I’d like to share a few things I know that I wish everyone knew. Please share your own things on your blog so we can all learn from each other. Do not share your opinions (I wish everyone knew that Battlestar Galactica is the best show on TV) or inflammatory things (I wish everyone knew how to drive correctly).
1. I wish everyone knew that “childproof” lids on medications are anything but. I blogged about this before, but I was reminded of it again in a conversation the other day and wanted to say it again. DO NOT LEAVE MEDICATIONS WHERE YOUNG CHILDREN CAN REACH THEM. They don’t know the correct way to open a normal screw-top lid, so they don’t know that pushing down, fiddling with it, and turning it in random directions isn’t right. The lid is better at deterring you than it is at deterring them. I have seen two different one-year-olds get into medications in less than five minutes. (Okay, it’s not as bad as it sounds. Lego accidentally got to one once and opened it within five minutes. So I took an empty bottle and tested it on him and another one-year-old to see if Lego’s just a genius or if it really is that easy for babies to do. Both got it open at least once within five minutes.)
2. One slice of bread put in with your dried-out brown sugar will revive it in a day or less. Put it in when you buy your brown sugar and you will never get hard clumps. The bread will harden and not get moldy, and it will lend its moisture to the sugar. It is seriously amazing.
3. Nursing a baby doesn’t have to hurt. If it’s hurting, you’re doing it wrong. You can get help from a lactation consultant, a La Leche League representative, or even a friend who’s done it successfully before. There are so many myths out there that scare mothers out of breastfeeding, or that get them to stop because it’s hurting. I wish more mothers knew that it can be great if you just work on teaching your baby how to do it right.
4. Wal-Mart diapers work just fine and cost significantly less than Huggies or Pampers. If you have issues with buying at Wal-Mart, that’s fine. But if you don’t, the best generics I’ve tried or heard about are the Parent’s Choice brand. They have an elastic waistband like the name-brand diapers that helps prevent leaks. The only thing is, the material inside them is less absorbent than what’s in the name-brand diapers, so I usually kept some Huggies on hand for nighttime. During the day, I changed diapers often enough that I didn’t have any problems.
So, what do you wish everyone knew?
