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Baby Advice for New Moms: How to Have Your Second Child First

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When the time comes for baby 2, there are definitely things that Tim and I plan on doing differently, and almost all of  the tips on babies we would now share have to do with calming down about different matters.

For example, for baby 2 I will not be as quick to conclude that we have to run her to the pediatrician when s/he has a cold (not that there’s anything at all wrong with what my mother-in-law calls a “peace of mind” visit). But now we know a little bit more about the kinds of crud that babies just pick up (especially daycare babies) and we know that a virus simply has to run its course. There’s really nothing a doctor can do for you, except charge you for his/her time!

We’ll also take advantage of the young infant stage of life and go out to eat together more, instead of being petrified that someone might breathe on our child and staying in. There’s a precious period of time (and it ends right around 4 months) when babies are remarkably easy to take out and about. I wish we had worried less about germs and gone out more while we had the chance! Live and learn, right?

baby advice for new moms

Baby Advice for New Moms I recently had the opportunity to read a great book, How to Have Your Second Child First, by Kerry Colburn and Rob Sorensen. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and found myself nodding along with much of their advice! If you are currently expecting your first, or if you have a newborn at home, this might be a really good read for you. I don’t agree with every single thing they say, but that’s because typically no two parents do everything the same way, anyway. But she did bring up a lot of issues that I have dealt with as a new parent, and that I had to learn from experience not to be so uptight about.

One of the points that gets made in the book is that, unless your baby has super sensitive skin (and admittedly, some do), using a special detergent like Dreft is completely unnecessary. I think I washed Darah’s clothes separately for about a week, and then I realized that it was driving me crazy. We are fortunate that she has not shown any sensitivity to detergents so far. I try to keep a gentle detergent on hand and I just wash everyone’s laundry with that. It works great for us and is easy.

All has put out a Free & Clear detergent (containing no dyes, perfumes or preservatives), and a coupon for the product is included with the book. Rockin’! I also had the opportunity to try out the detergent, and I’m finding that it works just as effectively as my other detergents. No complaints here! If your baby has sensitive skin but you are struggling with doing special loads for him/her, give All Free Clear a try and just throw everyone else’s laundry in with the load!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to get a little help in the way of 2 coupons for free All Free Clear Detergent as well as a copy of  How to Have Your Second Child First, filled with baby advice for new moms and dads. The contest will run until July 16th at 7:59pm CST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to their email notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. One entrant per household, please. Open to residents of the United States.

Mandatory entry: You must subscribe to my blog via email, Reader or Google Friend Connect (only one is required, just let me know which you chose!).

Additional entries:
1. Tell me one thing you will do differently (or that you did differently) with baby #2
2. “Like” All on Facebook
3. “Like” Stuff Parents Need on Facebook
4. Follow Stuff Parents Need on Twitter
5. Tweet about this giveaway (one tweet/day allowed)
6. If you are a blogger (your blog needs to have posts that have been written in the past 3 months, please) add my button to your blog and leave a url where I can see it!

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, which can be found on the sidebar of my main page.

Disclosure: I received complimentary products from MomSelect and All in order to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.Affiliate links may be included at no cost to you.

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Comments

  5. I think I'll worry a bit less with baby #2! With my daughter, I was worried about every peep she made but I think if I have #2, I'll relax more!

    Reply

  14. I'm currently pregnant with #2…and hopefully no pacifier for baby #2 since I still can't rid of the darn thing with my son. tylerpants(at)gmail.com

    Reply

  31. With my second child we panicked less over things like Her cough sounds different and took her too the Dr less than our firt one.

    Reply

  40. One thing that I would do differently with baby number two is buy a swaddle blanket. I got one late for my first child and it really helped her sleep peacefully at night without waking herself up.

    Reply

  58. I think that after the first one you're more relaxed. You know what coming so its not so terrifying.

    Reply

  73. I don't have any children myself, but I do have two nieces. One visited us last month and one is coming in a few days (I'm so excited). Anyway, we decided to have our carpets cleaned by an environmentally friendly company before she comes because during the last visit we couldn't believe how much our niece was moving around the house (and how fast!!!)

    Thanks for the great giveaway!!! 🙂

    kmorris at wildcatdiscovery dot com

    Reply

  74. I follow with Google Friend Connect as katygmorris.

    Thanks for the great giveaway!!! 🙂

    kmorris at wildcatdiscovery dot com

    Reply

  78. Baby #2 was put in his crib a lot sooner than Baby #1. That is one of the things I did differently.
    Jesskaufman at hotmail dot com

    Reply

  96. I will worry less about looking good and more about sleeping every chance I get!
    kirbycolby at gmail dot com

    Reply

  100. I don't really remember doing anything terribly different with #2, but I was a lot more relaxed with her!

    cgclynsg0 @ gmail dot com

    Reply

  125. I won't be so hard on myself if things don't go according to plan in the beginning
    mmclean13 at gmail dot com

    Reply

  136. I follow your blog with google friend connect
    Thank you for the giveaway 🙂
    hurdler4eva(at)gmail(dot)com

    Reply

  143. With my second child, I made a set bedtime and stuck to it! My first still stays up as late as she can!
    Thanks!

    fineinsanity {at} live {dot} com

    Reply

  154. With #2 I was more relaxed and felt I knew what I was doing. I spent more quality time because I was more aware of the importance of it and my life was less of a mess. I have five now!

    Reply

  166. Waiting on #1 so not sure what we'll do differently with #2. I'm sure we'll get it all right the first time–ha!

    Reply

  171. My children are grown but as I remember I did a lot of things differently with each child. I learned a lot by the time I had my second child. Everything was different. I learned to ask my family for advice and help when I needed it and not try to do everything by myself.

    janetfaye (at) gmail (dot) com

    Reply

  180. 1. When hubby and I decide to have #2, we will stay on prime insurance (no copays/out of pocket expenses) but still go to hospital of choice since we live closer to one than the military base. (I do not like the military hospital, but I adore the hospital I gave birth to my daughter in!). The main other thing is to keep with counseling. Being stay at home first time mom, just moved out of state for first time, no fammily, no friends and a newborn is not a good combo.

    clc_little_britches@yahoo(dot)com

    Reply

  188. I've been considering what to do differently with #2, and the main one, will be move him to his own room sooner. I think brendon was conditioned to eat frequently at night because each little peep he made, i fed him. so he didn't sleep through the night (meaning, not waking up to eat) until around 7 or 8 months! wow.

    Reply

  194. We're actually expecting our first baby. I'm hoping to minimize the future list of "what I'd do differently" by reading the book 🙂

    Reply

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