Doing it wrong...

I see a lot of parenting stuff on my Facebook, Twitter, etc.  Sometimes friends have shared articles or other posts and sometimes the articles are "suggested" for me.  I also see things on TV and in magazines, and talk to other parents about what they do.  There are a lot of "rules" about what to do and what not to do.  Mostly they are just ways for people to judge parents on what they are doing, and I'm guilty of this as well.

I break a lot of these rules.  The following is a list of things that I have read at one time are incorrect:

- Q doesn't do tummy time everyday
- I swaddle Q in a blanket every night (and I put his arms down at his side)
- I sometimes bring him into our bed in the early morning to sleep
- I forget to give Q his Vitamin D drops everyday
- Q is not on a fixed sleep schedule; we play it by ear each day
- I wake him up to feed him if we need to be out of the house for something
- Conversely, I let him sleep in his car seat when we get home and he has fallen asleep
- The number of naps he's had in his crib so far, I could probably count on one hand.  Rather he sleeps in his bouncy chair, on the couch, or while we are out and about
- I let him "watch" TV (or rather, the TV is on and he can see it)
- I put him in his crib to hang out when I need to wash my hands, put clothes, away, etc.

(This list is limited only to baby things, don't get me started on the things we do/have done with E that are "wrong")

The point of this post is to say that you as the parent will know what is best for your child, don't put too much stock into what the books and articles say.  First of all, it's impossible to keep up with all of the rules; not only would it drive you crazy, but the rules can be contradictory.  Second, although there are good reasons beside some of these rules, you can't apply them equally to every child, everyone is so different.  I can get away with a lot of the things above because Q is a good tempered baby.

And also, don't worry about what everyone else is doing, or not doing.  Probably some of you gasped about the lack of tummy time, and others of you thought my list was too short, and that's okay.  Carry on with whatever keeps your baby safe, happy and healthy, and you'll be fine (and so will we).