Top 10 Things I Have Not Learned...

Top 10 Things I have Not Learned Since Being a Mom of Two Boys...

10. How to stay dry when giving one or both boys a bath.

9.  The answer to the question: "Why?"

8. Whether little boys should be sitting on the potty or standing.

7. How to avoid getting whatever plague my children bring home.

6. How to travel long distances without panicking ahead of time, or worrying the whole time about the other people around us on the plane.

5. A way to avoid doing laundry every single day.

4. Related, where the other socks go to - I do laundry every day - how can they get that lost?

3. How not to get grossed out each time I see a spider or an insect.  I almost lost it when I saw three different types of cockroaches at the Stone Zoo on Monday.  I know pretty soon these things are going to be making it into my house, in cages hopefully!

2. How not to stain stick and be upset over every drop of grape jelly or fruit punch (or blow out) that goes on the boys clothes.  They are just clothes!  They have 8,000 shirts.  I do not need to save every last one!

and the number one thing I have still not learned since having two boys...

1.  What does a Giraffe say?

Top Ten Things I Have Learned to Like Better with #2

I am continually amazed at how my perception of things has changed with Baby James. Things that Joel Andrew loved, or that I found convenient to use while dealing with him in all his baby-ness, have become completely useless with Baby James. Similarly, things that we totally ignored when Joel was a baby, have become totally useful with Baby James. Difference of baby personality? Of Mom's outlook? Convenience now that there is two? Who knows, but either way, I thought I would share some of these helpful wonders with you.

#10 - Burp Cloths. Someone made us a beautiful crab one for Joel Andrew, and I was perplexed. What is this small piece of cloth for? I put it to the side, and then the other side, and then in the "for the next kid" box. Glad I did because boy did it get mileage for Baby James. We use burp cloths for everything. They lined the stroller, our shoulder, they accompany him on car rides and he sucks on the ends. Now that he is taking the bottle they assist in dribble. We received some as a gift for Baby James, and I fell in love with this company (a Mompany, a woman who makes them by hand out of her house during nap time) and now buy them for all my friends (who I hope have come to understand their great usage!).

#9 - Books, the chewy kind. Baby James loves books! He loves toys. He loves playing with anything. Which is quite a marvel because besides the excersaucer and bouncer, Joel Andrew was not really a fan of anything except for you. So, it is nice to have a baby this time around that is fascinated with a ball, or could spend 5 minutes turning the pages of a book. A big thanks to my local Mom friends, they gave Baby James an Indestructible which he LOVES. I have to say though, he has pretty close to destroyed it he loves it so much... We may need to get another!
#8 - Jarred food. With Joel Andrew I was fanatical about making his baby food from scratch. I drove all over the place looking for organic fruits and vegetables and meticulously steamed and mushed tons of baby food, freezing some for later but mostly giving him fresh, delicious homemade food. I would not have it any other way, only the occasional packaged food when we travelled - but still even then found a transportation system for the fresh stuff. I drove my mother in law crazy when we went to Hilton Head for the week, so I could make fresh batches down there. Then came Baby James and I had the same intention. And a friend, who works for Earth's Best sent us a welcome package of baby food. What, I thought? Hmm, I guess we will have them on hand for travel..

Oh no, Baby James LOVES the food. I made him batches upon batches of fresh stuff, and he just wants the jars. I was offended and worried, but actually - depending upon the flavor here - the jars are better. The freezer burned baby food I made has inconsistent textures that throw Baby James off. He likes the smooth jar food, that actually tastes pretty good! It is organic, there are no additives, and it was made in (what we hope) was a very sanitary place - as opposed to my kitchen... So, we are jar people now with the occasional throwing in of a homemade item. Joel husband bought enough jars to last us four more children... And, I will save those frozen sweet potatoes for some Jessica Seinfeld recipes.

#7 - Powder Formula. With Joel, when we were forced onto formula - we went with the easiest thing possible. I was not going to be mixing and measuring. And, our insurance covered it so we got ready-made Alimentum in the can. Boy did that stuff stink. Really smelled. I hated it, I bought some for Baby James when we decided to start weaning him from the boob and just the look of the cans brought back bad memories. Since Baby James does not have any skin issues, he doesn't need the special formula - so we thought to try the basic stuff. Why not try powder? Oh boy - so much better! We even found single serve packets so that you can throw those in your diaper bag instead of heavy cans. Just add water! Revolutionary, I tell you.

#6 - This isn't so much I didn't want to label things before... But more so a friend recommended this cool product and we have found it to be awesome, so I thought I would share. Name Bubbles. I got the starter kit with "J.Williams" so it would apply to both kids... And now I am kind of like the crazy man from the Brother P-Touch commercials and I want to label everything. The labels do not come off, and are great for the water bottles Joel Andrew takes to daycare, his clothes, all sorts of things. I still have a Paula Abdul towel (can you imagine how much it is worth on eBay - from her Straight Up days), from when I went to sleep away camp years ago - that still has my name ironed into it. I have a feeling the boys might have the same in a few years, a little monster with "J. Williams" identifying things are theirs forever.

#5 - Boogie Wipes. For the first few colds of Joel Andrew's life, I would use a regular tissue, damp paper towel or sometimes a regular baby wipe to wipe his nose. He would scream in pain, as all this violent constant wiping (violent because he moved so much) led to a chapped nose, which led to more resistance, which led to more violent wiping. It was a vicious cycle. But, I would not fall prey to marketing schemes of buy this wipe for this use and that wipe for this use. Wipes are wipes I would say. But, oh no - they are not. One cold later someone lent me a boogie wipe. Joel Andrew would want another one and want to wipe his own nose. Soothing, boogies gone. Now we have a huge canister of it and I have them in my purse, car, kitchen drawer, everywhere. Never say never Moms.
#4 - Diapers.com. People have told me about this for ages, but we just did BJs for our diapers, and I would go to Babies R' Us or do free shipping through my Amazon account for other items. But - I finally went on, and Diapers.com was cheaper than BJs for diapers and wipes! And was certainly cheaper on MANY items (like boogie wipes) than Babies R us. Free shipping, I ordered it and it was here in two days. No need to go to the store, not getting sucked into buying other things I do not need, no lugging big heavy cases of diapers, wipes, formula, etc. in and out of the car, it was a great plan. Not sure if it is good for the environment though...

#3 - DVR and On Demand. With Joel Andrew I watched all seasons of Lost, again, on DVD. All of them. I thought I would do the same with James, but not so much. Since this booger keeps me in bed at a very early hour every night, our new big thing is to watch primetime shows, during the day. Our new favs include Pan Am (though I am getting a little sick of one of the main plots) and Once Upon a Time. Even Dancing with the Stars is just as good the next day. Nighttime is for reading and sleeping now!

#2 - Car DVD Player. I know, gasp! How could you let your children watch movies in the car? But, I am famous for my outings with my children. And, we do not live in a convenient place. So, when we are on a trip longer than an hour - a movie is on. And, a toddler is quiet. Which also means, a baby can nap. And, Mom can drink coffee and zone out (except for the driving of course). I am now planning lots of trips into Boston - the zoo, Aquarium, etc - just so I can have those two hours of strapped in quiet time. Is that bad?

And the #1 thing that has been an awesome help and addition since having two kids:

My iPhone. Enough said.

Top Ten Things I Wish I Knew Before...

10. It does get easier.

9. Stages go by quickly. So, if you think you need 8,000 2 oz bottles for boobie juice, you do not. What do I do with them all now?

8. Having TWO dogs and a baby is way too much work. Especially when one of them is obsessed with the tennis ball, and another one eats his own poop. Don't get me wrong, I love the dogs, but it is a lot of work.

7. When the child is napping, take advantage of it. Do not say, "well, he might wake up at any minute so I will not do that now." Do it, he may nap for two more hours. And, if he does wake up in five minutes, at least you tried to get your stuff done/nap.

6. Should have gone out to eat a lot more when he would just sleep in his car seat! That was so nice!

5. They have their whole lives to eat food. I really wanted him to start, and it is nice that we did - but now the kid likes food so much he refuses to take the bottle! We have to practically hold the kid down to get 20 ounces in him a day now!

4. Loosing the weight is really, really, really tough. Perhaps I would have said no to that 600th cone of vanilla ice cream (I thought soft serve was not that bad), or had a different attitude than "hey, I am eating for two" whilst I was with child. Yes, I am a SAHM and have time, but I am not good at the eating right, drinking less and exercising thing, how I thought that would miraculously change once I had a child...

3. Always demand to speak to the Doctor on call, before going to the Emergency Room, as learned when J was 8 weeks old.

2. They have hard heads, as learned a few weeks ago... He smacked his head on the ground from a seated position and it was so loud, I could have sworn I broke him. But, alas he is just fine. I have since heard about every horror story known to man about kids falling off changing tables, off beds, out of car seats onto pavement - and being ok. (not that if this happens you or I should not be worried about our child, but just that a mere smack on the ground from seated is nothing to worry too much about).
1. And the number one thing I wish I knew before...husbands and daddies have their own way of doing things, and it is best not to comment and to just be thankful when they have their time with the little one!

Top Ten Things Part 2

Top Ten Things I am Learning as I Go Along (and can still use advice on):

10. I continue to be baffled about which clothes fit when. Worse, some shrink every time you wash them. So, do I put them on now knowing when they shrink they will fit him, or wait until he fits them and only get 2-3 wearings out of them?

9. Cradle Crap stinks and even with olive oil and a good "massage" it is still here! (can you see it in Boo pillow photo below?).

8. How do we avoid the flu? We already got colds, and before that he had another illness with fever. No more sickness for this guy!

7. What does it that makes him sleep almost a whole night one night, and the next night wake up five times? How do I figure out an remedy this?

6. Not to use those germ hand gels in excess. My knuckles are all cracked from the stuff. I need to find a better way!

5. No matter what you name your child, people will come up with their own nicknames. I admit, I am still not sold on LJ - but some friends are saying "JJ or bust." Aunt Pat is all for Andy (so am I...).

4. I still do not get the excitement behind "Where the Wild Things Are."

3. Boobie Milk seems to be a unique substance of it's own that hardens and will not go away from hardwood floors, coffee tables, and the fridge shelf. How does one blast this stuff away?

2. How do I convince Husband that it is not ok to fall asleep on the couch with the baby until 4am? That the Boppy is not a sleeping pillow for the baby? That it is important for us to try and create a bedtime for the little bugger?

and.... the #1 most thing I am still learning, and could use advice on...

1. How do I take a good photo of the baby with the two dogs?

Top Ten Part 1

Top Ten Things People Did Not Tell Me About Being a Mom (2-1/2 month installment):

10. Carter's 3 month size is really for 2 months; Gymboree 3-6 is really for 3-4; Gerber 6 months is for newborns.

9. You thought you would throw out a poop filled outfit rather than cleaning it. But, when it happens, you just can't part with that adorable set. So, you are up at 3am scrubbing out the poop stains.

8. People actually do not get sick of photos of your child now that we have Facebook.

7. Place receiving blankets under his butt at all times. In the carseat, in the swing, in the bouncy chair. This saves lots of cleaning during wonderful blow-out-diapey time.

6. Just because the outfit - the pants and the sweater - both say one size, does not mean they will both fit at the same time.

5. No need to buy any toys, balloons provide hours of entertainment.

4. Gymboree Gym Bucks DO NOT apply at Gymboree Outlet Stores! (I continue to be vocal about this crap).

3. Gymboree playtime is just like the TV shows make it out to be - very cheesy! But, the kids love it.

2. They can develop sleeping and eating habits that are hard to break, this early!

1. No one told me that I would cry each time he moves up a diaper size!
Look at the guy all ready for his first playoff game!