"I wish I had thought of that!"

Re: "I wish I had thought of that!"

• Wifey1012

  January 2012

  MrsMincks:

  I asked a few of my mom-friends, as well as my own mom and MIL, what they wish someone had advised they do to prepare for the baby. Most of the advice was what I had already heard, but here is some that I hadn't thought of:

  -If you can afford it, hire a local student to come by for an hour or two each weekday so you can take a nap, shower, run errands, etc. Cheaper than having full-time help, and it can work around their class schedule. (This advice might work well for me because I live very close to a huge college and have lots of responsible friends who are still students - I'm sure $10-$20 bucks a day would be worth their time...if Ethan is sleeping, they could even get their homework done and get paid a little for it! I might look into it.)

  -Set up a "postpartum clothing drawer". Put all your clothes that fit from about 4-6 months, underwear, socks, etc. in one drawer that doesn't require you to bend to reach it.

  -Organize a snack station in your pantry - grab a basket and fill it with pre-measured baggies of things like dried fruit, cereal, trail mix, etc. so that you can just snag a snack easily. 

  -Have extra copies of your keys made and store them somewhere safe and easy to remember. Dole out at least one set to a friend or family member who lives nearby. Sleep deprivation + messy house = lost keys! 

  -Attach colorful post-its to appliances to remind you to turn them off. 

  Any other bits of advice, ladies?  

  I try to ration out snacks, especially healthy ones. If I buy fruits/veggies I cut them up right away so when I'm hungry it's just as easy to grab those instead of something unhealthy that is quicker.

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• MrsMincks

  January 2012

  Definitely a good plan. I've just started doing this, too - a ready-made baggie with a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese and some veggies is way quicker than trying to assemble a snack! 

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• SoxGirl0205

  January 2012

  MrsMincks:

  I asked a few of my mom-friends, as well as my own mom and MIL, what they wish someone had advised they do to prepare for the baby. Most of the advice was what I had already heard, but here is some that I hadn't thought of:

  -If you can afford it, hire a local student to come by for an hour or two each weekday so you can take a nap, shower, run errands, etc. Cheaper than having full-time help, and it can work around their class schedule. (This advice might work well for me because I live very close to a huge college and have lots of responsible friends who are still students - I'm sure $10-$20 bucks a day would be worth their time...if Ethan is sleeping, they could even get their homework done and get paid a little for it! I might look into it.)

  -Set up a "postpartum clothing drawer". Put all your clothes that fit from about 4-6 months, underwear, socks, etc. in one drawer that doesn't require you to bend to reach it.

  -Organize a snack station in your pantry - grab a basket and fill it with pre-measured baggies of things like dried fruit, cereal, trail mix, etc. so that you can just snag a snack easily. 

  -Have extra copies of your keys made and store them somewhere safe and easy to remember. Dole out at least one set to a friend or family member who lives nearby. Sleep deprivation + messy house = lost keys! 

  -Attach colorful post-its to appliances to remind you to turn them off. 

  Any other bits of advice, ladies?  

  Personally I would never leave my newborn with a student unless I knew them personally and was able to completely trust them and knew they were trained in Infant CPR. Things can happen in the blink of an eye and a young student may not know what to do if something goes wrong. I guess if you were going to be there like for a nap/shower and was readily available if needed but there is no way I would go run errands and leave them with the baby. Then again DS1 had a life threatening episode of apnea when he was 3 months old and quit breathing during a nap and I had to perform CPR in order to get him breathing again so I am a little hypersensitive about my child being alone with anyone who isnt properly trained.

  
  

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• MrsMincks

  January 2012

  SoxGirl0205:

  
  
   Personally I would never leave my newborn with a student unless I knew them personally and was able to completely trust them and knew they were trained in Infant CPR. Things can happen in the blink of an eye and a young student may not know what to do if something goes wrong. I guess if you were going to be there like for a nap/shower and was readily available if needed but there is no way I would go run errands and leave them with the baby. Then again DS1 had a life threatening episode of apnea when he was 3 months old and quit breathing during a nap and I had to perform CPR in order to get him breathing again so I am a little hypersensitive about my child being alone with anyone who isnt properly trained.
  

  Oh, I definitely agree with that. I just happen to know several people who are qualified and trained in infant CPR. Anyone hiring babysitters, require this!! I probably wouldn't leave the house if I did this - I'd just take a nap, most likely. I doubt I'd have energy for anything else!  

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