All About Babies
Resources for Babies
Sweet, Cuddly, Little Babes
I love babies and I was so excited to have my own. But to be honest, I had no idea what to do with him after he was born! There are so many choices to make: breastfeed or bottle feed, cloth or disposable diapers, demand feed or schedule feed, sleep with them in bed or let them sleep in the crib...etc. There are so many decisions to make! I used to think that there was only one right way to do all of them and I desperately wanted to find out which was the right decision in each area. Since then I have learned that there are some things that are best (not even all of them are totally necessary) but there are a lot of things that depend on the family and each personality of the parent. I'm obviously not talking about things that are black and white in the Bible, but rather the things that aren't clearly mentioned.
A Big Help To Us
One of these areas is demand feeding vs. a schedule. The first three weeks we had Lucas were so hard. He was fussy most of the time and only slept for 20 minutes at a time and was up so many times at night. I had to feed him if I wanted him to go to sleep. He was not a natural sleeper. By the end of that first three weeks my husband and I were desperate because what we were doing was not working. Our relationship was starting to suffer from it. He had heard of the book Babywise from someone and that night he checked it out from the library and he was implementing it the next day! It made some sense to us and we began to see huge improvements! Lucas started sleeping better and he was so happy when he was awake. And I actually started to feel like a normal human being again because I had some structure and routine to my day. If you are a routine and schedule person like I am then I highly recommend checking out their book. The Prep for Parenting is much better but more expensive. Babywise (the updated version) is still good though. I will warn you ahead of time though, you will have to let you baby cry sometimes. (Which is no fun for anyone! I still don't like it and I've had three!) But if you can do it, the results can be wonderful! It is not a perfect system and you still have to do a lot of work figuring things out (I'm so glad we have Jesus to help us know what to do!) but it has really brought a lot of rest and help to our home. People comment a lot at how calm and peaceful and happy our babies are when we are out and about. If you knew Lucas before we did it, you would know it didn't come naturally! Let me know if you have more questions about it, or you can look at this site "Growing Kids" for more information. I have learned that this way is not the only way (I've heard godly people on one side say that you can never let them cry and others say you can only do the Babywise method and I have seen both sets of children turn out fine.) This is what has worked for us though so I lean towards this method. If you don't like schedules or you don't have much structure in your day then this way might not be for you.
A Big Help To Us
One of these areas is demand feeding vs. a schedule. The first three weeks we had Lucas were so hard. He was fussy most of the time and only slept for 20 minutes at a time and was up so many times at night. I had to feed him if I wanted him to go to sleep. He was not a natural sleeper. By the end of that first three weeks my husband and I were desperate because what we were doing was not working. Our relationship was starting to suffer from it. He had heard of the book Babywise from someone and that night he checked it out from the library and he was implementing it the next day! It made some sense to us and we began to see huge improvements! Lucas started sleeping better and he was so happy when he was awake. And I actually started to feel like a normal human being again because I had some structure and routine to my day. If you are a routine and schedule person like I am then I highly recommend checking out their book. The Prep for Parenting is much better but more expensive. Babywise (the updated version) is still good though. I will warn you ahead of time though, you will have to let you baby cry sometimes. (Which is no fun for anyone! I still don't like it and I've had three!) But if you can do it, the results can be wonderful! It is not a perfect system and you still have to do a lot of work figuring things out (I'm so glad we have Jesus to help us know what to do!) but it has really brought a lot of rest and help to our home. People comment a lot at how calm and peaceful and happy our babies are when we are out and about. If you knew Lucas before we did it, you would know it didn't come naturally! Let me know if you have more questions about it, or you can look at this site "Growing Kids" for more information. I have learned that this way is not the only way (I've heard godly people on one side say that you can never let them cry and others say you can only do the Babywise method and I have seen both sets of children turn out fine.) This is what has worked for us though so I lean towards this method. If you don't like schedules or you don't have much structure in your day then this way might not be for you.
Routine/Feeding/Schedule Resources
Making Baby Food Resources
Ways to Save Money when you have a Baby
1. Breastfeed (as long as possible). I usually go until 18 months which saves on drinks and more substantial food. I really only give water besides breast milk which also saves money and is better for them anyways.
2. Use Cloth Diapers.
3. Use Cloth Wipes (make your own or buy them). If you use disposable you can rip them in half and they last longer.
4. Make your own Baby Food and don't buy the baby snacks, just use regular applesauce and crackers.
5. Make your nursery neutral and change different accent colors for future children.
6. Take your own baby photos or have a friend take them.
7. Make your own nursery decor. (curtains, pillows, crib skirt)
8. Use minimal baby bathing products. You don't need much to get the job done and it is better for them as well.
9. Store all of your clothes for future babies.
2. Use Cloth Diapers.
3. Use Cloth Wipes (make your own or buy them). If you use disposable you can rip them in half and they last longer.
4. Make your own Baby Food and don't buy the baby snacks, just use regular applesauce and crackers.
5. Make your nursery neutral and change different accent colors for future children.
6. Take your own baby photos or have a friend take them.
7. Make your own nursery decor. (curtains, pillows, crib skirt)
8. Use minimal baby bathing products. You don't need much to get the job done and it is better for them as well.
9. Store all of your clothes for future babies.
