My Top “I Would Nevers”

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My Top I Would NeverI said I would never do this. I said I would never put a sign on my door saying the baby is sleeping. I said I would be loud so the baby could sleep through everything. Well, all those “I would nevers” got thrown out the window when I had my second baby. Besides the fact that this kid is my P.I.T.A, I justify my actions by saying he is tough and cater to him any way I can.  

Here are my top I would nevers:

I would neverlet him dictate his sleeping arrangements 

When he was a new baby, no matter where I was, the only way to get him to fall asleep was to swaddle him in one of those muslin blankets…at a friends house, at a park, outside.  The kid loved to be swaddled.  We used so many different swaddles while he slept in the crib – the Miracle Blanket was the best one.  After that, in order to transition him to no swaddle, we used the most ridiculous looking thing ever, the Baby Merlin Magic Sleep Suit.  That actually worked out great and did what it was suppose to do. He started rolling over so we were done with the sleep suit after a month.  He now sleeps in the Halo Sleep Sack and finally through the night…only took 15 months. 

I would neverlet him get what he wants

He wants me to hold him, I hold him. He wants a banana, he gets a banana.  He wants the remote, I give that kid the remote. Because if I don’t do what he wants he has a complete meltdown and tantrums on the floor. (Yes, I am even reading books to help me say “No”)

I would neverbe quiet so he won’t wake up

Yes, I have become the Mother Shusher.  I go around shushing everyone: my husband, my daughter, my dog, the cats, the fireworks that go off when it isn’t even July 4th.  I have convinced myself that the slightest noise will wake this toddler up even though I have his noise machine on high. My daughter, who wants to be a mommy when she grows up, has even started to shush me when her baby doll is sleeping. 

I would nevergive him the bottle in the middle of the night

I never experienced this with my first.  She slept through the night at 3 months and never needed the bottle in the middle of the night. I used to say to my friends “it’s out of habit…stop giving the bottle.” Well, I should have bit my tongue because my son was waking every night, and every night either my husband or I would go in there and give him the bottle. It wasn’t until he weened himself off the bottle that he then finally slept through the night. 

I would nevermake my kids a different meal than what I am eating

Haha! This is a joke. Everyone says they will give their kids exactly what they are eating.  But, we all want our kids to have a full tummy so they will sleep.  For the most part, we do make easy meals that take approximately 10 minutes to make since we get home at 5:30 and the boy is already going directly to his highchair. But, if my hubby and I want to eat something that doesn’t come out of a bag or a box, mac and cheese for the kids it is. 

I would neverlive around the baby’s schedule

Again, we all say that the baby has to live around out lives not the other way around.  True. But if we want sanity in our lives and well oiled working home life, the boy needs a nap at a certain time and needs to go to bed at a certain time.  There have been those times when we are at the concert in the park and look at the time, we gotta go to get our son down for bed. He is a creature of habit and thrives off his routine.  I believe he even knows how to tell him. So, when the clock hits nap and bedtime, we better be exactly near his crib. (And yes, he does nap in the car seat and in the stroller when we are out and about)

I would neverlet him keep his bottle past 12 months

His first birthday came and went and we continued to give him the bottle.  I don’t remember when we took away the bottle from my daughter, but she took a pacifier and my son doesn’t.  So, I caved and continued to give him the bottle thinking it was a soothie for him.  When I dropped him off at daycare they told me that he often watches the other kids and is refusing bottles.  At 15 months, those bottles went in the trash. 

 

I’m sure there are going to be more “I would nevers” as they grow up and become kids, tweens, teenagers, and then adults. I have to remember to give myself a break and not always do what the books are telling me to do. 

 

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Jill Sambol
Jill grew up in the Irvine bubble. She went to school in San Diego and gravitated back after graduation. She has been working for the same company for the past 15 years as the Marketing Manager of a label company. One of the biggest perks is going to wine and craft beer tradeshows (need we say more). She met her husband through Match.com and has been married for 6 years. She has a 4 year old daughter, Lily, a 13 month old son, Caden, an 11 year old dog, Montana, a 11 year old cat, Chloe, and a 8 year old cat, Spike. To say her house is a zoo is an understatement. When she’s not vacuuming the hair off the ground, or cleaning the food off the walls, she loves spending time with the family going to Disneyland (new AP) and finding new parks to play at.