If I had told myself I’d be sharing parenting tips with other parents when I was 25, I would have laughed. I had no desire to become a mother, but life has a way of changing us because I don’t know who I would be without my children. Becoming a parent has a way of changing us in so many ways.
My first three children were everything but planned, but my youngest daughter was planned. It’s a long story, but I love all of my children. I don’t know everything, and I don’t know if it’s possible to be the perfect parent, but man, I try. It’s difficult, but the love a mother has for her children is unexplainable. I still find myself turning to family and friends and even reading up about articles from other moms on the internet. The adventure into motherhood might not have been somewhere I saw myself at 25 years old, but it’s never for one second been one that I regretted. I love my children with my whole heart, and I try my hardest to make the best choices along the way.
If you’ve followed us for a while, you may already know the story about how my adventure into motherhood began, and for those of you who have not, I’ll give you a little rundown. I blame my ex-husband, lol. When we met, it was one of those icky (in a good way) and instant connections. He was the father of three children. Needless to say, we got married, and I became mom to three beautiful children.
I’ll be honest, it was an adjustment, to say the least, but not one I’ll ever regret. Here we are 15 years later; my ex-husband and I are no longer together, but we have four beautiful children. Well, only officually one I gave birth to, but you get what I am saying.
In a nutshell, that is how I ended up with one child who was planned and three who were not. I love all of them with every beat of my heart and do everything I can to be a good mom.
Parenting Tips I Wish I Would Have Known Sooner
Since becoming a parent can be scary, whether it’s the first or tenth time, I wanted to share a few parenting tips I wish I would have known when I started my adventure into motherhood.
Stop stressing about holding your baby. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can keep your baby too much! They grow up way to fast, and one day you’ll look back and wish you would have spent more time holding them. Take advantage of that cuddle time because it won’t be long and they won’t want to cuddle. Seriously, take advantage of every second of it because before you know it, they will be teens and grown, and you’ll wish you had done it more.
Music is awesome. My kids loved music when they were babies. Mattie had this one song that if she was crying and it came on, she would stop crying and listen. It was a lifesaver when I was traveling with kids.
Singing is cool too. Singing always worked with the kids, even as they got older. It was a little more fun as they got older because they could sing along with me. Vayda and I used to sing this song about going to Wal-Mart in the bugger truck. We made it up, but it was super fun.
Don’t freak out. Okay, so this isn’t an easy one if you are like me and freak out about the thought of something happening that may cause you to freak out, lol. However, it tends to go better if you can keep the freaking out to a minimum if something goes wrong. If baby sees you freaking out, they are going to freak out, and that is a whole lot of freaking out. Plus, it makes it harder to tell what is going on if you and baby are freaking out.
Trust yourself a little. It’s incredible how much becoming a mother changes you. If you can learn to trust yourself and your ability to handle situations that come up, your adventure will be less stressful. Remember, there is not a person in this world that loves your child more than the parents.
Don’t be scared to ask. I did tell you to trust yourself when it comes to your baby, and there will be things that come up that you don’t know how to handle. When this happens, trust that you will make the right choice. If you are unsure about how to manage something, don’t be scared to ask someone for advice.
Know the nose. Knowledge is power, especially in motherhood, and it will definitely help you keep your freaking out to a minimum. So, I will keep Little Remedies® around! If you are ever in a situation where you need to clean out your child’s nose with something that gently flushes and removes mucus to clear your baby’s nasal passages, it’s better to have Little Remedies® on hand.
Little Remedies® offers a variety of products for your child’s nose, such as Little Remedies® Decongestant Nose Drops, Little Remedies® Saline Spray/Drops, Little Remedies® Stuffy Nose Kit, Little Remedies® Sterile Saline Nasal Mist, and Little Remedies® Gentle Vapors Waterless Vaporizer. You can’t go wrong with Little Remedies®. Their products do not contain any pseudoephedrine or parabens either!
Know what you should use and when. If you are going to have Little Remedies® on hand, you should probably know what to use and when to use it, right?
If baby seems to be feeling okay but you notice they have a clear, runny nose, they may be dealing with allergies or a little cold. Using Little Remedies® Sterile Saline Mist can help clear the nasal passages so your baby’s immune system can fight the cold.
If you notice your child has mucus that is a yellowish or greenish color but still acts like they are feeling okay, be sure to keep an eye on things. You can use something like Little Remedies® Stuffy Nose Kit to help flush out the mucus. The kit comes with a softly angled tip aspirator, and the saline drops/spray is non-medicated.
If your little one starts to act like they are not feeling well, gets cranky, or starts running a fever, it’s time to haul them to the pediatrician to make sure everything is okay and that they don’t have an infection.
BIGGEST PARENTING TIP IS Cherish your adventure into motherhood, even the messiest of moments – The most essential parenting tip I can give you is to cherish every little milestone and moment you have with your child. They grow up too fast; time passes by, and before you know it, they’ll be heading off to kindergarten. Heck, or here I am ten years later, all my kids are grown, except my youngest daughter, who is 14. Charish ever last second of it.
I can honestly tell you that the one thing I regret is not learning this sooner and not listening to people when they told me this. I have been here for my kids, but I do wish I had known how fast time goes by. Don’t wait until tomorrow, because before you know it, tomorrow will be gone and they will never be that age again.
This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Little Remedies®. All opinions are my own. When my kids are not feeling 100%, I turn to Little Remedies®. You can purchase Little Remedies® at Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Target, Amazon, and other national retailers. To learn more about Little Remedies® and check out all their great products, head over to LittleRemedies.com. PS: I am not a parenting professional, just a mom who has learned a few things along the way, either from someone, by trail and error, or by doing my own research.
