There's a brand new baby in our house. Now is the appropriate time for the 'OMG' phrase. To start with, the modern parent needs an inordinate amount of 'stuff'. There are seats for in the car, seats for out of the car, swing seats, special seats for the new mother to nurse the baby, and let's not forget a HUGE chair for the grandmother. Now let us address sleeping arrangements! Cradles for day time naps, cribs for night time snoozes, and grandma's lap for during the day slumbers. In between one should store up what are known (so I'm told) as burp cloths. These are small squares or oblongs of a soft material designed for catching the odd bubble of milk, or even the unexpected passage of some liquid or other from some other orifice. Babies have exquisite timing. Take off the damp diaper, and before you can say 'just a minute', there is another exodus of liquid that ruins all your good cleansing work, and probably managed to get the new diaper too. A three for one shot. Thank goodness for natural breast feeding. I have been told that there are some African/Asian people where the grandmother is expected to help nurse the infant. Not in my house sister! I've forgotten more about that than I care to remember. I'm still working on the origami style of trying to fold a semi pleated diaper to encase the nether regions of squirming infant...with marked lack of success so far. Hey! I've done my time in that area. Maybe the art will come back to me in a week or so, but I have torn up my diploma. Now bath time really scares me. A wriggling live infant covered in soapy water is as slippery as an oiled eel. The parents would not thank me for seeing their baby shoot across the bathroom covered in warm soapy water, cos they are really difficult to catch! Trust me on this! Luckily, the infant seems to enjoy the thrill of flying through the air, although my heart rate made it to high aerobic levels.
I will not address clothes - because it makes me cry! Whatever age of baby is on the premises, all the clean clothes are either for the previous age group, or the next one. Just believe me when I tell you that laundry is one of the most important skills you will need to have at your finger tips. Plus, baby laundry requires a delicate cleanser, and gentle washing and drying. No matter that said baby has covered the wardrobe in various shades of brown, from a soft tan to a very scary chocolate color. Nothing gentle about that cleansing process.
It is perfectly true that the second child gets a much more laissez faire upbringing. Washing the hands every few minutes has now been downgraded to...wash your hands when you remember...and preferably before feeding infant. As that is not my department, thank you very much, my hands stay relatively dry. I am waiting for the day when this baby has grown a little, and there is some interaction., Till then, I am going hide somewhere and take copious naps. Please wake me for tea time, and don't forget to wash your hands!