New Parents? The early years...

Here is a compilation of things I think all new moms and dads should know:

Part 1: The early years

1) Stop taking/ listening to others advice.

2) Go do bed a a decent hour. Yes, I know the only time you have to yourself is 8-12pm ( usually) but you really should at least drag your butt to bed by 10 ( 10:30 at the latest) I write this at 11:24 knowing my 7 months old will be us screaming for me shortly).

3) Keep a journal of your baby's milestones. You'll want to compare them to your other children and it's really fun to look back at ( and very sentimental).

4) Take lots of video. Pictures are expected and very nice but when you watch a video it takes you right back to when you took the video and brings back so many emotions.

5) As a follow-up to #4, make sure you are in the picture. I'm am admittedly not in pre-baby shape and when the opportunity is there to be in a photo with the kids I often duck out. Here is what I have found. Even before I had kids and I was in great shape, I still disliked myself in photos and as I look back at them know I think to myself " wow, I looked pretty darn good". So just know that you will appreciate being in photos with the kids and more than likely as we age, we will look back at ourselves when we were young ( even with the extra baby weight) and think... " I look pretty good".

6) Know that everything is a phase. If your child isn't sleeping, it will pass and before you know it they will be teenagers and you won't be able to pry them out of bed in the morning!

7) Make the holiday's special. I bet you look back at a particular holiday and remember it fondly. Make sure your kids have those special things to remember. One for me is we always go out and pick out a Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving and then spend the Thanksgiving weekend decorating for Christmas.

8) New -v- old: Not everything has to be new. When my son was born, we didn't have a ton of money but we weren't scraping by either. We were frugal by choice knowing we wanted to save money for their college. I loved getting hand-me-downs from others. Most baby items are used so infrequently that even if 1 or 2 kids used them before us they were still in practically new shape!

9) Don't underestimate the power of Natural toys. We can have a million toys in a room and what do you think the baby toddler will be most entertained by... a piece of string on the floor. Make sure you get outside and use what Nature has provided us to entertain your kids. As babies, both my kids were fiercely entertained   by the wind blowing through the trees and the sound the leaves made.

10) Don't forget about your partner. We are so busy raising our kids, working and getting little to no sleep that we forget to pay attention to the person we started this journey with. Remember, your children are priceless but in 18 or so years your kids will venture off to start a life and family of their own. You need to make sure you keep the connection so when you do have time to do things together, alone, with no screaming babies in tote, that you still enjoy the same things...for the most part!


Your kids are only small once and as I see my little ones grow I feel so privileged that I can be home with them and still have the flexibility to work. My days are tiring and often long but I know time time is so special. So whether you work full time in an office or are at home with the kids all day, try to remember how important it is to take