk to baby and stimulate baby's intellect (the use of senses are important as the brain is still in development) by like reading to baby and allowing the baby to explore. Do not keep the baby over clean like an OCD parent germs and dirt help build the immune system. A study shows that children with pets are a stronger immune system however be sensible about it. If the pet has parasites sort it out. (an article source: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...0120808_1_dog-ownership-ear-infections-babies . however there are numerous studies on this). Falling and putting everything in their mouths are a babies way of sensing the world and understanding and learning, if its not hazardous do not stop this process.

Do not give any medication to a baby without consulting a medical practioner/pharmacist because medicines have bad effects later in a child and they require special medications. DO NOT MISE ON this, it will cost you more later fixing the damage when you try to be a smartass even if you think its a simple thing, you dont want to stop the development of your child's bowels by giving the baby lomitil/immodium for example. If its given by a specialist paed (and no one else should have a say on this not GP not pharmacist) then only, this effect is irreversable so always consult i cannot stress this point enough.

finally dont drop the baby on the head. There you should be fine
when they todlers: let them play and get exercise, CONTROL their diet so you dont get this:

http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/3337/fatkidk.jpg

dont rush to ritalin if the child has more energy than you can handle being a parent is hard work so work. (see klaping point below)

finally remember, children arent born with knowledge they learn from trial and error in early stages and the example you set.

Good action = reward
bad action = punishment. A proper klap, not the "ima ground you bull" because eventually the kid will challlenge for authourity and this wont work. You will end up with a kid thats suffering from pseudomental illness or being emo or whatever because you were too afraid to parent properly. Nobody likes to smack kids (well normal people) but its necessary - obviously do not publicily humiliate a child but a private klout will go further than any words possible. Human beings arent born they are taught by parents, its a simple trait of mammals. As much as we like to think we arent animals the hard truth is we are and follow natures laws.

There you cant go wrong now.

EDIT:

Keep diet as natural as possible. Learn to make your own baby food from scratch if possible. The quality of food you provide the child is very important to how the GIT will develop and function and also ensure decent development all around. Nobody likes a GIT in bad shape, ask anyone with IBS

All of this starts IN the WOMB. If mummy has poor diet then baby's health will be poor. You can have the best genetics in the world but if mummy didnt provide the building blocks you cant build jack. DNA is a blueprint - you still need materials
 
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