Parenting Tools

I know every parent has their own style, so this will not apply to everyone; or even to the majority of parents out there, but here are some tools that I have found very useful in the early years of parenting.

During Pregnancy:
During pregnancy I recommend reading a lot about birth, and not just the type of birth you are planning on having or are expecting to have because some things change at the last second - literally. 

Read about:
Home birth 
Hospital birth
Medicated birth
Un-medicated birth
Water birth
C-Section
Pros and Cons to various interventions such as epidural, pitocin, episomity, continual fetal monitoring, planned or unplanned c-section, using natural pain alternatives, staying mobile during labor, lying on your back during labor, diet during pregnancy, birth attendants, location of birth, bottle feeding, breast feeding and so much more.  Every single one of these things will effect the outcome of your labor and birth process in some form or fashion.

Some books on the above topics are:
Pushed by Jennifer Block
Gentle Birth, Gentle Mothering by Sarah J. Buckley, MD
Anything with or by Michael Odent and I also love Dr. Sears' books

These are only the two I have most recently read.  I read about 15 other books on these topics during my first pregnancy and plan on reading many more this time around.  I do NOT agree with everything in these books, but I love to glean what I can from the information and stories.

Pre-Baby:
I HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend the two following books to be read (or video's to be watched) BEFORE the baby is born.  Both of these need to be taken in and thought about so they become second nature when you are holding your brand new baby.  We made cheat sheets for both to keep handy and in plain sight when Mackenzie was little.

Dunstan Baby Language - DVD Dunstan Baby Language
Happiest Baby on the Block - Book

The first one (Dunstan Baby Language) clues you in to the most common sounds babies make and what each sound means.  Wayne and I watched this video several times over a two week period before Mackenzie was born, then we made a cheat sheet to hang on our wall.  It is amazing how this really works.  Your baby will give you noises to signal what is going on like - I'm Hungry, I need to Burp, I have Gas, I'm Uncomfortable, I'm Sleepy.  They will give these signals before crying, and if you do not respond then they will resort to crying.  If you never respond to their sounds they will begin to resort to crying first since this grabs your attention.  This sounds strange, but really works. 

The second one (Happiest Baby on the Block) teaches you how to effectively soothe your baby.  I think it is the 5 S's, but I can't remember for sure.  I need to re-read this one for our second baby.  But it uses things like sucking, swinging, and swaddling (teaches the proper technique) done in the proper order to help completely soothe a cranky baby.

I also recommend Birthing Classes to first time parents or if you have not had a baby in many years.  The one I like is 'The Bradley Method'.  This is a very hands on Husband/Father lead birthing method that allows the wife and husband to communicate easily and effectively through body language during the labor and birth.  I never wanted to speak or open my eyes during my very fast labor, so this was especially effective for us. 

After Baby Arrives:
Signing Time
One of the things Mackenzie and I have really enjoyed doing together is Sign Language.  I only knew a hand full of signs, so the parent does not need to know sign language to begin this with their baby.  Sign Language encourages the baby/child to use not only their sense of hearing, but also sight and touch to begin language development.  It is also a great second language.  I began "Baby Signing Time" videos with Mackenzie around 6-months of age, but it is recommended to start around 4-months of age.  She LOVED the baby signing time.  Before she could communicate effectively in a verbal manner she could sign to tell me what she wanted.  Then she graduated to "Signing Time" which I believe has 3 different series of videos and there are a lot of videos.  I also noticed that every time she would learn a sign she would learn how to say the word and the context of the word.  Today we sign together all the time, and she knows about 600 signs, all of her ABC's and can count and recognize numbers 1-20.  We plan on keeping this up for years to come and also teaching baby #2.  To them this is fun and a game and video where you get to know the characters Alex, Leah and Hopkins (their pet frog).

Throughout Pregnancy, Birth and Life:
Young Living Essential Oils - Young Living
This is really too lengthy to write about here, but I will say that we like to use these oils as a first line of defense BEFORE we resort to going to the doctors office.  And guess what?  We have NOT been to the doctor's office for an illness in the 3-yeas we have been using these; but we do use them a lot as preventatives.  We will go to the doctor if we see no improvement or worsening symptoms in 3-days (or less if something looks serious).  Well, we did go to the doctor once because I thought Mackenzie stuck something up her nose, but it turned out she had an ear infection.  She kept saying she had a "stuck bugger".  If she had told me about her ear instead we would have tried the oils first...oops!  Anyway, I highly recommend these and LOVE them.  I like having a healthy family; and every family is different, so with over 130 oils to choose from you can customize your family's needs and desires.  I really like some of the soothing oils for before bed like Lavender and Peace & Calm.  If you want more information on this section you can comment or e-mail me.

OK, so I have shared my advice; what advice do you have?  Maybe something on potty training?