Everything a Mom and Mom-to-be should know!
For entertainment purposes only
1. The Future is Now
How you choose to live your life will impact your children's. Your life is their future and not yours alone.
2. Your life will change forever
You can expect that nothing will be the same, your life will no longer be your own. You will be surprised
>that you won't even care about that.
3. Your decisions effect people
Some decisions are easy to make, some aren’t. Try to research what information you can to make the
best decision and hope it’s the correct choice. Know you are not perfect in every decision you make!
4. Start a play date
Find moms in your community or from your prenatal classes that you can get together with. You will feel a lot better when you find out you’re not the only one going through these things alone.
5. Learn what the crying means
It can take quite some time to figure out what all the crying really means, especially when they don’t have the words to tell you what they mean. Have faith, you will figure it out!
6. You’ll get through a colicky baby!
It is frustrating and definitely tests your patience, but you can do it! Ask for help, your true friends will come and share your headache.
7. Start a sleep routine
It can never be too early to start your children on a sleep routine. Consistent bedtime routines will become easier. Those that are not sleep deprived will thrive.
8. Diaper pails are worth every penny
No one wants to smell what was eaten a few hours ago, let alone letting it sit for days before the garbage bag is taken out.
9. Breastfeeding is ok
It’s natural. If you’re breastfeeding you can do so where you want to. It’s nice if you are considerate to those that get awkward when they see you nursing, but it should not discourage you from feeding your infant.
10. Formula won’t kill them
If you choose to formula feed, don’t worry you won’t turn your baby into a giant mongrel. They will be as smart as everyone else.
11. Pacify them
Suckling is naturally soothing to babies. While you think you do not want to go down the pacifying road, know that eventually you’ll give in.
12. Keep a close eye on politics
Stand you for you and your children! Politicians write the future of the nation and your children have to live that future.
13. Recycle when you can
All though it can be fun to watch the kids rip off wrapping paper, or easy to toss that juice box in the garbage. Lead by example, remember the future is not yours alone but theirs; have them take care of it.
14. Save early and often
It is never too early to save for your children’s future, but it can be too late.
15. Enjoy the present
When you feel “too tired” to play with or read to your children, remember that in 10 years you won’t have so many prime opportunities to enrich their lives.
16. Stay at home if you can
At some point you will realize staying home with the kids was the best decision you ever made.
17. Praise over punishment
It’s more important to praise than to punish. Praise your child for every little thing they do right; from not pulling down all the books from the bookshelf to keeping their food on their plate. Good habits and behaviours start early! It’s all in the wording.
18. Be a kid again
Don’t be afraid to get down and dirty when playing with your child. Don’t worry when that paint brush hits the floor, maybe it’s more fun to paint with your fingers anyway!
19. Let kids make mistakes
While it’s important to make sure your children are safe, being over protective has its downfalls. Set up specific boundaries to protect what is important in life: morals, sanity and respect. Allow them to learn, with guidelines.
20. Keep yourself happy
Try to remember, you need to take care of you in order to take care of others. You cannot please everyone all the time. Everyone has different ideas about good parenting; the best you can do is what’s best for your family.
21. Explain things to your children
The tough questions are the most important to answer (with honesty), even if you answer with an age appropriate response. If they don’t get the answers from you, their curiosity might lead them to other, perhaps less healthy, sources.
22. Your probably not the best referee
No matter how calmly you try to referee, you will break up fight after fight after fight.
23. Bad marriages are worse than divorce
Your child is a sponge and looking to you and your spouse for what a relationship looks like. Don’t provide a horrible example; it may lead to low self value in your child!
24. Kids are always watching
Always act like your kids are watching, because they are.
25. Include your kids
It’s easy to get caught up in work, travel or the stress of life. Remember to make them feel special and include your kids in some household decisions like (narrow down the options to ones you are ok with the answer), cat or dog, Disneyland or Disneyworld?
26. Remember their childhood
Someday, your kids will ask about what they were like when they were little. Write a journal or love notes to them now so you have them for the future.
27. Teach your genealogy
Learn about your family history. Not only does it help them gain a sense of family and history. Include your kids this could be a fun summer holiday activity.
28. Give them role models
Try to find living role models and Hanna Montana shouldn’t count!
29. Health and Wellness
Make sure you always have your health. Being healthy is a decision that you make every single day. Help your children learn just how important their health is.
30. Headaches
If your children are giving you a headache, follow the directions on the medicine bottle, especially the part that says, “keep away from children”.
31. You’ll get through a colicky baby!
It is frustrating and definitely tests your patience, but you can do it! Ask for help, your true friends will come and share your headache.
32. Laughter is the best medicine
Take some time to laugh! You will feel better.
33. Be functionally fashionable
Your ‘comfy’ pants are your best friend but try to get showered, brush your hair and get dressed. Put on your jeans and a little make up. Remember how you got pregnant in the first place.
34. Kick the colds
Tired of sharing your cold from family member to family member? Keep up your vitamin c, take your echinacea.
35. Practice good dental care
Try your best to encourage brushing your children’s teeth twice a day. Cavities can start very young. Remember, good habits and behaviours start early!
36. Let them eat fruit
You can’t really do much for the picky eater. Offer fruit as their desert a nice ‘sweet’ treat.
37. Get Healthy snacks
Watch sugar contents in some fruit snacks, but try to avoid cookies, cakes and other tasty treats that are hard to get children off of.
38. Kids eat free
Just because you’re a family and may be on a budget, doesn’t mean mom can’t get a night off for making dinner!
39. Save money on your groceries
Go to grocery stores that offer 10% off on the first Tuesday of every month – you’ll save huge on your grocery bill.
40. Figure out your budget
Figure out your budget so you don’t over spend and create unnecessary financial stress.
41. Keep your body nourished
Good and nutritious fuel for the body will cure and prevent just about anything so long as you don’t mix foods improperly.
42. Diet impacts concentration
A proper diet can improve your children’s behaviour and grades.
43. Get a good Doctor
This can be easier said than done in these days, but be picky, you’re important. Once you find the doctor of your dreams stick with them!
44. Protect yourself from toxins
Everything that touches your skin gets into your bloodstream. Try to find organic fruits and vegetables if your budget will allow it.
45. Toddlers are not the enemy
They are 2' tall and can be very scary with all the screaming, hitting and what they think is foul language. Try to be patient and work through their tantrums and encourage positive re-inforcement.
46. Find a preschool
It’s important to start prepping them for some independent time and enjoy school. Take the time to be alone if you can, you may have forgotten how nice it is to just read a book by yourself!
47. Potty training
It just takes some patience, you need to commit your time. Don't try to early or you'll be trying forever and will get more frustrated than necessary.
48. Save Time
You don’t have to go all out and make a soufflé for the school events. Fake baking not only saves time it guarantees it tastes good!
49. Little things make big impressions
You don’t have to work hard to impress a bunch of kids, or their moms. Really, you don’t; so long as you can be creative.
50. Enjoy quiet time
Keeping the little ones quiet for just a little while can be achieved.
51. Give fond memories
Some memories do more for their future than others. If you have your kids in the right environment, everything else will flow naturally from it.
52. Break your usual routine
Cut down your most time consuming activity away from your kids to a few hours, if not zero, for a few days. The difference will astound you. They will understand the balance of work and family.
53. Try new things
Diversify your input stream for both you and your kids. It cannot hurt to broaden your horizons.
54. Balance your time
If you are a stay at home mom, make sure you are spending time with your children and not doing chores all day; they should be your number one chore. If you’re a working mommy, evenings and weekends are your personal time, try to avoid the cell phone and work related emails!
55. Hire a babysitter
It might be hard, but it’s worth it. Once you’ve gone out once or twice with your significant other you’ll remember what it was like before kids and be able to balance your new life with them in it.
56. Feel some joy
Don’t be afraid to enjoy childhood with your kids and feel the same joy they do at every new thing.
57. Get your kids working
Create a chores chart so they understand mom is not their maid and they need to help out to.
58. Do not overwork your children
Your kids are not your employees, they need balance to.
59. Take lots of pictures
Cherish the little moments and get them in print! It’s not the same looking at them on the computer.
60. Take lots of videos
Videos are just as important, you’ll remember what they said and when they said it, but now you can hear that funny statement or hear that holiday song being sung.
61. Keep your children organized
Work smarter, not harder!
62. Enjoy some holidays at home
Holiday celebrations don’t have to be stressful. It’s not illegal to just stay home; try it sometime!
63. Encourage creativity
It never fails. You spend $100 on toys and they will play with the box. This kind of creativity is a good thing! Encourage it with special room just for them.
64. Be ready for a lot of creativity
You never know what you might get when you give your children some freedom to play. Be supportive, so long as no one is getting hurt.
65. Let them play like you
Kids like to play with things their parents use; (the whisk, the pots and pans) it makes sense to build games out of items around the house.
66. Don’t stress
Stress can be a killer. Take time to reduce your stress and understand the things that stress you out.
67. Putting everything in their mouth
Get used to it! Hopefully they don’t swallow anything that will cause harm to the airways, or the ‘out’ passages.
68. Keep your sanity
Work on improving your patience. Your kids are bound to continually test you!
69. Be ready for a change
Let go of your ideals and listen for signals your children are sending.
70. Get reliable transportation
This doesn’t mean you need to get a mini-van although when you get one you’ll see why so many moms have one!
71. Keep communication open
For all the love that you have for your children or your spouse, don’t forget to tell them.
72. Teach your children to tie their shoes
Are you prepared to tie their shoes forever or continue buying velcro? It’s not hard and you’ll enjoy teaching them.
73. Reduce clutter
Can’t find the papers you were sure was right there on that table? It’s probably time to reduce, reuse and recycle.
74. Keep them entertained
It isn’t hard to find ways to help children focus their energy. Little projects are good and will keep their attention without being too challenging.
75. Allow them alone time
It is important your children learn to entertain themselves as well. A little imaginary play is good for them! It frees up time for you to get those chores done that are nagging at the back of your brain.
76. Plan together
Try not to double book you and your children, it makes it hard and uncomfortable for everyone.
77. Have a games night
A weekly games night might be a good way to bond. Although some might call it old fashioned, and tweens and teens may not want to participate it will help build relationships and wonderful memories. They will thank you later.
78. Say Please and Thank You
Remember you’re a role model for your children, encourage manors and make sure to say please and thank you to your children; they deserve it.
79. Take time for thanks
Stop for a slight moment and allow you to be appreciated by others. It won’t last long, but enjoy it while you can.
80. Travel with your children
You don’t have to give up travel just because you have children. It’s easier than you think these days and there are many kid friendly resorts.
81. Travel safely
Make sure you know where you are going and what can harm you and if you need any immunizations. A sunny destination is not worth your misery!
82. Plan for change
Kids do not know their limits or abilities. The phrase, ‘it sounded like a good idea at the time’ is famous last words in parenting. Always expect a change in plans.
83. Understand plans backfire
You may think it’s a genius way to get your kids to do something, but the best laid plan of mice and men often don’t pan out.
84. Check the pockets
Always, always, always, check every single pocket before you do laundry.
85. Equal opportunity affection
Children really like attention, especially when they are the center of it. Give attention equally and you will have a very peaceful experience.
86. Control your reactions
To a child, reaction equals attention. It doesn’t matter good or bad. Learn to control your reactions and you will teach our children to control their behaviour.
87. Show good habits
Monkey see, monkey do. Your kids will mimic your every step and every word. Make an effort to take care of yourself, your children will pick up on your good habits.
88. Positive reinforcement
Teach yourself how to talk to your children in a non-threatening manner. Try to avoid saying “no” all the time and learn to give out consequences. This will usually start a productive conversation rather then a temper tantrum.
89. Ignore the temper tantrum
No one is laughing at you, they are empathizing. Be patient and ignore it, your child will learn it will get no reaction and discontinue their negative behaviour.
90. Spacing your children years apart
The beauty of spacing your children year’s apart lies in the fact that you’re learn from the mistakes you made with your older ones.
91. Know when to say No
Although you do not want to say no all the time, sometimes it’s necessary so they know limitations.
92. Monitor the net
Know what your children are doing on the internet, and at the very least monitor what they do and make an effort to educate them. It’s impossible to block everything, so make them smarter.
93. Educate them young
While they are still young and impressionable, it’s a good idea to turn them on to educational websites.
94. Teenagers are tough
Talking to your teen can be a real challenge but forgive them. It’s not their fault; their teenage brain is going through pretty drastic changes. Getting to know them is truly an art.
95. Adolescence
Is natures way of preparing you to welcome the empty nest.
96. Be ready for add-ons
At some point you might need an addition to your home. It’s often cheaper then purchasing a new home.
97. Be ready to move
However; if you opt to move, purge purge purge, you’ve most likely accumulated a lot of stuff you don’t look at any more.
98. Pets are fun
Don’t punish your children if they begged for a dog and promised to feed it and didn’t. Your pets will bring as much joy and memories as your children do.
99. You’ll have to let go
You will have to let go sometime. It’s going to be really hard, but at some point you will have to accept that they are an adult and entitled to their own mind space, make their own decisions, and come crying to you when it goes all wrong again.
100. Set boundaries on financial support
If they ask for money once they are on their own and you can afford it; give it but with limits. Let them know this can’t happen all the time. Encourage them to be responsible for their own actions and understand that adults have to take care of their problems and can’t always be bailed out by their parents.
101. Need anything else
Contact Birthing Mothers Doula Services, I'm sure I can find some sort of answer to your question!
