Tips for New Parents

Not all of these will apply to everyone -- some are very narrow in their focus -- but hopefully there will be something of use to whomever stops by.  (I hope you'll say hello and maybe even pass on your own tips!)

If you own a frontloading, high efficiency washing machine, you can use Dreft. 
I was going a little nuts in April and early May last year -- probably my version of the nesting syndrome -- because I wanted to wash all the baby's clothing and organize it in her dresser before she came.  I was looking for laundry detergent that was gentle, without anything that might be harsh for the baby's skin.  I even contacted the company that makes Dreft and they claimed that you could not use it in a HE (high efficiency) washer.  Then I happened to mention this to my friend who also has a baby.  She told me to just use 1/4 of a cap of Dreft and it would work fine.  She was right.  I bought a giant bottle of Dreft last spring and, I kid you not, I am just using up the end of it.  There is a Dreft spray wash, too, which we used for the first nine months or so.  Target carries it.  We've now switched to Shout with no problems.

If you are bottlefeeding, buy enough bottles so that you can wash them in the dishwasher. 
Figure out how many bottles your child will use in a day and multiply by two or three (depending on how often you run your dishwasher).  It's really a pain trying to clean bottles sufficiently by hand.  Just rinse them after use and put them in the dishwasher.  You can get baskets to put in the dishwasher for the nipples, but you might still prefer to do those by hand.

If someone offers to do something to help you, accept their help with graciousness and gratitude.
Prior to having your first child, you're to being relatively self-sufficient and independent.  You keep up, more or less, with the necessities of laundry, shopping for groceries, paying the bills, etc.  Once the baby arrives, you've entered a strange new 24/7 world from which you will not exit for some time.  If some thoughtful friend or family member offers a casserole or offers to run a load of laundry, say, "Yes, please, that would be wonderful!" 

Rest whenever you can.
One of my favorite quotes from The Girlfriend's Guide to Surviving the First Year of Motherhood is something like: "Don't stand if you can sit, don't sit if you can lie down, don't lie down if you can sleep."  Amen!  And the whole "sleep when the baby sleeps" thing -- DO IT!  At least at first, when your little one, whether breast or bottle-fed, will need a lot of feedings per day.

Take a lot of pictures.
I was recently looking at some pictures I took in the first few months of my daughter's life last year and I truly do not remember taking them.  But I'm so grateful to have them.  She didn't stay tiny for long and because I took the time to grab the camera even in the midst of my tiredness, I have those photographic memories forever.

Trust your instincts.
There is a lot of advice out there from books, websites, friends, and family members.  When you're new the parenting world, there is a great temptation to trust everyone else but yourself.  But as time passes you will begin to know the unique little person that you have brought into your home and your heart.  Listen to the advice of those you trust, but make your own decisions.

Baby clothes
Clothes marked the same size from different brands are not necessarily the same size.  Some are sized by ranges of months (0-3, 3-6, 9-12, etc.).  Others are sized by the child's weight (7-12 pounds, etc.).  You probably won't need many 0-3 clothes.  Some of the very tiniest things we were given, my daughter didn't even get into.  Don't buy a lot of clothing ahead based on what size you think your child will be in six months, or nine months, or a year.  You might be surprised and then have a lot of clothes that he or she never gets to wear.  Carter's clothes tend to run large.  I swear by the durability of the fleece Carter's footed sleepers.  If you have close friends or relatives with baby clothes to "hand down" to your child, that's a great way to save money. 

Comments

[Melissa]

A great guideline. I would have probably printed this out had I read it before I gave birth :)

[Laura]

Thanks, Melissa. :-)