Our neighbour Angie said that their first time parent mistake was not bringing an extra set of clothes for their baby girl with them when they went out to eat. They had to go home way ahead of schedule when the littlest member of the group had an explosion that the diaper wasn't able to contain.

I was taking a quick shower this morning when I noticed that Evan was awfuly quiet. By the time I got out of the bathroom this was how he greeted me. I left him in the middle of his gym on his back before I went in. My baby is getting more mobile everyday. Scooting backwards a little is his newest skill. Evan at 6 months and 3 weeks. New pictures of Evan in his album.

A recent past entry related my costliest rookie mommy mistake, listed below are others. If I could turn back time this is how I would have liked to do things again, in no order:

1. not letting the baby nap some more - doctor said that the baby in the early weeks should be fed every 2-3 hours, but if I could do it again even if he naps past his scheduled feeding I'd to let him sleep through it as long as he doesn't do it regularly. Both the mother and baby need the "extra" sleep. According to a study babies need 16 hours of sleep per day. Being a stickler for schedule, in the first 3 months I had roused Evan just when he had nodded off for his next feeding. I could have used more of that much needed rest myself too.
2. too stubborn and cautious in accepting that the baby's crying is more often than not is because of hunger - even if he just ate an hour go. At least this was the case for Evan. It seems 90% of the time his crying is stopped with a bottle or nursing, never mind if the book said to wait at least 2 hours before the next feeding.
3. breastfed forever for a lot of sessions in the first months - when the better way was to breastfeed for only 20 minutes and resting for 45 for the next feeding, using the pacifier if the baby wants to suck some more before that. If I had known about this and not took the doctor's instructions "to feed the baby as long as he want" literally, I might've been more successful in fully breastfeeding Evan and gotten more rest myself.
4. in connection to the above, being too slow in calling La Leche League - a pediatrician may not exactly be as knowledgeable as breastfeeding as the volunteers are of this group. Or could be their philosophies are not the same. I wish I did so sooner, the lady I talked to was very helpful and not judgmental or too gung-ho as I had feared.
5. rushing into normalcy, not ready for a long babymoon - especially if I had wanted to breastfeed , I should've stayed in bed as long as necessary, gathered all books within reach, had the tv and movie in front of me, if possible had my husband bring food and baby to me. I wish I had read about this tip before the birth, if I had done this I might have recovered faster, got strong enough to fight the infection 2 weeks after childbirth.
6. abusing my wrists especially when I opted for an epidural - yes I blame the epidural for my tendonitis. The epidural got my hands so swollen that it was practically numb. I must've twisted my hands badly getting in and out of that hospital bed because I didn't feel anything.
7. not investing in good nursing tops and getting them before due date - in breastfeeding we need all our fingers to hold our baby's head, turn his whole body towards us, position our breast and correct his latch-on that we won't have a spare finger to adjust our shirt when it's in the way.
8. using too many different kinds of feeding bottles - Evan might have nipple confusion because of this. If I had known, I would have stuck with the Playtex disposable nurser system and saved a lot of money. For the disposable bottle liners the Target brand is as good as Playtex, for half the price.
9. dissing cloth breastpads - as I have done in my past entry. The disposable bra pads can hinder the healing of cracked nipples because they chemicals in it which cloth pads don't.
10. not having an emergency babysitter contact number ready - we should've had that info before d-day, especially since we had no relatives living nearby. We were lucky that we had kindly neighbours to take care of Evan when I had to be taken to ER 2 weeks after I gave birth.
11. not paying attention when mixing formula - with a mommy brain, it's amazing how many prepared formula I had to dump because I lost count how many scoops I mixed with the water. I still sometimes do this now.
12. not reading the label even if the produce looked fresh - my latest mommy mistake, I was aghast when I read the fresh peas I bought for Evan had some other ingredients in it aside from water (some sodium and food color).
13. not watching out for the doorframe - especially when holding the baby in a cradle carry. It took some getting used to having a baby's head jutting out several inches out on one side of the body.
14. not watching it, period - my most dangerous mistake was when Evan was just a few weeks old, this sleep deprived mommy had him in his carseat and was about to carry him downstairs. To my horror I saw him almost fall out, I realized I was careless in lugging the heavy seat. I shudder to think what could have happened if I didn't put his seatbelt on.

Tom's rookie daddy mistake? Putting Evan down the sand on the beach without a blanket. Came home with sand all over him, including near the cavities in his ear and eyes. When I told my daycare provider about this her first question was, "is Evan his first child?" So it obviously is a first-timer mistake.

Baby-One-Tooth No More

Found out yesterday that we could no longer tease Evan as Baby One Tooth. He had his neighbouring lower tooth out. His disposition has been pleasant the past week that we didn't think he was teething. Must be because he is enjoying sitting up so much that he didn't notice any pain, if there was any. With this latest development he is hereby renamed as Baby Two Teeth.

Currently listening to: Goo Goo Dolls' Stay With You
Currently reading: Real Simple Magazine (January Issue)
Currently watching: Scoop (Scarlett Johannson, Woody Allen)