Five Things We're NOT Doing

This is my skeleton in the closet post.  Sometimes I feel pretty bad about not doing these things...but I think that's only because everyone else I know IS doing it.  Doesn't necessarily mean that it's wrong right?

So, here it is. We are:


1. NOT skipping the TV
We watch a lot of TV.  No, I know what the experts say. Even a little bit of TV is detrimental for language and social development. I just don't believe that's necessarily true for all babies.  It's not like we're using it as a babysitter either.  When we watch, we watch together and I'm talking to my son.  Plus, both M and I grew up with the TV on at home.  I don't think we've developed into anti-social adults incapable of language.


2. NOT going to sleep at 7
1. Neither M nor I were ever 7 PM sleepers either as babies
2. I go to work before baby wakes up and get home at 5. I refuse to be a 2 hour parent.  PS my baby IS getting enough sleep by the way, he sleeps from 11 PM to 9 AM and takes 4 other naps during the day.
3. Purely selfish reasons: he sleeps the longest stretch (reliably 6-7 hours at a time) after we first put him to bed.  That 6-7 hrs of uninterrupted sleep is all I need to function for the next 18 hours.  I NEED that sleep.  Happy mama = happy baby.

3. NOT making a baby book
Are you kidding?  I barely have enough time to have bowel movements let alone take real photos of this little guy that aren't camera phone pix.  So unless the grandparents wanna make one, I'm not gonna. Neither M nor I had one either (seeing a common theme here), so we're pretty sure it's not gonna make or break him.  Plus, I'm 200% sure that we're not going to have time to make one for #2, so this is just fair.

4. NOT wearing cloth diapers
Good idea (aha, this one my mom actually DID do with me!), just no time or willpower to do it.  I'm just too tired to even think about the idea of the cloth diapers - there's enough crap to wash (haha, pun intended) at the end of the day after I come home from work.  Plus, I don't think I could successfully convince my dad to cloth diaper him during the day.  I know, the Portlandia Gods are probably sentencing me to hell right now for this.  Guess what? yup, that's right, I'm too tired to care what the Portlandians think about how I raise my child.

5. NOT putting him on a schedule
Just don't see the need.  He seems to have a pretty good handle for what he needs.  We either arrive places early or late, preferably early.  Trust me, he gets angry when we try to "schedule" stuff, and that my friends, is good for no one.

So that's the things we're NOT doing with him.  Every kiddo is different.  I've always been a big believer of doing what works for our family and then when it doesn't work, to try something new.  So who knows, maybe soon, I'll take back these 5 things and swear by them.

Now, obligatory cute baby picture.