A friend just had a baby daughter.  Instead of doing my usual and sending a one shot email, I thought I would create a post in case these hints can help someone else.  

All my best to all the parents out there.  It is so easy to forget how scary the crying was at first and how little they are when they first come out.  Seeing a picture of the new baby brought it all back.

1. This DVD is brilliant. And the stuff in it actually works.  Imagine being able to always get your baby to stop crying :-)

http://www.amazon.com/Happiest-Baby-Block-Crying-Longer/dp/B0006J021C/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1303396127&sr=8-4

2. When you baby gets to be about 12-14 lbs or 6 months old this book becomes soooo important. Figure out which of you is the tough one. The tough parent listens to the crying and the other one should stay out of ear shot.  In my house I was the tough one.  Both my kids stopped crying and went to sleep after about 20 minutes of this.  I waited 1 minute, then 2 minutes, then 4 minutes.  I never got to 8 minutes.  We had a video monitor so I could see that each of my kids was fine. And once they learn how to put themselves to sleep, they are soooo much happier.

http://www.amazon.com/Solve-Your-Childs-Sleep-Problems/dp/0743201639/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1303396327&sr=1-1

3. Never let your daughter sleep in the same bed with you guys after they are old enough to realize what is going on.  It is a slippery slope.  When they are small you are tempted to do it because it is soooo much easier.  But you will pay for this down the road.  My wife and I are the only parents we know whose kids don’t slip into our bed in the middle of the night and torture us.  Occasionally if the kids are upset, one of us will lie down with them in their bed.

4. Consider putting the changing table in the bathroom.  We did this and it changed our lives.  The sink is right there for washing your hands.  And the smell stays in the bathroom.  I actually had a surface mount changing station put in to save room (It’s pricey, but I thought of it as $999/48 months = $20/month - 2 years for 2 kids):

http://www.babychangingstations.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=KB111-SSRE&Category_Code=SSBCS-SI

5. Register a gmail address for your baby and start sending emails with pictures and thoughts to them now. It is a really convenient way to keep track of that stuff.

6. Buy an extra of anything that might turn into a favorite thing (blanket, stuffed animal, etc…)  The extra $20 will save you an enormous heartache on the day the stuffed animal gets left in a hotel room.  Seriously there is no crisis like it :-)

7. Sleep when they sleep.  Boy I miss the naps.

8. They grow up fast.  I figure I have 7-8 years to bond with my kids before they become swept up in a zillion other activities and I am no longer their favorite playmate.

9. Enjoy that you aren’t alone in this.  When you are losing your mind, hand the baby to someone else. It is normal to go a little crazy with the crying, diapers, stress, etc..  Don’t be a hero.  This is actually great advice when they get bigger too.  My wife and I have a safe word to indicate that one of us has reached our limit and the other one should take over.  10 or 20 minutes later you will love that you didn’t start screaming at the kids :-)