Tough questions - part deux
So a few weeks ago I posted a bunch of questions that people have asked us as we prepare for Baby Wik's arrival and my answers to those. It's so funny - for years Chris and I have sat and talked and different things have come up and we've said "we will never do that with our kids…" Famous last words right? :) So we are actually working on a list of these things which I will share with you all when we are done and we are going to put it away in our safe and bring it out at different points in Baby Wik's life to see what we stuck to and what we didn't. A different spin on a time capsule of sorts!
But there were so many questions that I wanted to cover I didn't have enough space (and let's be honest didn't want to bore anyone) - so I thought I would do a second post with the rest! So here we go:
1. Do you plan to use cloth or disposable diapers?
This is a struggle for me mainly because I am a total cheapskate. I was just at target today on the phone with my mom and I buy the store brand of EVERYTHING - toilet paper, paper towel, sandwich baggies, face soap - you name it - up and up is my jam. So…that being said I would love to use cloth diapers if I thought I could save some dough because honestly the price of diapers scares the crap out of me! But for now we plan to use disposable (and let's be honest, probably the target brand unless I can find deals on others) and we will see how it works. I would love to save the environment and use cloth but just not sure it's for us. That being said - if any of you momma's out there have experience with cloth diapers please send your advice my way!
2. How do you plan to discipline your kids?
I feel like this is such a touchy subject. I am not sure that I know any parents these days that spank their children. I was spanked as was Chris - and I think that I turned out ok. My parents never used time outs - maybe it was just a different time back then - but it's just not something they did. I was of course grounded from time to time but maybe I was just too mischievous for a time out. That being said - we really haven't talked about this much and I'm not sure what we will do. The one thing that I am hoping I never do is lose my temper and scream at my kids - I see that from time to time out in public and it just breaks my heart.
3. Do you plan to co-sleep?
This is also an up in the air subject for us. Most of you may know but we bought a king bed mainly for our dog. Yes I said it - it's out there now. In our bed, every single night, is our 9- pound golden retriever, our 2 10 pound cats, and the two of us. It's a crowded situation to say the least even with a king bed. And this may sound crazy to some - but these animals are our babies. We've had ZZ for 10 years, Moe Moe for probably 7 and Wrigley for almost 6. Their lives are about ready to be turned upside down and we want to minimize the stress and disruption to them, so that they grow to want to love and protect their brother or sister. Because of that, we feel like we can't kick them out of the bed and because of that we don't feel it's safe to co sleep with our baby - particularly because both cats like to lay right on our face/pillows. So initially we wanted a bassinet but then realized that Wrigley could knock it over since most don't see all that sturdy. So right now we are thinking maybe an arms reach co sleeper that stands along beside the bed. Or honestly, just using the crib from night one. So again - any advice is greatly appreciated for us newbies! :)
4. Have you decided on a schedule - particularly for nighttime feedings/etc?
Chris would LOVE for me to say yes to this - he's such a schedule type of guy but I just feel like right now we can't determine this. We don't know if we are going to have a baby that's a good sleeper, a fussy baby, how much I will pump (God willing I'm able to breastfeed) - all of it. So we plan to use that first week to determine what works best for us and the baby. Then we will figure out a schedule that seems to make most sense. I am hoping that I can be supermom while I'm on maternity leave and take the brunt of the nighttime feedings while Chris is working and I'm not - but we'll see how that goes!!
5. Do you plan to keep up date night? With or without the baby?
So we no doubt will continue to do our Friday night Mexican date night - and of course will be bringing Baby Wik! The place we go to is just amazing - the staff has become like family to us and has watched my belly and Baby Wik grow and we talk to them all the time about how we can't wait to bring him or her! They have a gorgeous patio in the summer so that will be fun and we think that the right decision for us after the first few weeks is to bring the baby out with us as much as we can so that as he or she grows they are used to being in restaurants and out. We also hope to do occasional date nights on our own every now and then!
6. Do you plan to use pre made baby food or make your own?
I am very adamant about making my own baby food. After our first IVF cycle failed a big change that we made was to switch to a very natural, organic and free range diet and I am convinced it made a huge difference in the success of round 2. That being said I'm a huge fan of giving the baby as few processed foods as I can. This will sound hilarious to most moms and is on the list and I am POSITIVE will be something that I will end up doing - but for now I tell myself I refuse to get my kids hooked on chicken nuggets and/or mac and cheese. So stay tuned in a few years to see if that's a successful one!
Also, Chris and I have both been heavy at points in our lives and we've struggled with weight and image issues, and I want to be sure that we give our baby the tools to know how to live a healthy life and most importantly be good role models with our habits - all while indulging occasionally on Friday and Saturday nights of course!
I am the first to say we are going into this parent hood thing totally blind - we have ideas of what we might want to do and what we think might work for us - but I have a feeling half of those things will go out the window those first few hard months. If I'm totally honest, as excited and over the moon as I am about Baby Wik's quickly approaching arrival, I do get scared thinking what kind of mother am I going to be? What kind of parents will Chris and I be together? How will our relationship change as with the Baby - will we still have that spark we have? There is so much on my mind as we get closer to our date but one thing I know for sure is that I cannot wait to hold this little one in my arms and show him or her how very much they are loved by everyone around them.
XOXO
K
But there were so many questions that I wanted to cover I didn't have enough space (and let's be honest didn't want to bore anyone) - so I thought I would do a second post with the rest! So here we go:
1. Do you plan to use cloth or disposable diapers?
This is a struggle for me mainly because I am a total cheapskate. I was just at target today on the phone with my mom and I buy the store brand of EVERYTHING - toilet paper, paper towel, sandwich baggies, face soap - you name it - up and up is my jam. So…that being said I would love to use cloth diapers if I thought I could save some dough because honestly the price of diapers scares the crap out of me! But for now we plan to use disposable (and let's be honest, probably the target brand unless I can find deals on others) and we will see how it works. I would love to save the environment and use cloth but just not sure it's for us. That being said - if any of you momma's out there have experience with cloth diapers please send your advice my way!
2. How do you plan to discipline your kids?
I feel like this is such a touchy subject. I am not sure that I know any parents these days that spank their children. I was spanked as was Chris - and I think that I turned out ok. My parents never used time outs - maybe it was just a different time back then - but it's just not something they did. I was of course grounded from time to time but maybe I was just too mischievous for a time out. That being said - we really haven't talked about this much and I'm not sure what we will do. The one thing that I am hoping I never do is lose my temper and scream at my kids - I see that from time to time out in public and it just breaks my heart.
3. Do you plan to co-sleep?
This is also an up in the air subject for us. Most of you may know but we bought a king bed mainly for our dog. Yes I said it - it's out there now. In our bed, every single night, is our 9- pound golden retriever, our 2 10 pound cats, and the two of us. It's a crowded situation to say the least even with a king bed. And this may sound crazy to some - but these animals are our babies. We've had ZZ for 10 years, Moe Moe for probably 7 and Wrigley for almost 6. Their lives are about ready to be turned upside down and we want to minimize the stress and disruption to them, so that they grow to want to love and protect their brother or sister. Because of that, we feel like we can't kick them out of the bed and because of that we don't feel it's safe to co sleep with our baby - particularly because both cats like to lay right on our face/pillows. So initially we wanted a bassinet but then realized that Wrigley could knock it over since most don't see all that sturdy. So right now we are thinking maybe an arms reach co sleeper that stands along beside the bed. Or honestly, just using the crib from night one. So again - any advice is greatly appreciated for us newbies! :)
4. Have you decided on a schedule - particularly for nighttime feedings/etc?
Chris would LOVE for me to say yes to this - he's such a schedule type of guy but I just feel like right now we can't determine this. We don't know if we are going to have a baby that's a good sleeper, a fussy baby, how much I will pump (God willing I'm able to breastfeed) - all of it. So we plan to use that first week to determine what works best for us and the baby. Then we will figure out a schedule that seems to make most sense. I am hoping that I can be supermom while I'm on maternity leave and take the brunt of the nighttime feedings while Chris is working and I'm not - but we'll see how that goes!!
5. Do you plan to keep up date night? With or without the baby?
So we no doubt will continue to do our Friday night Mexican date night - and of course will be bringing Baby Wik! The place we go to is just amazing - the staff has become like family to us and has watched my belly and Baby Wik grow and we talk to them all the time about how we can't wait to bring him or her! They have a gorgeous patio in the summer so that will be fun and we think that the right decision for us after the first few weeks is to bring the baby out with us as much as we can so that as he or she grows they are used to being in restaurants and out. We also hope to do occasional date nights on our own every now and then!
6. Do you plan to use pre made baby food or make your own?
I am very adamant about making my own baby food. After our first IVF cycle failed a big change that we made was to switch to a very natural, organic and free range diet and I am convinced it made a huge difference in the success of round 2. That being said I'm a huge fan of giving the baby as few processed foods as I can. This will sound hilarious to most moms and is on the list and I am POSITIVE will be something that I will end up doing - but for now I tell myself I refuse to get my kids hooked on chicken nuggets and/or mac and cheese. So stay tuned in a few years to see if that's a successful one!
Also, Chris and I have both been heavy at points in our lives and we've struggled with weight and image issues, and I want to be sure that we give our baby the tools to know how to live a healthy life and most importantly be good role models with our habits - all while indulging occasionally on Friday and Saturday nights of course!
I am the first to say we are going into this parent hood thing totally blind - we have ideas of what we might want to do and what we think might work for us - but I have a feeling half of those things will go out the window those first few hard months. If I'm totally honest, as excited and over the moon as I am about Baby Wik's quickly approaching arrival, I do get scared thinking what kind of mother am I going to be? What kind of parents will Chris and I be together? How will our relationship change as with the Baby - will we still have that spark we have? There is so much on my mind as we get closer to our date but one thing I know for sure is that I cannot wait to hold this little one in my arms and show him or her how very much they are loved by everyone around them.
XOXO
K
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