Things I said I would never do as a parent but have….

1) Give him used toys – The price of toys is unbelievable! The Leap frog table was $40 – the exersaucer was $100 – foam mats were $25 – the jumper was $40 – it adds up so fast! 2 words – CRAIGS LIST! Love this place! My mom and I have found great things on there! A practically brand new exersaucer for $30! Leap frog table for $15 – the foam mats $30 for 3 sets!!! I also found a consignment shop for toys and got Sam a BRAND new basketball/baseball toy that sells for $35 at Toys-R-Us – I paid $14.99! (ok so that wasn’t technically used) But I also found the Peek-A-Block giraffe there for $4.99!!!! I actually get excited when I find a great deal on stuff – the only problem is that I find stuff that he can’t use until he is 2 or 3 but I sooo want to buy it now (Step 2 up and down roller coaster for $20!!! Oh I sooo want to buy it!!!!)…. lol…. But I haven’t =) Oh and mom found a jumper on CL for $15!!!! So now we can give Lynsi back hers =)

2) Give him used clothing – again, hindsight is 20/20 right? I wanted Sammy to have brand new things but when my friend Cindy offered me about 4 overflowing tubs of clothes from her son I couldn’t resist – his teachers at Daycare always comment on how they love his clothes and I laugh because I haven’t really bought much of anything! Thanks Cindy! My sister Michelle then gave me all of Justin’s things – so now I have bins of clothes all the way up to 5T!!!! Sam is set and boy do we save some money!!!

3) Generic diapers – I have always been a brand name snob – toothpaste, cereal, lotion, you name it! Our grocery bill has gotten out of hand so a few weeks ago I bought Wegman’s brand of lucky charms – just as good as the real stuff! I bought Safeway brand cookies (the boys joked that I bought the cheap ones) and they were fine too! Anyway, I was buying Pampers for Sam and then someone on the parenting boards raved about Walgreens diapers and they were on sale buy one get one free and $2 off each pack – so each pack was $2.50 (pampers are $12 per pack) – I got 8 packs of size 3 and 8 packs of size 4 and guess what? They work great! No leaks after 12 hours (overnight) and the money I am saving is once again a bonus!!!

4) Cry it out – ugh! This one truly breaks my heart and I am happy to say Sam was about 7 months old the first time I did it (one night only) but I had to do it last night =( Sam would NOT go to sleep so I would leave for 5 mins at a time –It killed me when I went in and his nose was running and the tears were POURING down his face but I was at my wits end…. He did finally go to sleep =) Sorry Sammy… mommy loves you!

5) Ignore my dog – Tami warned me about this and I didn’t listen – Piper has always been my baby and I assured everyone when Sam came along Piper would still gets lots of attention – she does not =( I totally neglect her and I hate it! The evenings are so rushed I just don’t have time – after Sam is in bed I do always take a few minutes to rub her belly and tell her how much I love her – the only thing that helps is knowing that for almost 8 years she got ALL my attention. Poor Piper – I might have to send her to Camp Grandma later this summer =) LOL

6) Nurse past a year – ok, hope this isn’t too personal for some of you – Breastfeeding was a huge struggle for me in the beginning – LOTS of tears – it was HARD! But we plowed thru and Sam and I have a great nursing relationship these days! I actually enjoy it! It’s our special bonding time and he is just so cute when he knows it’s coming – he starts rooting around for it – LOL! And when he is done he sits up and just gives me this huge smile. Anyway, in the beginning my goal was to nurse for 1 year then wean but now I think it will last longer – I have no intention of nursing him at 5yrs old – haha – but I know that in 3 short months (when he will be 1) neither of us will be ready. I will however be done with pumping –HOORAY! Now that I cannot wait for!!!!!

7) Give a pacifier – I was ANTI pacifiers! I got several at my shower…. The 2nd day home from the hospital Sam was inconsolable and Mark asked me “are you sure you don’t want to give him a pacifier??” I was like “give him one, NOW!” and guess what? He calmed down immediately! Sam loves his paci!!!! His Aunt Allison and Uncle Jeff bought him his first wub-a-nub (a frog named Kirby) and since then he has gotten a Monkey named Nelson and a Long Horn Bull named Dallas (Chad named the frog and monkey) and I picked Dallas for the Longhorn for Mark (he wanted us to have a Samuel Dallas (after his good friend) but I vetoed it – haha) – so now Sam has a paci named Dallas =) The paci has become a life saver for me =)

8) Shouted “Don’t make me come down there” – I posted about his before but I will say it again here. Usually when the boys were loud it didn’t matter but now that Sam is here of course I have become a true “mother” - I still can’t believe I said that…. I feel old! Haha

Now for a cute pic of me and Sam (kirby too) =)