I am no parenting expert.
When the hospital sent me home with my son I was skeptical. Are you sure this is okay Ms. Nurse Lady? I don’t need to get a parenting degree or something? Are you really going to let me leave? I put that tiny 5 lb 13 oz baby in his carseat and double checked the straps 10 times. I really really wanted a degree. Instead I searched google. CIO, PUPD, attachment parenting, baby led weaning, LO, DH, DS, DD – seriously they have a name for everything (and an acronym – which thoroughly confused me when I first began blog hopping).
There is no parenting degree for a reason – every kid is different. Every parent is different. What works for one family isn’t going to work for another. Plus the research changes the recommended way of doing things every five minutes or so. I know….not very useful right? I have successfully navigated the first 6 months of my son’s life with the help of my husband (DH – for those of you who love acronyms) and many many hours spent on the phone with my best friend who is now a stay at home mom of two sons and was a pediatric nurse before kids (and even she claims not to be an expert – although her advice is invaluable). I expect that by the age of 18 my son will be potty trained and sleeping in his own bed regardless of the method I choose. There are many things I have tried, and many things that worked or didn’t work. I don’t believe there is a right or wrong parenting method – its just a choice every person has to make for themselves and their families. And there is no one there to say – you picked such and such parenting method and you did something else! Fail! There is nothing wrong with creating a combination method of all the different CHJD or HFHUEIO or JFJJFI methods and whatever other acronyms they may come up with in the next five minutes.
So, after researching all the methods, I’ve tried bits and pieces of them all. Here are a few things I have tried that I plan on blogging about in the future:
- Sleep Training
- I used a little of Tracey Hoggs Pick Up Put Down method, a little Cry it Out, and a little attachment parenting – haha i think that covers just about all of them
- Breastfeeding
- I’m a working mom and and still exclusively breastfeeding/pumping
- Solids
- Gonna be starting to add this into Parker’s diet soon 🙂
- Schedule
- I have used a flexible schedule that is sort of a cross between baby led and clock led
I don’t claim to be an expert, but I’m going to post my experiences and maybe they will help someone else out!
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