11 August 2016

Learning from Baby Number One


When you have your first child it’s like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. It’s a major learning curve no matter what age you are and for most of us you’re basically winging it and hoping for the best, I’m still doing it now! I’ve often heard people say that child number one is a practice run, ha ha, but now that I’ve had a second child there’s a few things I’ve learnt from the first and I’d love to share a few of these wisdom's with you lot. It’s nothing hard and fast and of course I’m still learning, every day’s a school day, hopefully some of these ring true with other parents though.

Milestones
Don’t stress about the milestones. When my son was born I was fixated on him reaching every milestone along with his peers but really I shouldn’t have bothered. In the end he was diagnosed with Autism and so didn’t reach some of his milestones like other kids however putting all that pressure on myself as a parent wasn’t healthy and kids will eventually reach their milestones when they are ready. Logan is hitting plenty of milestones and has even completed some ahead of other kids in his peer group. Now I’m just happy as long as he’s happy and there’s no pressure for anyone, as long as he’s trying his best that’s all I can ask even from myself.

Eating a pear all by herself!

When Harlow came along I didn’t really bother about milestones after my experience with Logan. Of course I made sure she was developing and doing the usually baby stuff but it’s never been a worry and I know she’ll get there when she’s ready. She’s currently picking up the odd few words and trying to chat to us which is very cute.

Stuff
Hands up who actually bought the whole of Mothercare before their first baby even arrived? I know I tried to and to be honest a baby doesn’t really need that much stuff at all. As long as they’re fed, clean, clothed and have somewhere to sleep all is good. I remember having a panic before Logan was born thinking I hardly had anything but in the end he didn’t use much of his things until he was a good few months old. With Harlow I didn’t rush out to buy a cot and only got her nursery ready not long before she arrived. I hardly bought any clothes at all and only the basics of a few vests and sleepsuits and she was quite happy. People are also very generous when a new baby is born so you always get tons of stuff so best saving your pennies for the essentials.

Harlow's hand me down toys from Logan.

Other People’s Kids
I seem to be a lot more tolerant of other people’s kids now after having a couple myself and whereas I may have been a bit over protective of Logan when he was little I’m now a lot more relaxed with Harlow. She’s got much more freedom than Logan ever did, poor soul, and my parenting skills have chilled when it comes to certain aspects. I think it’s a natural progression and you kind of have to or you just end up stressing yourself out over nothing.

Playing with awesome friends.

Feeding
My son definitely won’t be getting a McDonald’s, or chocolate, or sweeties, only healthy wholesome food for him. Bahahahaha, what was I thinking! I managed to stave off the junk food for as long as possible with Logan however I wasn’t going to deny him, life’s too short. With Harlow however she could see everything that Logan was getting so as soon as she could start eating she was all over chocolate and McDonald’s chips like a rash. Of course the kids get healthy meals most nights of the week from things like tasty cooked chicken and veg, mince and tatties, lasagne and garlic bread etc but come on! As long as your kids have a balanced diet who cares if they eat the odd McDonald’s or stuff their face with a whole bag of sweets every now and again. Life’s all about balance and remember how I talked about winging it!?

Quavers - no f***s given!

I'd love to hear what you've learned from baby number two so please feel free to share in the comments.

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4 comments on "Learning from Baby Number One"

Unknown on 12 August 2016 at 13:32 said...

Oh man, so. much. stuff. Like, seriously. Lots of them were gifts from the doting grandparents (he was the first grandchild on Daddy's side!), but we've purchased our fair share of baby stuff. And he doesn't even like half of it! I mean, he's spent the last week playing with our printer box lol!!

The Breastest News on 4 September 2016 at 19:54 said...

Ahahahaha Savannah, a printer box. Babies and toddlers love the simple things don't they. It's us parents (and grandparents) that need to cut back on the spending and purchasing :)

Alana - Burnished Chaos on 9 September 2016 at 14:15 said...

This is so true. I'm so much more laid back with my second and she definitely got to eat junk food way sooner than her brother ever did.
#Brillblogposts

Dave - Dad's Turn on 12 September 2016 at 12:02 said...

Still on the first one at the moment but I'm already starting to relax some of the rules we decide before he arrived (TV is creeping in). It's so much more than you think before they arrive, and they tend to develop well whatever you do! :)
#Brillblogposts

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