Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

This is in relation to Kara's post on Rileysmama's thread.

For me:

I always said I would not be quiet when my kids were sleeping. Well when you have twins and they are sleeping you would consider cutting off your own feet so they didn't make noise walking through the house

I said I would go anywhere and everywhere with my kids. During the day I pretty much do but at night I would much rather people come to my house. Trying to put my kids down other places is really just a hassle for me and is no fun at all. This causes an issue for my DH and I so I am going to try working on it.

I am a big reader and thought I would be reading to my kids multiple times a day. Well I'm lucky if I get in one book and they have to sit in their highchairs otherwise they rip all the books to shreds

How about you?

Message edited 1/20/2010 9:23:26 AM.

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you though you would never do-either before children or at different stages

I was sure I'd breastfeed a whole year, but instead lasted 3 weeks...

I was sure I'd be a CIO mom, yet I can't do it (I haven't really had to yet, but even the thought of it kills me)

I was sure I'd be super ready to get DD out of my room, my goal was to have her in there for 6 months, now shes almost 6 months and I want her there even longer... I think I'm going to have to convince DH to keep her in there past her 6 month bday

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

let me dd eat whatever she wants for dinner, as long as she is eating, I am happy

she had TWO bowls of honey nut cheerios for dinner the other night

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you though you would never do-either before children or at different stages

Love this thread!

Before parenting, I was going to:

Have very little TV exposure
Feed all organic
Raise as a vegeterian
Not allow CIO
Read everynight
Not allow any toys from China for fear of led



Now:

Nick JR is on constantly
Organic food happens sometimes, but not always
He's had chicken
At my wits end, I tried CIO method & it worked
Books? You mean those things that are already in tatters?
90% of his toys are from China


big fat F for what I was aiming for, but hey, he's happy and the greatest thing in life is that we can change our minds!

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

I was happy with my parenting choices for #1...until I got pregnant with #2...everything went right out the window.

I became more slap happy...which I never thought I was a hitter.

When I could not stomach the thought of food...we learned what drive thrus were all about

We never co-slept...now i don't care where this kid sleeps as long as he sleeps somewhere.

I was such a good reader...this pregnancy was migrane hell...there was no way I could go through the little engine that could the 3 times a day I use to read it.

I ALWAYS judged moms who did not bring their kids out once a day... right out the window once morning sickness hit. The last place in the world I wanted to be was at CEC, trying to be fun at the park, or hot at the pool.

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

-Stick my son in front of the TV while he is eating. He is the worst eater so sometimes this is the ONLY way I can distract him.
-I always said we would let him get use to noise while he is sleeping. He is now 13 months and I make DH tip-toe while DS is sleeping.

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

UM, If I coud rent the jetson mobile to go around my house to not make noise I would...I take my phone off the hook when DD is napping!
I always thought I'd never let her watch tv,well when she's freaking and Dora or Yo Gabba Gabba is the only thing that'll make her eat...believe me I'm turning that tv on!!

ETA: Give her anything to eat as long as she's eating...

Message edited 1/20/2010 9:58:53 AM.

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

I was adamant about never giving DS juice (only water)... Then he refused the sippy cup and it was the only way I could entice him a little and well, we are the ones you see in restaurants with the kid screaming "Juuuuuuuuuuuice!!!"

Along with that, I was never going to introduce any sweets (other than fruit). Now I carry a secret stash of lollipops to get me through my errands My kid can also spot a Dunkin Donuts sign from a mile away and scream until he gets a munchkin

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

I said I would never allow my kids in my bed.

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

Thought I would read to her more. I dont do it enough.

Never thought I would let her watch tv or keep it on while she is playing, but I do...I am just so bored and sometimes I need a break and tv keeps her occupied.

Those are my biggest no nos that I break. They make me feel bad everyday but yet I dont change my ways.

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

Letting my DC's in our bed (its amazing what you will do for even 5 minutes more sleep )

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

My DD is only 5 months old, and already I can play

She watches TV. LOVES Yo Gabba Gabba, hockey and football.

I didn't even attempt breastfeeding.

She sleeps on her belly, using a pillow.

She slept in bed with me for the first few weeks of her life. It was the only way I could get her to sleep anywhere.

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

Posted by Salason
My kid can also spot a Dunkin Donuts sign from a mile away and scream until he gets a munchkin

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

She wears high heels.
She wears make-up.
Yeah I know,

She hits.
She tantrums.
If she won't eat her dinner, I let her eat something else.

Yeah I am sure the list will get longer and longer....

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

Before I was a parent, I never wanted to co-sleep. That went out the window as soon as we brought DS home and he screamed every time we tried to put him down.

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

DS is not nearly as well behaved as I'd envisioned my children to be. He is so headstrong that I have to choose my battles, otherwise we'd fight each other all day. And that means me letting some poor behavior fly by so that I can tackle the bigger issues.

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

I will never forget when DS was 11 weeks old and my dad said to me "when can he have juice?" and I YELLED "He will NEVER have juice, it is ONLY empty calories"

Yeah, he has juice now, and has since about 15 months old

I didn't think I would serve chicken nuggets every night, or that my child wouldn't eat meat (besides the nuggets) and some days he lives on cheese, crackers and apples...

We've stuck to no co-sleeping, except if itis really early or he is sick or something....

I also never thought my kid would go to bed at 10:30pm, but it became a necessity

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

*I thought I would immediately take to motherhood....to bad baby blues kicked in big time for me and knocked me off my feet for the first few weeks. I was shocked how bad my anxiety was.

*I 100% thought I would EBF DS until at least 6 months. I only lasted 3 weeks & switched to FF.

*I'm a project manager and have sort of taken my scheduling craziness that is my job and started to roll it into my life with DS, I had to alter myself though for DS's sake. I'm a schedule oriented person but am trying to adjust because I had told myself pre-DS that I shouldn't carry my job over into my "real" life.

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

I was never going to have her in my bed... she manages to find her way in there every.single.day.

I worry about how she's going to feel when DC#2 is in the bed too...

The food she eats - she's a great eater and will eat just about anything so I don't *have* to feed her chicken nuggets or other varieties of pre-packaged foods but I do because we get home late and we're tired and I hate the kitchen..

She's loud and demanding and she hits and throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way. I'll let her run around a store for a few minutes just to get her to stop screaming UUUUUPPPP!!!!

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

supplement with formula
use disposable diapers more than cloth (though I plan to remedy this asap.)
having him sleep sometimes in the bed with us.

he's 3 months old.

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

My DD used to get m&m's in the car so she wouldn't fall asleep.

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

Posted by Stacey1403

I said I would never allow my kids in my bed.

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

DS was not going to watch TV until he turned 2 (we did make it until a little over a year).

No junkie food for my children--they would eat healthy food and learn to enjoy it. Well, my son lives on chicken nuggets, american cheese, etc. I suppose I could let him go hungry for several days and he would eventually eat healthy food, but I can't do that to my already skinny kid

We were going to be very flexible parents--take him to friend's houses, etc. We were not going to spend every night at home. Well, we do take him out, but we underestimated the need for a young child to go to bed at the same time each night. Just not worth messing with that.

Re: Sort of a spinoff-What do you do as a parent you thought you would never do-either before children or at different stages

Eh.. I've pretty much done just about all the things I said I would never do under any circumstance. And I still have 2 really bright, handsome, well mannered, healthy little boys. I guess I'm just lucky!