A lot of things happened this past weekend: Mel Gibson got in trouble, wars raged on in the Middle East, Neatorama had a server meltdown (again) ... and baby Madeline arrived early! If you were wondering why there weren't any post on Neatorama for the past couple of days, you're looking at the answer: my lovely wife gave me the best present ever - a bawling, beautiful little poop machine baby girl. Mom and baby, understandably, were very tired from the experience and had to rest. Alex, who did nothing, was similarly exhausted ... Updates to Neatorama will most likely slow down for the next few days - so, now would be a good time to ask you what you like/dislike about the blog, how it can be improved, and what you'd like to see more/less in the blog. Being first time parents - Tiffany and I welcome any suggestion and advice on raising a girl. Funniest and best comment will win a Neatorama t-shirt. In the meantime, we'd like to thank everyone who called and visited, and all of you for visiting Neatorama regularly! |
I will give you the advice that some First Lady or another (Or was it a President's mother...? I don't remember.) gave to my mother when she was pregnant with me:
Never let her wear pants. If you do, she'll never wear skirts again!
I'm glad my mother didn't listen.
'Lil Miss Madeline Tiffany Neatorama.
May all of you experience continued good health and a very long life indeed, congrats from Santa Monica.
From my experience with a daughter who is now 16, always remember that kids bounce pretty well, so it's realy hard to hurt them.
Oh, and spicy nacho dip on a cracker IS a fine food for a toddler, despite what those namby pamby Moms want you to think.
Good luck.
Congratulazioni, as we use to say in Italy :)
As a father of 2 their is no greater feeling in the world as being a father. The first couple months are a little rough and then one day your little bundle of joy will give you the greatest toothless smile in the world. And that my friend is NEAT.
I did miss the updates, but completely understand.
The best advice I can give is to keep your sense of humor, you're going to need it. :)
;) Congratulations!
Congratulations! We all in Brazil happy with you!
Congratulations, happy dude! Or happy Dad!
anyways there are tons of parenting books out there, and my advice is: do not buy any of them. Go to toysrus and buy a tamogachi. I find this helpful parenting toy useful and learned all my tips in raising my children.
enjoy every day with her...for they grow so fast.
(my 'baby girl' leaves for college this month.)
congrats!
and congrats!
The advice my dad had for me when mine was born was
"Offer to change lots of diapers for the first couple months. They're not as bad smelling yet, and your wife will always think of you as being really helpfull. Then you won't have to change as many of the smelly ones later."
Big fan of neatorama
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You'll do fine.
Look forward to reading your posts in the future, but feel free to take a bit of time off right now, you'll need it.
Dan
i did what my grandparents did for my parents and what my parents did for me...
a little whiskey (jameson is always good) or other liquour (my son was fond of homemade blueberry brandy) rubbed on the gums does a far better job, just dip your finger in and rub it on the gums...it works better and lasts longer than the over the counter crap...ask your doctor and they will agree...
also, once they get older (2 and up) a thimble of blueberry brandy will settle a tummy ache...
i am not looking for arguments here, i am old world and just offering suggetion....
Congratulations by the way...beautiful child...
You've opened the door to a whole lot of happiness.
I read Neatorama every day and I'm glad to see Madeline.
Children give a meaning to your life, a goal to be better
every day.
Advice: Lift her over your head and smile into her eyes every day. You'll still be able to do it when she's 18.
Very best wishes.
Greaattt, I'm a big fa of you and your work
am sure she'll prove to be a great joy and or heart ache in the many years to come .... just be patient and remember as U try to teach her the few and many lessons of life ... remember tis best guide her with a firm hand and open mind...inspite of what yer own mind and feelings may tell U to the contrary
and when in doubt let her find out the hard way
1. Buy a shotgun. If you have no real use for guns, just purchase an inexpensive, double-barreled model. Oh, and cleaning cloths. That way when suitors come buy to introduce themselves, you'll have something to polish while conversing with the young man.
2. Teenagers should never have outside windows in their rooms. It's easier to just leave them out of the houseplans than it is to board them up later on when the kids start jumping out of them at midnight to get into mischief...and they will.
Congratulations to you both!
for teething there is actually a natural based product that looks like little pills but melt once in the mouth. I'll have to ask one of my mommy friends because I don't remember the name but they taste pretty good.
(Longtime Neatorama listener, first time caller.)
A friend of mine and I set up a dad blog called Baby Roadies where we talk about junk and stuff. You might be into it.
Again, nice work.
Zac
P.S. I am not a robot.
congrats, matey :)
Glad mom and the wee gaffer are ok.
Can't give any advice. My son is nearly eight and I still wonder if I'm a good parent.
All you can do is your best, eh? Your time is the most important gift you can give her.
Take care.
Niech siÄ™ brzdÄ…c chowa zdrowo :)
Your life is about to change forever and you can never really appreciate how much either. I thought I was ready for the birth of my son 6 years ago but boy did I have a lot to learn. In a year or so you will wonder what you used to do with your time!
If I can offer any advice I would echo the sentiments of lelheq(comment no62) and enjoy every minute as it soon passes.
Warm Milk bottle feed, and a car ride... Puts them to sleep most of the time ;)
Congrads!!
The best advice on babies? Sleep when they sleep! Otherwise, you'll get really tired!
-Planet of the apes.
I visit your site daily and you kept me well entertained during my monthsof house confinment and bedside. My daughter Virginia is 10 weeks oldnow and she is great!
Advice from a first time mother at age 44 is:
1. A gift for mommie--baby gets everything and mommie feels a little left out at times. I got one at my shower and it really made me feel special
2. no need for bottle sterilizer, as long as you do not have well water--bottles now can be dishwasher, or hot water and soap
3. Always spray by Clorox rocks! safe to use around the little one to clean items and surfaces
4. Ocean nasal spray--to clear the tiny notrils of stuff
5. no baby powder--they do not recommend it, due to potential respiratory issues it can cause
6. the Ads say you need to put ointment on their butts to prevent diaper rash, but my nursery nurses told me "NO", that as long as you keep the buttock area clean, dry, and changes diapers regularly--no need for the ointments
7. get invilved in making decisions about baby supplies/items--your wife makes so many choices--a little help is welcome, for they can be overwhelming--I wish my husband was more involved with decisions--BUT he does do diapers extremely well though.
8. wahs cloths, the 3 pack from Taregt are great burp/sip cloths at $1.59 and come in many colors
9. Once Upon a Child--if you have one near you is a great place to shop for used items--I got her crib there, and ofeten find new clothes--never worn--at great prices
10. The advent bottle system from UK works the best for my baby--we tried several. available at most stores(Target,CVS,Walmart). What I did was but one bottle of from several makers and tried them out. Gerber also did nicely.
11. sign-up for Pampers, Huggies, and your Baby's formula mailings--you will get samples and great coupons. If breastfeeding--still sign-up for formula, for you may need to supplement at some point. Enfamil has a great program for this.
12. keep a digital camera near the crib and one in the diaper bag--never know when a cute momment may happen
13. stock the frig/kitchen with your wife's favorite snacks/treats/simple meals. She's still eating for two!
14. stock supplies for 2 weeks at a time, to save trips to the stores
15. Purell a great hand cleanser tokeep atthe changing table
16. pick 1-20 pictures--get copies 10 of each, and then buy cheap pocket photo albums. So, when family and close friends visit--they get their own brag album. We did this while we were still in the hospital. My husband's hobby is digital photography--so he had pics done, downloaded on his laptop, and transfered to disc. He went to local drugstore's one hour photo processing and was back in time to start passing them out to our visitors. The family members were stunned by their own little albums, to be able to show/share with others so quickly.
17. You can put pictures up at flickr-and email the link to friends/family far away. Have a friend,who's first grandchild was born last week, but due to his job, he cannot travel tosee him for 3 weeks yet. He still is awaiting someone to email him a photo still--poor guy!
18. A piggyback with coins from 2006. My mother did that for all 4 of her children--clear glass. I have given banks as gifts for the same purpose. Does not have to be a pig though. Ebay has so many choices.
19. Pick bedtime clothing, that allows for ease of diaper change
20. Halo sleep sac--great item
21. www.aap.org/--American Academy of Pediatricians website
22. Great daddie blogs:babygadget.net
dadcentric.com,daddydrama.com,noodad.com/cms/,daddytypes.com,
federatedmedia.net/parenting,parenthacks.com.
We both fidn them useful.
23. All Free Clear laundry soap safe for baby clothing, and cheaper than Deft
24. Tiny Love baby toys/items are great and well made
25. I learned from others chewing your baby's fingernails, to keep them trim is easier then trying to use a baby fingeranil clipper, and I have tried several brands.
26. most of all, enjoy the time, for it passes fast--especially when you arfe sleep deprived!
Just get her some credit cards. The rest will all work itself out.
My advice is to just be in the "now" as much as possible. Babies bring your life to a screeching halt - temporarily - and if you expect too much of yourself or allow yourself to fret about other things you'd like to be getting done, it will really get you down. As much as I hate to say it, don't worry about your readers right now. You just had a BABY - if you have a spare 15 minutes and are trying to decide between a nap or posting here, in spite of myself I would suggest you take the nap. My children are 6 and 2. I loved having babies in the house, but it definitely was a different way of life all around. The months are short but the days are long...but it's so worth it.
This is an awesome time for you - enjoy it!
I just love the site. I say don't change a thing! Thanks for all the wonderful posts.
The only two things I can think of: 1) make sure she is always wearing enough clothes so she doesn't get cold 2) cover her up when you are in the sun.
Best wishes for your new addition :D
and remember, more toys and early schooling does not make the child smarter, they will learn just fine either way :)
Advice: all children come standard with at least one poo-splosion. This event is when you smell something amiss, and realize the bundle of joy you're holding has somehow managed to poo not only in her diaper, but ALL THE WAY up her back as well. Poo removal from hair is frequently involved in the typical poo-splosion--both the baby's hair and (somehow) your own hair. I'm just sayin'.
Prepare for it, and you may even be able to chuckle about it rather than collapsing, sobbing, to the floor.
Be strong! It's very worth it!
van harte gefeliciteerd....
hyland's teething tablets. You can find them at the grocery store in the baby aisle, or at Walmart in the Vitamin aisle, next to the prenatal vitamins. About $3-5 depending on where you go.
www.hylands.com
(she's so tiny)
Cheers,
Nora