The rules we break.

There are sooo many rules to keep our babies safe and healthy and sanitary. Last week I witnessed a mom of 4 feed her baby food that dropped on the ground. Not at home, mind you, but at a restaurant! Being a (former) germaphobe with ocd tendencies, of course I was shocked (that post is to come later). But really, by my 4th child, I might come around too. So, we laughed. But I was secretly mortified.

People always say how anal they were with their first child. Then the second child is left eating off floors and from unsanitized bottles, sitting around in their wet diapers for hours at a time while mommy is chasing after the first one. Me? I decided not to wait before I broke a few.

Rule #1. No bibs to sleep. I know they are a strangulation/suffocation hazard. But my baby was a spittup machine. Without the bibs she would have had to sleep with one or both shoulders wet. REALLY wet. And her neck. And her chest. I swear she used to move so little and was so well swaddled the bibs never would have moved very far. I have since stopped that. She ends up so far from the spot I set her down in I know it's not long before she knocks her head against the crib rail. Which brings me to -

Rule #2. No bumpers. I blame this one on HP. I wanted nothing but a fitted crib sheet (elastic all around) and Tylo in the bed. He wanted a "prettier" crib, so I gave in and bought an adorable ladybug crib set. The bumpers aren't pillow-like and at least they have ties on the top and the bottoms. And, in my defense, they really have saved her from knocking her poor head against the railing. Another great side effect was that it kept the light out of her bumper and she can't see outside and get distracted by us walking around. I literally duck under them as I move past the crib so she can't see me. I promise to remove them soon. HP also wanted sleep positioners and to give her a nice soft pillow. I told him I would literally KILL him if he dared put a pillow in my daughter's crib.

Rule #3. No Q-tips in ears. I don't know what it is, but cleaning out a dirty ear (or booger-filled nose for that matter) is super gratifying to me. And Tylo, like her daddy, has that crumbly dry wax, and sooo much of it! Twice a week I get out like 10 Q-tips and I clean all around the ear (don't worry, I don't push it in the hole) and I get so much stuff. I'm sure it doesn't bother her in the least but it makes me feel so good to get them clean. Then I go chase her daddy down with some Q-tips too.

(That said, I will also now admit that I let her cry for a few minutes sometimes so her nose will get nice and wet and I can twist a tiny piece of tissue into a point to stick up her nose and "fish" for boogies. It's such an art - you gotta slant it just the right way. Words can't describe the feeling I get when I pull out that piece of tissue and see a big ol' booger stuck to the end of it.)

Rule #4. Don't leave baby alone on changing table. Now this one I will NEVER do again. Why? Cuz my baby girl actually rolled over today! Back to front. BUT I DIDN'T SEE IT HAPPEN. Isn't that terrible? I take my eyes off her for like 1 minute and there she is, on her stomach, looking like "Whoa, how did I get here?". I was so worried that she might have twisted her arm I scooped her right up and we just sat there, staring at one another, amazed at what just happened.

Things that are not mandatory but we guiltily have stopped doing them to preserve our sanity:

- Warm up her formula. When that girl is hungry she will not wait even 2 minutes for us to warm her milk before she screams bloody murder. We were happy to stop that one, but you should see the looks of "what kind of mom are you" I get when I feed Tylo room temperature milk.

- Boil her bottles after each use. This one lasted about a month and stopped when HP went back to work. I mean REALLY - who has the time? It is way too dangerous to be holding a baby near boiling water and the microwave sanitizer is a joke.

This list could totally be longer, but those are the ones that come to mind because I broke them today =P.

By the way, I think Tylo must be on the cabbage soup diet. There is no other explanation for why a little baby girl has that much (super stinky) gas.

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