Okay, so my loyal readers know I have a biweekly feature called “MagJunkie,” where I review the latest parenting magazine and tell you whether it’s worth a moment of your precious free time.
So far, it hasn’t been good. These mags continue to perpetuate the myth of easy-peasy motherhood. Perhaps it’s to avoid scaring people to death, but they need to admit that motherhood is hard. Period. Harder than anything you will ever encounter. AND THERE’S NO TURNING BACK. It’s like driving the bus in Speed. You have to keep going or you will die.
Nothing can really prepare you and once you’ve had the baby, your life will never, ever, ever, ever, ever be the same.
So I’m starting a new weekly series, called “Wish I Knew,” where we can all share our tips on things we wish we knew before we had kids. I, for instance, needed a crash course in managing my kids’ exczema. Good Lord, I was so ignorant.
First up: Wish I Knew…how to deal with a baby who wants to be held ALL DAY LONG. Leave your tips in the comments and I’ll feature it in the next post.
LOL. Yep. Those moms who have those painted on smiles and such. What a joke. Its because they try to continue to place motherhood in a universal category. Its either this way or you are doing it wrong. Its crazy. I love reading “real” information, advice, points of views. That whole cookie cutter stuff just isn’t a universal reality… if it is somebody is in denial, lol.
Oh yeah… tip, hehe.
Um… for babies that like to be held all the time… maybe try a baby carrier (which means that you are STILL holding the baby all the time). Or maybe swaddling the baby and then laying next to it so that it can see you or swaddling and placing in a carrier/bouncer and sitting next to you while you go about your day.
I don’t know a remedy for the babies that are too old for swaddling though, lol.
I was an only child by my mother and when she died her parents continued to raise me. I did not learn that my father had other children until I was 10. I have four kids now. 9, 6 and almost 2 and 3 months in two days. I wish I knew that siblings BICKER LIKE CRAZY. It drives me nuts. I wish I knew that siblings could be very competitive. And being a mom of a child with ADHD, I wish I knew that there would come a day that I could not make everything hurtful just go away.
Man can I relate to you here. THANK GOD Jaedyn has gotten somewhat better at this. I learn distraction is the key. Jaedyn is a true mama’s boy. I think he wishes he still had something to keep himself attached to me. Anyways, back to the distraction. A cartoon that is singing, a toy that he make make noise on his own, etc. He is obsessed with tags lately so give him a tag, lay him back on the bed and he could care less what you are doing and where you’ve gone…at least long enough to get a few things done.
The highchair has been a savior for me too! He has a toy that attches to it and it keeps him entertained while I’m fixing a meal or something. Hand him a graham cracker and something to bang and he’s all set in that thing. He can still see me, is kind of close and he is occupied.
Another thing that works, only sometimes, is to put him down somewhere, give him something to do, then slowly ease away!