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Trade secrets: tips from moms

Psst! Wanna know what raising babies is really like? Here's the inside scoop from the real pros, moms who've been there

By
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Originally published in Today's Parent May 2006

I prepare for life’s big events. Moving September 1? I was packed by August 1. Getting married? I took almost two years to plan the day. So when I found out I was pregnant, I thought, “Sure, I could buy the books. They would tell me why I’m breathless or why my allergies seem to be so much worse during my pregnancy.”

I found that the baby guides gave instruction on such things as how to get a good latch or how to get fit again after baby. But I wanted the good stuff — the secret tips and advice that got generations of women through their first year of motherhood. I wanted hand-me-down advice. So along with the garbage bags of clothing, I asked the many women in my life what got them through their “freshman” motherhood year. From the philosophical to the practical, here’s what they came through with, starting with my mother:

Rest assured
“The first night you were home, I had you sleeping beside our bed. And almost every 15 minutes or half-hour, I woke up and put my finger under your nose to see if you were still breathing. I got so nervous from it and didn’t sleep too well. After two or three nights, your Oma (Dutch grandmother) said, ‘That’s it. We’re going to put her in the cradle and in the other room.’ I had our door open anyway and she pointed out I would hear if you woke up. And then I had a good sleep, which I really needed.
– Bonney Van Den Broek, mother

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